Tag: #horsefriends

Weekend Coffee Share; Early December Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, weekend coffee share19 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our world!

Welcome, can I get you a hot cup of Joe? or hot tea? I have hot cocoa too, and some mini marshmallows for the top. It’s been so chilly but I know not as cold as some places. My sister just texted me today and she is in Colorado and she said it is really cold there at 18F, brrr….. And I was complaining yesterday at 55F. I had three layers on and my hands were freezing. I did not ride yesterday but had fun visiting my bestfriend with Gracie who is now two stables down from where I board my horses. I don’t see her every day any more so it was fun to catch up with her and I spent the morning there and then tended to my horses. Gracie has settled into her new home and now has some new neighbors, horse neighbors that is and so it goes as we move into a new chapter with our horses. As Gracie is now officially retired, I am not at that point yet with my horses so I am able to ride out on the trails with other stable friends or as we fondly call each other pony sister’s! 😀

This morning when I woke up the sun was shining brightly and the gloomy clouds were all blown away. I was excited and finally went out on my walk. It is amazing how good that feels to get out and walk. It got my blood flowing and I was feeling warmed up and ready to start my day. Today I was able to get out there on the trails and I rode with another good friend, Jane. We had a wonderful ride together.

Since my ponies are serviceably sound (that means they have some issues where they may limp or have some pain which we control with pain meds, but they are still rideable and exercise is really good for many arthritic older horses.) I usually do not go out on the trail for more than an hour. We have a short trail loop that is just about 25 minutes depending on their walking speed. Today we went longer which was a perfect 45 minutes and Jane took some photos of our ride. I’m so happy she thought of taking some photos which isn’t always easy on the trail! Haha, she had to do selfie mode and try and find me behind her!

This is Janes horse, Irish. He is such a good boy! He is a Morgan and a wonderful trail pony!
Here we are on the trail! I am riding Chloe and Zack is along side as I pony him down the trail. ❤

The trails we ride on are well groomed and run through a newer housing track. All the houses here are horse property houses. Usually the trail is only on one side of the street as you can see in the photo. We are in a hilly area so if you wanted to get your horse in shape there are many hills to go up and down and the views are gorgeous. However, my horses are past their prime and like I already mentioned with their leg issues steep hill riding is not possible or not really fair to them.

We can do small inclines with no problem as it’s impossible to avoid some up and down in the course of our rides. There are some pretty flat blocks, and so I break it up and will do some very small hills one day and do flat riding blocks another. The really steep hills are left for the younger, sounder horses. I asked Jane for a recent favorite photo that she took so that I could share on my blog and she sent me this next one. Great choice Jane! It is BEAUTIFUL! 😀

Thank you Jane, my pony sister for sharing your gorgeous photo!

I thought this was at a golf course at first, but as Jane and I chatted she explained where she took this photo which was at the top of one of those steep hills in this pretty area. This is just a front yard and I love the vibrant colors with the beautiful sky, such a wonderful day out horse back riding! She rides more often than not by herself. I am so thankful when I can join her ride. We are so truly blessed to have all these wonderful trails right outside the front gate!

Can I get you a refill? I have a few giant ginger cookies to finish up and you can have one too! I want to thank you for visiting today as we wrap up this weekend. I am getting ready to go shopping as I want to finish up the Christmas gifts list. I am waiting for a package to arrive I ordered online and after my shopping today I will put a box together for my family in Arizona. We will video chat on Christmas day and watch each other open our secret Santa gifts we do each year, and the gifts sent for grand children!

They sure made my weekend special! Thank you Chloe and Zack for your gentle kindness!

I better get this published! I can’t believe this weekend is just about over. I hope you all have a great week ahead. Maybe next week I can actually complete my weekend coffee share as the weekend starts, instead of when it is ending. 😀

Happy riding these pretty horses!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Dec. 10, 2020

On By dprastkaIn weekly smile10 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekly smile! This little tree topper makes me SMILE!

