So I couldn't find anyone to shear my sheep since I live in LOS ANGELES and people WORK FOR A LIVING like in little cubicles, here, so I just got some scissors and four blisters and some serious skin rubbed off my hand later, I have a fairly sheared sheep who now hates me. I only cut him one time, but it did look pretty gruesome.
Travis is one year old, and he had started looking like who's that black dude with the afro, Larry King? Rodney King? Wait, somebody King, from the 70's. Anyway, he was looking SWEATY.
So now he's baa baa black sheep haven't any wool, and I have two bags full. I decided what the hell do I do with the wool, so I looked up "what to do with wool" and you wouldn't believe the huge amounts of terrible and useless things they showed pictures of. First was the animal rights sites that said sheep are being skin stripped which okay I'm not doing that but suddenly I had to SEE and can't UNSEE that. Travis is about as far from that demise as he can get, since he likes to sometimes wander into the house. Then I see that if you want to spin wool into a sweater (which I don't), you have to wash it, a bunch of times in a kettle, rinse it, dry it, pick it apart, pick all the dirt out (it would take hours just to pick apart ONE piece of wool, let alone two bags full), comb it out and then you have chunks of wool that you can make into ugly decorations that none of your friends would want.
Like wool coasters. Or a wool wreath. Or you can do a bunch of other junk to it where the end result is buying the Sleeping Beauty spinning wheel and making it into actual yarn to actually knit. I am a knitter but I barely even want to pick up the sticks in my hands to knit WITH, so I see the joy in getting the yarn already colored and clean and ready in strings at the store.
But I am not ready to throw out the dirty wool. I may wash it just to say I did, and I may pick it apart on some day that I really don't want to do something more boring like clean the house or play with the kids. heh. Then I could make a pillow or a comforter for the dog or something. Right?
But then, can you WASH that? Things that are all natural are like, way more complicated. They wear like sandals and have goatees and wear their shorts kinda baggy and ride bikes in the rain.
I just want to say that my natural inclination is to zip it into an old sleeping bag and say there ya go. Instant dirty comforter. DO NOT UNZIP.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Little Drops of Water
Something weird is happening lately. I am actually enjoying riding.
I think falling off those years ago took so long to heal up the fear. And then adding a new horse whom I assumed would cause me years of torment (but I did it anyway) has been work, but after 2 1/2 months of working with her almost every day, I'm starting to know her, and relax.
Today on the trail I ponied her and rode Dewey and then on the way back, I got off him, got on her and rode a tiny bit. Then switcheroo again. Then when we were back on the little secret path I got back on her, and ponied him, and she is sleeker, more like a hot rod convertible than huge thick lumbering Dewey.
I had to think cautiously, I've never ponied Dewey, she's only 4 years old, new to everything, she's never ponied a horse either, so I picked my spots carefully, and I kept the rides short where she was the leader. The good thing about being careful is that you set yourself up for success. There's nothing wrong with little tiny steps. The Carrie Fisher song:
Little drops of water
Little grains of sand
Make the mighty oceans
And the pleasant lands
All I know is it is nice to see the flowers and see the butterflies and be riding a horse who isn't afraid, and to be helping the new horse learn her place and her job, and because of all this work eventually I'll have a friend along with me in the saddle, and riding will be even more fun because there will be chatter and company, and safety in numbers, comfort for both Dewey and I. He's so happy to have a friend in the barn and on the trail, it's like he sighs with the relief of company.
Maggie does like to see if she can be in charge each day - she will do what you say, but she's just askin. She is happy to be with Dewey, and see the scenery. And having a young horse to work with and teach all the cues to, and learn her likes and dislikes, and try and mold her into just a regular quiet old trail horse - this has made me a mostly humorous, stronger rider, which has made Dewey a better horse. Now I just ask him clearly for what I want, and he's happy to do it, where before I was slightly always terrified. Since Maggie is more hardheaded, I've had to be super tough, and it's changed my riding. Even though with her I also have to be very light with legs and hands, since at her age, she's just learning balancing a rider, moving forward happily and learning some rhythm. We're still only at a walk with a rider on, I figure I'll get her happy going forward at all gaits on the lunge, and happy going forward at the walk and then stick a few small trots in there when I think she will be willing and not slam on the brakes. (Her favorite trick.)
Okay, that's Mag and Dew news. I am fresh from being outdoors and exploring, even just the neighborhood trails. I feel good that I'm building up for the only other thing she'll have to do, which is take us down to the water and enjoy the wilderness of Hansen Dam. She's been there once!
I think falling off those years ago took so long to heal up the fear. And then adding a new horse whom I assumed would cause me years of torment (but I did it anyway) has been work, but after 2 1/2 months of working with her almost every day, I'm starting to know her, and relax.
Today on the trail I ponied her and rode Dewey and then on the way back, I got off him, got on her and rode a tiny bit. Then switcheroo again. Then when we were back on the little secret path I got back on her, and ponied him, and she is sleeker, more like a hot rod convertible than huge thick lumbering Dewey.
I had to think cautiously, I've never ponied Dewey, she's only 4 years old, new to everything, she's never ponied a horse either, so I picked my spots carefully, and I kept the rides short where she was the leader. The good thing about being careful is that you set yourself up for success. There's nothing wrong with little tiny steps. The Carrie Fisher song:
Little drops of water
Little grains of sand
Make the mighty oceans
And the pleasant lands
All I know is it is nice to see the flowers and see the butterflies and be riding a horse who isn't afraid, and to be helping the new horse learn her place and her job, and because of all this work eventually I'll have a friend along with me in the saddle, and riding will be even more fun because there will be chatter and company, and safety in numbers, comfort for both Dewey and I. He's so happy to have a friend in the barn and on the trail, it's like he sighs with the relief of company.
Maggie does like to see if she can be in charge each day - she will do what you say, but she's just askin. She is happy to be with Dewey, and see the scenery. And having a young horse to work with and teach all the cues to, and learn her likes and dislikes, and try and mold her into just a regular quiet old trail horse - this has made me a mostly humorous, stronger rider, which has made Dewey a better horse. Now I just ask him clearly for what I want, and he's happy to do it, where before I was slightly always terrified. Since Maggie is more hardheaded, I've had to be super tough, and it's changed my riding. Even though with her I also have to be very light with legs and hands, since at her age, she's just learning balancing a rider, moving forward happily and learning some rhythm. We're still only at a walk with a rider on, I figure I'll get her happy going forward at all gaits on the lunge, and happy going forward at the walk and then stick a few small trots in there when I think she will be willing and not slam on the brakes. (Her favorite trick.)
Okay, that's Mag and Dew news. I am fresh from being outdoors and exploring, even just the neighborhood trails. I feel good that I'm building up for the only other thing she'll have to do, which is take us down to the water and enjoy the wilderness of Hansen Dam. She's been there once!
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