Bald Eagle Day

Today was Bald Eagle Day. Held at the Shakespeare Festival Park east of Boise, on the Boise Rive. East-Boise is a very nice area. Very nice. There are hike/bike paths everywhere, and it has a southwestern feel to it, like outside of Phoenix. You're close enough to the foothills to touch them, and it seemed like it was a tad warmer there, compared to out on the flats in Meridian. It is a quick jaunt to school. I now understand why so many staff and faculty at the university live out there, or in the foothills.

The colors and textures in the landscape were my favorite part.

I loved the branches, looking like they were crawling out of the fog. Really, they were stuck in the ice. I also noticed how the red bushes were reflected in the part of the pond that wasn't frozen, while the frozen part acted like frosted glass.

Then I came around a corner, and found OWLS!

Can you see the owl's shadow in the glass behind it?

It was day time, so they were sleepy and quiet. Oh my, so pretty. The big one is a great horned owl, but I didn't learn the smaller owls breed. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. I also got to see a great horned owl in the wild, in a tree, way across the river, through a telescope. The only way I knew it was an owl was the yellow eyes. Right when I was staring at it, through the lens, it blinked! As soon as its eyes closed again, it was gone. Camouflaged indeed.

Around the corner from the two captive owls was a captive Bald Eagle. I found out she is about 30 years old, and she lives in captivity because she was shot, and her wing was broken. She can fly a little, but not enough to survive in the wild. She lives full time with the person who is holding her in the picture. Imagine having the responsibility for caring for that bird!

The Dependents

Boy, it's been a week! Thought I'd do a couple blogs, so none of them were too long. This is the animal blog. Next comes the school blog, and then the week's event: Bald Eagle Day! Hope you enjoy.

First off, it has continued to be cold. One night, it actually got down to 10 degees. Horses have been wondering what's up. They go into their barn, get a drink of water, and instantly have a beard of icicles. The nice part is they actually have water to drink, instead of a frozen cube to lick. The ground is so hard, it is like cement, but instead of being flat, it's got all the bumps from when it was soft and squishy. Quite rough ground. Atleast the last few days it has been warm enough (above 30 degrees) for them to take off their winter blankets and enjoy the light on their bodies. Giovanna has a propensity for finding the muckiest, wettest spot in the pasture, and rolling until she has mud in all the right places. I've taken to bringing a curry comb with me when I go out to feed in the evening, so I can clean her up a bit before putting her blanket on. Was looking at pictures of her back in McKinleyville, and marveled at how clean and pretty she was. lol We just won't tell anyone around here who her mom and dad are. Wouldn't want to embarass them.

Berhwood is having trouble with his legs/joints/feet. Going to have vet out next week for routine shots and dental exams, and will have him look at Ber's soundness. I believe it is the very, very hard ground, but I want to be sure. When he was in at Redwood Acres last winter, he had the same problem, and he was on rock hard ground, 24-7. As it thaws a bit, and the ground gets a bit softer, I see him moving with less tentativeness. Giovanna is descented from tough Arabians running over the hot deserts--she doesn't care what the footing is, apparently. Which is good.

The girls are getting used to the cold. They actually go out and hang out in their yard a bit, sniffing and checking things out. We go for walks in the field across from the house because it is quiet and there's lots of interesting things for them to notice. I keep hoping to get a photo of the pair of ring-neck-pheasants that live in the field next to the house. Whenever I see them in flight, or running across the ground, I'm nowhere near my camera. When they run, they remind me of roadrunners. Are they related?

One big adventure this week was waking up to no heat. The furnace had issues. We fired up the pellet stove to keep warm, while we waited for "Mike" the furnace guy to come out. He was able to fix it, and it actually seems to be working better. Another adventure was Arcy going back into the vet's because her anxiety and stress levels were climbing. She was worrying about things, jumpy, scratching at nothing, licking at nothing, sneezing, etc. So she is on some antihistamine, to curtail any alergies she might have, and on an anti-anxiety medication. So far, so good. Unfortunately, she picked up fleas at the vets, so have had to treat for that, too. Poor girls! Arcy still trembles a lot, but no one is sure why. I'm also trying to find an alternative to Hill's Science Prescription diet for heart issues. The girls have been eating it, and it comes out to $6 a day. A Day!! That's more than it costs to feed me! Took me all week to track down a local supplier of Pedigree Plus Healthy Heart, but finally did today. It has better ingredients than the Hill's (no ground corn!) and it will end up being half the cost. We'll see how they like it. For anyone out there thinking of getting a dog, remember: the senior years are the most expensive and most labor intensive. No, really, the puppy years have got nothing on the senior years.

One Weather Extreme to Another

7 am, out the front door.

Georgia's foot prints, with the cutest toenail imprints in Idaho!

This is what the day started out like. Snow, overcast, and cold. Sideways snow.

The horses are modeling their new, higher neck blankets. Better for wind and sideways blowing snow. Not as heavy a blanket as their others, so they should be more comfortable--were getting a bit too warm in the others, now that they are more used to the weather here.