I really want to participate in this weeks smiles and I have exactly 15 minutes to write this post! Haha, you would think that its easy peasy but I like to put some thought in the lay out and what photos I want to share. And then I re-read my posts over and over again for many reasons. Continuity, spelling errors and I may not be grammatically correct most of the time but I want it to sound like me! (I’m a little OCD, Lol) And sometimes I get stuck and my sentences or thoughts flowing out may not make a lot of sense so I have to rewrite the sentence so things flow like I want.

As I quickly put this together I am hoping it flows nicely and well, if there are errors then that’s what it is as I want to be spontaneous and share my happy week. Today was a beautiful day and I was able to go out on a trail ride. I share so many photos of my ponies which I will today as well. But they sure make me smile over and over again! I wish Zack was a bit more calmer in his box stall as he still gets a bit upset when he can’t see Chloe across the aisle. She will go outside her box stall in her run and stand behind the part of the box stall next to the opening to her barn stall. I took a photo of her stall so you can see the opening and she stands behind this.

  • You can see the opening to the back paddock in Chloe’s stall. She stands behind either side of the opening and Zack can’t see her!
  • Miss Chloe looking out and across the barn aisle is Zack . He can see directly in her stall until she disappears!
Zack getting a treat and he is mostly happy!

There is never an ideal situation for these ponies unless you have a lot of money and can afford your own horse property. One day there will be open paddocks where I use to keep them here as people do eventually move to either other areas or other stables. There is one woman here moving to Texas but she has a box stall with a run, which is more expensive than where Zack is currently living and if I move him he won’t be able to always be able to see into Chloe’s stall. So I think I will have to wait for open (outside) pens or paddocks.

These ponies always bring great joy to my life and now that my schedule has settled down I am able to get into a routine with them which helps them be calmer and more at home. Well, my 15 minutes are up and I have to get going to work. I hope you are all having a great week and thank you for visiting my smile today! Here is a goofy photo of Chloe and she is sending you a kiss!

Happy, trail riding Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Crazy Week, Busy, Busy!

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share18 Comments
Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives from old friends and new! What’s been happening in your world this weekend?

I can’t wait to share a cup of coffee or tea as we catch up! I think either one will go great with the left over cake we have and it tastes wonderful! Yes, another birthday in the house. It was my youngest sons birthday on Nov. 2nd. I can’t believe how busy it’s been here with one birthday leading into the next and while all this is going on, I am trying to train my employees as I get ready to move on from one job to another. I know when I stated above crazy week, it was one of the craziest for me since add to all the pressure of quitting one job, to start a new one, add elections and all the other things life throws at you that can make you feel crazy! I am glad this week is over. Can I get you another piece of cake and refill that coffee?

I have to say that because of this crazy, busy, busy week I have fallen way behind reading all the blogs I follow. I know, no apologies needed as they are all just waiting for me to read and catch up on. Now that I think about it, it just may take me a few days to go back and get to everyone. I keep forgetting I do not need to head to bed early because I worked my last night shift last night!! WOW! Pinch me! I can’t believe it!! Maybe I will get to all the blog posts sooner than later! But I digress from birthday celebrations as I’d like to share a few more photos. 😀

Fun making and decorating this yummy cake! And birthday wishes! HAHA!

I can go through this last year with a laundry list of craziness. For the world, a pandemic that is still here and praying for all. Then I go and decide to move my horses from one barn to another only to be unhappy enough to move back. Wait what? The horses are settling in back at the old/new barn, just had to say that to keep things as confusing as possible! I’m being silly, but its true I am all over the map. The horses recognize they are back to their original barn where they have been living for at least the last five years. I am so proud of them as they settle into their new barn stalls (because I’ve lost their old stalls, they were rented out) and since it is almost winter here I am really appreciating the warmth these stalls will provide. It’s all good, but crazy days all around for my horses and my girlfriends horse Gracie!

I am not often in the photos. A good friend took these photos! We call each other Pony sister’s. Thank you pony sister for the nice photos!

I decided to buy Zack and Chloe new halters and lead ropes. It has been years since I have bought new ones and I thought how fun to get these new barn stalls with new halters and leads! I went with red for Chloe and a dark blue for Zack. You can see these halters on them in the photos above. I am feeding them horse treats!

