Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch
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When Is a Re-adjustment not a Re-adjustment?

12/23/2014

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I guess Heaven must have had issues with the Pacific North West yesterday. The rain clouds swept over the horizon shrouding the taller cedar trees, the winds blew in from the ocean and the twinkling Christmas icicles dangling from the deck waved...shimmered ....and promptly went out !!! The drains overflowed, the pastures were under water, the wind chimes were playing the Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture in fast time and  Mr.  Mrs. (and the "just in case", two's company, three is a crowd drake)   Mallard decided that it almost certainly WASN'T weather for the ducks.  ! The horses turned their butts into the wind and hung their heads close to the ground, the cows and sheep lined up miserably in cow lane and the chickens, feathers pitiably sodden and limp abjectly slumped on overcrowded perches. Us ? we just got wet, very very wet !

This morning, the broken clouds were highlighted by a watery sun, murky puddles, overflowing creeks and muddy trails were a reminder of yesterdays torrential downpours and all was good with the world. The sky was blue, the grass looked greener, the boughs of the cedar trees hung heavy with moisture and the ponds lazy ripples reflected the dawn of a brand new day. The shortest day of the year, the first day of Winter and only four days until Christmas.

Our new equine residents have, thankfully made themselves quite at home in their new pasture. Ky the bay gelding and feisty Fiona the little chestnut filly managed to test and breach the Gentle Giant fences within the first week here and it has to be said....my heart skips a beat when I catch sight of the two absconders lurking  on the fence line. Apparently, thankfully,  Ky the Houdini of the equine world has developed a healthy aversion to the little white wire with a hearty kick.... which has eased my apprehension enough for me to stop my every five minute "are they still in situ" checks...but not quite enough to trust them completely. Clearly it is going to take a little while before a sense of security is regained ....and fortified fences,  Alcatraz or Jurassic Park comes to mind ! 

Old T Bone, our most senior senior had a "readjustment" recently. Unfortunately for our distinguished old bay gelding, he had become accustomed to falling over his own creaking groaning knobby hind legs  giving him an ungainly rocking/rolling action.....his readjustment if anything may well have put things back where they belonged but poor old T Bone no longer knows what should go where....and his back legs have become  inclined to tie themselves in a virtual overhand knot. Yesterday as dusk fell over the pastures, Daisy Mae, Misty and Bella were all safely back in the cow barn and I headed down a very muddy cow lane to bring T Bone and Cooper in for the night. T Bone quietly whickered a greeting to me, Mr. Cooper threateningly cast a menacing glance at his veteran companion ears pinned back in warning as I opened the gate, clearly he was unwilling to share the apple morsel I was offering. Unconcerned by Coopers less  than friendly conduct I applied his head collar and proceeded to work with old T Bone who impatiently allowed me time to prepare him before he promptly and resolutely headed for the gate...without me. One bump with his big old Roman nose and the gate chain became dislodged....a second more hearty bump,  the pasture gate swung open and the old bay gelding took himself home leaving an irritated Mr. Cooper to follow in his rickety old friends wake. Evidently our 31 year old veteran believes in the adage...age before beauty.

Time for bed, it has been a long day. The cuckoo has spoken and Bran and Luke are stirring for their evening potty break. Take care, Keep safe. M
    