Notice the horse tails. Can you tell where the wind is coming from?!

The Neighbor Horses, hanging around, talking over the fence.

This is what the day ended like. SUN!!!!! Some blue sky and real clouds. All the snow is melting and creating icicles. Horses playing in the snow. However, the wind is bitter cold. As back home, the price to be paid for sun is often wind.

4:30 pm, mare's tails clouds.

Seems like Giovanna is always in the lead, doesn't it?

Luckily, Berhwood is a great sport.

Studying is Where it's At!

Yes, the fog is still here. I have heard this is the worst "inversion layer" they've had in years. I have forgotten what the sun looks and feels like!

I feel like I've done nothing but read, search for information on the internet, write, and read some more, since Tuesday! I have a feeling that this is just how it is going to be, for the next two years. And I'm okay with that. Studying is where it is at.

Something which will especially interest anyone who is associated with Morris School, is that Cathy Beals is in two of my classes. She is continuing her work on her EdD. It just floored me, to see someone I knew. Will be fun to re-connect with her this semester.

A correction: I have learned why I couldn't find much information about Albert Rim for a previous post. Thank you, Mark, for letting me know that it is the Abert rim. No "L". I guess a lot of folks insert the l all the time. If you want to know more about the rim and lake, search under Abert. Works like a charm!

My routine is gradually establishing itself. Now I know why I went through all the bother to find a place where I could have my animals: I work for three hours, take the dogs for a walk, work for a couple hours, go out and mess with the horses, and work for a few hours. Having them forces me to take breaks, I get outside, and I clear my head. I have classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. I have work to do for my GA, but I can do it at home or there. Tuesday is tough, because I have classes from 4 to 10, and that's a long stretch for the girls to be home alone.

Unless I need to be at the university, I like to stay home and work here. For example, today, Saturday, I got up at 6 (5 coastal time) and was on reading/studying for statistics by 7 am; after three hours on that, I took a dog break and then came back inside and worked on an online class I need to pass in order to conduct research at the university. At noon, I took a pasture cleaning break, and went back to the online class at one, working until 4. Then I took a much longer dog and horse break (brushed both horses, cleaned stable, threw down hay for the week, took dogs for longer walk...). It's almost 7 now, and I'll be headed back to the online class after I finish this post.

This is my tentative schedule:
Monday, work at university from 1 to 4, class from 4-6.
Tuesday, class from 4 to 10.
Wednesday, work at university from 1 to 4, class from 4-6:40.
Thursday, work at home.
Friday, work at university from 10-2.
All other time is spent studying and working unless something else needs to be done, like the dishes, or laundry. :)

One of the things I like to do on my "outside" breaks is to look at nature. If I have the camera, you get to see what I find. Today, while picking up manure and cow pies in the far pasture, I found this:


I just couldn't believe it. There are Bird's Nest Cup Fungi in Boise! If ever there was a moment when I wished I could talk to my mom, it was today. She would have been as thrilled as I was. A little bit of home, way out here. Finding these fungi was always a moment to celebrate when I was growing up... I know, it is on a clod of old, dry manure. lol. Not sure if you can see the little "seeds" in the cups. Water splashes into the cups and makes the "seeds" pop out, landing elsewhere and starting to grow. I say "seeds" because fungi don't have seeds but they sure look like them.

While taking the dogs for a quick break at 4, I heard a cacophony of birds. I'm thinking, it isn't really time for birds to be gathering, is it? Quick, I take the girls inside and head out to the pasture, where the birds are gathering in the tree tops. Hundreds of them. They rise up and swarm about, then land again. They were quite upset with me, thought I was quite the disturbance, and after I snapped my pictures, they left. What were they gathering for? Where were they going? I'll leave you with the pictures. Shades of a car in an empty parking lot in Austin, Texas, covered in birds...

Definitely Worth It

After two days of classes and working on campus, I just have this to say: This is so completely worth it. Words just can't express how grateful and appreciative and delighted I am. Thank you, everyone who has encouraged this venture, from way back when I started working on my Master's, up through yesterday. I am glad I took this leap of faith, glad I kept working on making this happen all these years. Glad you pushed me and believed in me, when I needed it.

I have four classes, tons of reading, a research project lined up for this semester--with a goal of having an article accepted for publication by the end of the semester, projects, papers... Did I mention I have an amazing office? I'll send pictures when I get it set up.

I have so much work to do, it is hard work, and I am having a delightful time doing it. So I'm going to go. I'll leave you with pictures from yesterday, of the animals, before I went to school.

Giovanna's Sheep

The two black spots waaaay out there are the horses, enjoying their acreage.

Arcy's on a mission. Who sharpened her ears?

The girls exploring the thorn tree pen.

Horses coming to check out what's happening in the thorn tree pen.

Berhwood walking free and easy.

All four in one shot...