Gracie is at a new barn too. She is a couple of houses down on the same street. She has a full roof in what we call a mare motel. She is loving her new home! My girlfriend is very happy!!
The silver roofs across the way in the photo on the left is where I keep my horses. I am at Gracie’s home looking at where my horses live. So it’s just 2 pastures away but we have to walk out front to get to each others stables. I am so happy we are still close to each other!

Zack’s photo is rather funky as the angle makes his head look big, but I still wanted to share! Haha, but this is the barn stall where he lives. I am very thankful the barn employees take Zack and Chloe out and put them together in a small pasture while they clean the stalls. It is a free turn out, I am so appreciative! Since I can breath a sigh of relief with the move of my horses, I am breathing another breath of stress. As I am sitting here writing this, my shoulders are killing me! Oh the stress! I need to let it ALL GO!!

The stress was from this job I just left. It is not an easy thing to leave a job that you have worked at for 20 years!! Oh my, it was so incredibly hard to say goodbye and since the managers said I am welcome back any time to visit (and they said they would welcome me back to work there if I so choose to go back) it made the departure a little bit easier knowing I could visit. I hate goodbyes, I am more a “see you later” type of gal and I plan on eventually making some visits.

How is your coffee or tea? do you need a refill? I know I do as I’m a bit sleepy after my night shift.

My precious granddaughter! She was Tinkerbell for Halloween. You can see how she is growing up! SHE MELTS MY HEART! Love you sweet girl! ❤

In my quest of this most crazy year, moving horses and lastly finding a new job, it is my hope that I can visit more often these sweet grand children! Isn’t she just so beautiful? but then I am prejudice. My weekends going forward will be free, something that I have not experienced in 20 years. I can’t wait to visit both my grand daughter and my grand son often. I’ll close with his cute photo!

He is so ADORABLE! Just want to kiss those sweet cheeks!!

Thanks for visiting and listening to my rambling craziness. Now that I’ve completed this last week, I know things will settle down. I just walked away from a very stressful job, that I loved and worked so hard at and I am leaving with the door open to return some day if I so choose. I am hoping the new job is all that I envision so there won’t be any changing jobs again. I also think they are in shock, as they did not see this coming and quite frankly I think I am in shock too. I can’t believe I will be working day shift starting tomorrow!

Crazy, super busy Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Oct. 28, 2020

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, weekly smile12 Comments
Welcome to my weekly smile! I have a lot to smile about this week! Let’s start with a trail ride!

What makes you smile? I am smiling because today my best friend in the whole wide world rode my horse Chloe while I rode Zack back to the stables I had been boarding at for years! I am so excited to be back as I was missing all my riding buddies. The only stalls they had open are two barn stalls. One barn stall has a run or paddock out the back which costs more money each month but gives Chloe more room. She is a big girl and needs this extra space. The other barn stall is just a box with no run. Zack will get turned out every day so he should be fine in this stall. The price is less since it doesn’t have the run and is right across the aisle from Chloe. He can see her, but not touch her but it’s all good. They will get turned out together daily with trail rides sprinkled in during the week. It’s the only stalls available and I am on a waiting list for outside pens should a couple become available. 😀

We are making our way down the trail to my original boarding facility. They were perfect!

I sure miss the trails. I stopped going out because it isn’t as fun by myself and so my friend and I mostly ride in the arena. Her horse has been retired from trails since she has been tripping, and the trips are bad to her knees. So, it just isn’t safe for her and I was happy to oblige as I don’t mind the arena riding, I just rather enjoy the trails a bit more. I am smiling as I think my ponies made the move well, and have settled in the new stalls. I have been feeding them a calming supplement which has natural calming ingredients for the last week and will continue feeding for the next few weeks. This will help them completely settle into their new home. Even though this stable is their original home for many years, they are in completely different stalls. There will definitely be an adjustment period!

This photo is from a year ago and am sharing because of the barn in the back.