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The Great Escape

12/19/2014

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Going to the store is always a special occasion here on the ranch .A perfectly synchronized event between barn chores finished...and barn chores started again. Between rugs on and rugs off....between noon and losing daylight. Christmas shopping in this particular Sikora household can be particularly harrowing.... Greg is a "man on a mission" shopper, invariably access to the store is through the nearest door...exit or entrance and the first question is uniformly..."so exactly WHY are we here ? who are we buying for and what are we buying ? This year.....I think my Christmas Grinch has had a chill pill. Shopping has been enjoyable...no pressure and the Christmas lights twinkle so much more brightly over our little mound of red and gold parcels. Today we went shopping with Mom. Sadly the weather didn't match any seasonal mood that all the Christmas lights, excess candy and mulled wine invoked. As dawn broke over the horizon and the big ranch Chevi truck pulled into the barnyard vast grey rain clouds scuttled across the Wintery sky.  In the stall, preparing Charm the golden palomino gelding for yet another day weathering the elements, the question was asked..."Maureen what is the weather prediction for today ? Unhesitating ( I watch Fox 13 and MJ Fox 13 weather guru "advised a jacket with a hood") I replied, smugly in the know.... rain this morning....and rain(ier)  this afternoon ! Fortunately for me and even more fortunately for Tonto the little Paso Fino gelding, I was almost right ! It REALLY rained this morning and was torrential this afternoon !! We arrived at the store just as the "torrential" was making it's presence felt with raindrops the size of quarters bouncing off a pavement running like a fast flowing creek and we left the store ( having spent what seems like half of the National reserve) with the rain unabated and the creeks looking more like  raging white water !! Spirits were still high when the cell phone rang.  Unaware of the impending disaster, I took the call....CRISIS !!! Still 15 minutes from home and our friendly local neighborhood sheriff was calling to let us know that we had had a breakout....he was currently containing the escapees but being more used to two legged felons he was unsure of the correct procedure with four legged absconders....and roundups are no longer in the sheriff's "how to" manual. A frantic call to another horse friendly neighbor and we arrive to see two unconcerned horses grazing the roadside and two drenched and two very relieved to see us novice horse wranglers ( and a chubby black lab) ! Clearly the two equine new comers to the ranch had conspired to check out the real estate, visit the neighborhood residents, take an impromptu swim through the ranch pond, test out the ranch fencing and give the neighbors, their people and us a virtual heart stop.   A new notice will be appearing by the pond..."SWIMMING POOL CLOSED FOR THE SEASON. LIFEGUARD BUSY FIXING FENCES". Guess what we are going to be doing Christmas week in the rain ?? Ho Ho Ho !!!!

Today was Mom Sikora's first full day back at the ranch, she has spent the day negotiating the kitchen, avoiding dog bowls dog beds and...dogs. She patiently observed the horse shenanigans from the safety of the truck and she is once again becoming accustomed (grudgingly) to the wind and rain that is an integral feature of the Pacific north West Winter.  Welcome back Mom, we are excited to have you back for the next four weeks.

Please spare a moment to pray for someone very special to me.  Mum J had the worst news today. She is beginning the fight of her life and still managed to be more concerned about me than about herself. Fight hard Mum...remember you are a feisty Texan. I love you..

Time to go, keep safe and dry. M
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It's Christmas Time Again!

12/15/2014

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It's starting to look like Christmas !!! Every year, boxes of red green and gold balls, sparkling, shimmering twinkling decorations, wreaths garlands and treasured memories get filed away in nondescript cardboard boxes. The beautiful rich green boughs of our Christmas tree are hastily disconnected and little baby Jesus in his porcelain crib joins the pious figurines of Mary and Joseph, the three shabby shepherds, the opulent three kings and the various other colorful characters featuring in the story of the first Christmas.  Each year boxes are opened and memories of Christmas's long ago and far away, the holiday season spent with friends and family long since departed or living in distant lands come to mind. Each ornament on my dysfunctional "memory tree" reminds me of a time or a place, a spiritual reconnection with someone or something special to us. Sometimes a smile...more often a tear, but my scruffy little mismatched memory tree holds a very special place in our Christmas home. Garlands decked with, twinkling lights and plush velvet bows snake around cupboards, Candles and  wreaths transform counters and walls....steaming mulled wine, rich with oranges, lemons and cinnamon warm a body chilled by frigid winds.... Christmas is here once again.

Despite all the seasonal goodwill, happy memories.... and mulled wine, there is currently a significant amount of coughing spluttering sneezing and snorting evident in the Sikora home. Clearly, my immune system is allowing  free access  for all and any bugs that happen to be within 50 miles of me and, having just recovered from my British pneumonia, I have now succumbed to a particularly virulent American grown cold/cough. Being the generous, accommodating unselfish person that I am, I have shared my condition with Greg and now our uncontrolled coughing, wheezing and sneezing all happens in glorious stereo. Our bedside tables are laden with pills and potions, bottles of cough linctus and vapor rub.....we cough and sneeze from one dose of antibiotics to the next and our jolly Santa hats this year aren't going to be seasonal, just functionally warm.  Timely advice....Christmas guests will be given a mince pie, mug of mulled wine and a tablespoon of cough medicine.

On a happy note, the oldest and the best ranch hand in the world, Greg's mom is (ignoring our current unhealthy condition) arriving for a month's visit to the ranch. We welcome her home and pray that the traditional Seattle climate will be kind to our Albuquerque resident. Love you Mom.