First Day

Well, here it is, the first day of school. I feel excited and nervous at the same time. Am I going to be overwhelmed by the work, or will I take to it like a duck to water? Am I going to stick out like I don't belong, or will I fit right in? I'm already feeling pretty anxious about the work I did on the statistics for the grants, and feeling like I could have done so much better. Augh. It will be fine, right? lol. Hey, I've got nothing on Obama. He's probably way more excited and nervous than I am, right now!

Here's my beautiful red leather computer briefcase, which I bought almost a year ago for grad school. Have my two fancy purple pens, three sharpened pencils, pencil sharpener, notebooks, and post-its packed. Have my books packed and I read the first chapters last night. I know where my classes are, and have my calendar/planner for writing down important dates. Believe me, at 9 am this morning, when I couldn't find my planner, I started worrying. Then I said to myself, "If you don't find it, you get another one at the dollar store on your way in. You didn't have any dates written down yet. Chill." Thirty minutes later I came across it while I was looking for tape for a completely unrelated task! It's all good. My parking pass is on my back window, I know where to park, the fuel tank is full, and all my lights work. Important considerations since my last class gets out at 10 pm.

Now, what to wear for my first day of school? Want to look nice, but not like I tried too hard...Professional, but comfortable. Like I am a big fish from a little pond who is now a little fish in a big pond, but I'm comfortable with who I am... Good thing I still have three hours until I leave so I can try on everything in my closet! I'm kidding. An hour ought to be plenty. :)

My only concern at this point is leaving the girls inside from 3 pm until 10:30 pm. This is similar to night time, so they should be okay, but this is the longest I've left them alone for a while.

What am I worried about? They'll just sleep on the couch!

I'm also not sure if I should leave the horses out, and put them up when I get back, or put them up before I go. They are used to going into their stalls/pens to get grain and dinner around 6:30-7 pm. Now that they are free to roam the entire 3 acres, they tend to stay out later. It's pretty cute, when I go out to get them, and I stand at the gate to the far pasture. They look up immediately and start walking or trotting or cantering over to me. Once they arrive at the gate, we walk to the barn together, in a line: me, Berhwood, and Giovanna. They go stand at the gates to their own paddocks and wait to go in to eat grain. So proud of them.

Okay, I'm off to do manure and spend time with the horses and dogs before I get cleaned up to go. I'll try to get some pictures of the birds, since they are all out in force, and I will definitely post again tonight, to tell you all about my classes!

Wide Open Spaces

Cantering up the far pasture. Woohoo!! It's good to be a horse.

Today the horses explored the far pasture. The three days, in the snow, that Stuart and I worked on the fence was worth it. I was able to hear, for the first time, the sound of their thundering hooves as they ran with exuberance, not worried about fences. I mean, they could run, and they didn't have to start thinking about turning or stopping three strides into it. Beautiful, graceful, easy cantering. Of course, you know who had the more graceful canter... Although, I must say that with all the freedom to move, and the motivation of keeping up with his friend, Berhwood is moving better and better. In fact, when returning to the stables this evening, he did a smooth, effortless canter up the middle pasture to the arena. Anyway, Berhwood and Giovanna ran the length of the far pasture a couple times, then settled down and ate grass. Had to go bring them in for dinner because they weren't going to come in on their own. I give them a couple days of the routine before they are meeting me at their paddock gates at dusk.

Horse keeping has not been this enjoyable since the first few years Red lived in the pasture behind the Whitmire house. Things here are set up so nicely, and the horses have settled in so well. I guess things just flow here. Okay, the big issue is water freezing and the ground freezing. I've already broken my manure fork on frozen ground. Going to look into getting a metal one. And the hoses were a mess today, because I left some water in them (thought I emptied them, but must have gotten lazy because it didn't seem like it was going to freeze...). Not only that, but the pump outlet next to the stables was frozen up. So I had to string other hoses together to get enough to go from the pump outlet next to the tackroom! Took me half an hour just to get to the point where I could fill the water trough. No, I'm not digging the cold. However, I have never seen my horses this content, this relaxed and just "horsey." So I'll deal with the cold.

While the horses enjoyed their wide open spaces, I brought the girls into the thorn tree paddock. This is a paddock that is between the middle pasture and the far pasture. Someone had cows in there, judging by the patties. There is a shelter, and numerous thorn trees, as I call them. This paddock is not suitable for the horses, due to all the rocks and stumps and holes. However, the fence is safe for dogs, and now that the weather is better, they can come out and explore while I'm working outside. They thought this was a mighty fine idea. The space is about as big as their back yard back in McKinleyville. They ran and sniffed and looked. Happy dogs. Took pictures, but my camera was so cold that they all came out blurry. Next time.

Georgia going down her ramp.

I'm about to dive into my first semester of graduate courses, and I imagine I will get pretty busy. I've been blogging every day, partly to keep busy, but I expect the frequency will drop off to once or twice a week. Feel free to email me, or call, if you want to find out how things are going. I'd love to hear know how things are going in your neck of the woods, too!