I will take more photos but the first window closest to Zack on the barn in the background is Zack’s stall. Chloe’s is across from him which you can’t see in the photo. Zack was a bit nervous as there are only two ways to see out, the back window and over the door. I am praying he will settle in and enjoy the stall until a bigger outside paddock opens up. They will stay warm and dry in these nice stalls. I am incredibly happy the move went smoothly and that all is well at the barn! 😀

Looking around and Chloe was busy eating but looked up for a quick photo!

You know I take tons of photos so I will share more this weekend. My best friend didn’t want to take the other box stall and decided to move her horse about five houses down from where I am at to a nice stables that the stalls have full roofs. They are pipe corrals with full roofs which is different than a barn. Anyways, I will probably take some photos of where Gracie is living just because that will be fun to share too! Our very tiny herd has been broken up, but it is all good. This has been such a strange year for so many reasons. And as we go through these changes I do believe they are all for the better. I have to smile at this thought as you can’t live with regret. I don’t want to be regretful and think maybe the decisions I had made had its reasons. I feel I’ve healed some emotional wounds when I left this original barn and those emotions and what it all meant at that time seems insignificant when I think of everything I have gone through getting back to where I started! Haha, talk about circle of life! I just did a circle of stable boarding. I’m excited for the future with the new job and barn! 😀

Happy smiling cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Sept. 12, 2020

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, weekend coffee share31 Comments
Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives with old friends and new. Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I am enjoying a cold brew.

I drove in from the stables and walked into the front yard and the honeysuckle smells wonderful. I am getting so many blooms right now and even though the air quality is bad with all the smoke from the fires I can still smell the flowers! We are totally safe where we live and my heart and prayers go out to all affected. The visibility in our area is very poor. You can’t see the local mountains and when you look on the weather app on the phone instead of saying “sunshine” it says “smoke”. This morning it was not too bad outside so I will be heading to the stables. Can I get you something to go with your coffee or tea?

I rode Zack first in arena and set my timer for 20 minutes. Then I switched and got on Chloe and set the timer for another 20 minutes. Having fun with them together!

After I rode Zack mostly at a walk in the arena, I took my bareback pad and bit-less bridle and put it on Chloe for another ride. The walking and a little bit of trotting is really good for their joints and gets them limbered up. I say this because as I was riding Chloe after a few minutes she kept wanting to head to Zack. Silly pony, they love each other and she really wasn’t bad, just mostly wanted to herd him around. I decided instead of finishing up her 20 minute walk I would turn them lose together and see if they want to run around. The limbering up usually helps them really feel good. I will share a video of my ride and another video of them lose together! Such pretty ponies! 😀

Chloe and I riding around our nice big arena!
Running horses! They feel so good and I love it when Chloe runs and calls out!

Whenever they are turned out in the big arena I always try and give them the opportunity to run. If I left them alone, they may move and trot or canter around a little bit. I usually have to encourage them to move, horses unless spooked or frightened are usually pretty lazy by nature. They are older horses, so their energy levels have declined. But every month or so they get such bursts of energy and I am so thankful they have an area where they can run and stretch their legs. Today I am so happy I was able to video Chloe. So fun to watch! ❤

They are all tucked in to their stalls with a nice lunch after a nice bath!

So much fun bathing, grooming and taking care of these horses. I may have to video them getting their treats, especially Chloe who gives me kisses. They have such personalities, and of course bring me so much joy! It would be fun to share that with you all with videos.

He says, treat please? YES, I have a treat for you Zack. I have bathed Chloe and put her in her stall and forgot to take a photo. So it’s Zack at the end so nice and clean. They roll and get so dirty, as they itch and scratch from sweating from the heat of the day. When the bath is complete and they are all groomed, they don’t roll as they feel so satisfied and content. I’m a happy horse mom. Thank you so much for joining me for this coffee share! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Obsessed with my Ponies,

~Diana ❤

Horsing Around Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories12 Comments
Miss Chloe says Hi! How are you today?