Time to go, the cuckoo clock has spoken. Take care, keep safe, M
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Winter Has Arrived To The Pacific North West

12/5/2014

2 Comments

 
Have you seen it ? are you prepared ?......do you even know ? The recent arctic spell of freezing weather has caused air stagnation, wood smoke hovers inert in the atmosphere, sparkling icicles dangle from frozen gutters, frosted cobwebs drape from lifeless tree branches and way up in the cloudless crystal clear sky a government plot is evident ( to some). We all know them as vapor trails, white trails of water vapor crisscrossing  the blue expanse way up high above us.....apparently we have been misled. Those vapor trails aren't as we have for so long believed, simply a phenomenon caused by the exhausts of the hundreds of planes that pass through our airspace....those vapor trails are ( apparently) a government plot to poison us all. This startling theory was confidentialy shared with us recently as yet another batch of "poisonous" vapor trails  snaked unchecked across the sky.......disturbingly, the local citizen sharing this prophesy of doom gloom and intrigue REALLY believes that our government is behind this heinous conspiracy..... As we look up into the sky at the white vapor trails, I can't fear a government plot..... I just wonder where in the world those airplanes are going ?

Our most recent ranch project is to remove the barbed wire from the boundary fence in one of our pastures. It would appear that this fencing has been in existence for the past forty years and yesterday, Greg's birthday we headed off into the pasture equipped with all the appropriate fencing supplies, Bran the Border Collie,  little Luke and a bottle of Greg's homemade red wine. As a watery Winter sun shone over the frozen earth, we sat on the tailgate of the big grey Chevy farm truck, swinging our legs and toasting our life from plastic cups.  The good news is, much of the lethal barbed wire has been disposed of and we had a wonderful fun afternoon together....the bad news is, the barbed wire was possibly the only element holding the whole crumbling fence together and the ageing cedar posts are now only a token fence just waiting for a strong wind to blow them over. Guess what our next mission will be ?

When the Arctic winds blow and the frigid temperatures settle over the valley, every day functions are constantly challenged. Water, a basic bodily requirement for both man and beast under normal weather conditions a simple chore becomes overnight a problem throughout the barnyard...from chickens to cows horses and sheep. Even little Luke our "wanna be" farm dog has a problem with ice.....with his rustic water bowl frozen into an ice cube Luke apparently can't resist trying to lap it up....one of these days we are going to be removing a little welded Luke tongue from a frozen plastic dog bowl. Daisy the black Dexter momma has mastered the art of breaking the ice from her water trough but the chickens, so easily confused by the simplest issues hover expectantly around the frozen water fountain in the chicken yard, ignoring the portable water dispenser conveniently relocated in the henhouse. Tiger and Shy the resident barn cats have also found ways of adapting to and coping with the plummeting temperatures. When the winds howl, the rain falls or the freezing air enfolds the barn and the surrounding valley the two cats find a hollow in the hay stack, a warm spot on the steaming muck pile or, should we neglect to close the barn kitchen door fast enough two feline bodies slink through, undetected to spend a cozy night snuggled in the insulation of the barn loft.

It has, over the past few months become apparent to us that Bran the Border Collie has designated himself as Luke's unofficial supervisor and official despot. Previously quiet and unassuming, Bran has taken it upon himself to  very vocally chastise and educate his younger and smaller canine companion. When little Luke hesitates to scramble into the big Chevy farm truck fast enough Bran invariably barks and growls threateningly." Get your butt into this truck...NOW ! ". When paws have been wiped and both dogs are expectantly awaiting the command to come into the house and receive the inevitable biscuit reward. I habitually ask them both to sit. Invariably Bran sits like a bullet....Luke gazes vacantly into space...until he catches the scathing look directed at him from the already sitting and increasingly impatient Bran. One look from Bran and little Luke's butt hits the ground instantaneously.

It has been a tough week down on the ranch...it isn't yet Winter and the temperatures have been well below freezing but every day brings new challenges and new rewards. Our life is blend of trials tribulations, laughter and joy....and we wouldn't change it for the world.

Finally and very importantly.....Please pray for someone very special to me that the news that she is about to receive will be favorable and that her life can return to normal.

Take care, keep safe and warm.   M
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    Its me, Maureen, (the Boss)

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