Welcome to my virtual barn where I will share photos of my barn friends Chloe, Zack and my girlfriends horse Gracie. These three ponies are the apple of our eyes. Yes, we dote on them and I have to admit I am rather obsessed with their care. I don’t often miss a day, even if it is just to check on them and make sure they have enough food and water. Even though we pay for their care at the barn we board at, we as horse owners like to check them daily if possible. I use to not go every single day, and when I was baby sitting my granddaughter I would take days off until she got big enough to go with me. I miss those days, since she now lives in Arizona. We fondly call our horses, our ponies. They are not ponies, its just a term of endearment. ❤

The last few weeks had some very hot days, although the horses didn’t seem to mind too much. We just turn them out on really hot days because it is still good to get them to stretch their legs and walking helps move their gut and keep the blood flowing. Just like for us, walking and exercise is essential for well being but when it’s over 100 degrees (38C) we do not need to over do it so we can avoid heat exhaustion. In the last couple of weeks I was able to take some videos I would like to share, along with more photos of the ponies turned out. I’m just a horse crazy gal! 😀

Zack, Chloe and I in the round pen. This is a small arena usually 24×24 round – this one I think is bigger, I’ll have to measure some day. It’s a great place to exercise them!

You might be wondering, two horses in a small arena? I wouldn’t try and do this with just any horses. It is a small enclosure to where if the two horses did not get along, there could be kicking or fighting or? but my two horses are a herd. Actually, all three horses are a herd with us humans being in the mix as well. They have been acclimated and turned out together for many years.

The funniest thing Chloe does is she will chase the other two when out in the bigger arena when these big horse fly’s are around (they are akin to deer fly’s in the East only bigger. I looked them up and horse fly’s are bigger than the common house fly, deer fly’s are in between these two for size. Both land on animals to suck their blood and only the female horse fly bite for blood to feed eggs. They are huge ranging in size from 3/4 – 1 1/4 inches long. They are not numerous thankfully!)

Anyways, Chloe will canter around (run around) the arena to escape these dreaded fly’s and when she does this she inevitably runs near Zack and Gracie which in turn run too. Some days they exercise themselves just getting away from the horse fly’s! (They are easy to kill, they are so huge you can hit them easy with your hand and they fall to the ground and then I step on them. Sorry, not sorry horse fly!)

A nice ride in the arena. It is a bit hot so we are just walking to get in our steps!

It was pretty easy to video in the arena. It is nice and safe except watch out for the tree!! Haha, I am happy they walk close to the rail (which is the fence line) and of course the tree isn’t as low as Chloe’s head as she heads near it and the branches are right at my height sitting on her back. You can see Gracie getting exercised by her Mom and Zack is next to me as I pony him to get him exercised as well. I call it killing two birds with one stone, since it’s so hot I did not want to take the time to ride them each individually. If I do ride Zack, I usually ride him in the arena unless someone wants to ride with me that needs a horse on the trail.

My girlfriend on Gracie as we head out on the trail!

I am so happy I have been riding on the trails for many years. Zack is 25 years old and Chloe is 16 years old this year. I have owned her since she was 2 so we have been together many, many years. I have had Zack for about 6 years now. He is part of the team, as they all fall in line with very FUN rides! Consistency and time in the saddle is key to calm trail rides!

They got a few baths in the last few weeks and I washed their tails and thought they looks so pretty! Zacks could use a little whitening on the bottom, but for a trail horse (not a show horse) they look pretty darn good!

I just LOVE to groom them. When I graduated from high school and before I decided to go to college I worked full-time for a horse trainer. He trained Hunter/Jumpers and I showed my horse with him all up and down Southern California. I worked for him for about 4 years, and what I learned was grooming is key to keep all the show horses coats glistening. I bring these years of grooming with me every day I’m at the barn.

I started with Chloe, I’m ending with Zack! Haha, He’s sending you a big kiss!

Love you Chloe and Zack!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Aug. 22, 2020

On By dprastkaIn blogging, weekend coffee share29 Comments
Welcome to my coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives. Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? Too hot in my neck of the woods for a hot beverage. How about a cold brew?

Welcome and come in out of the heat. We can social distance in our family room as it is miserably hot outside. We have been having such hot weather, but what makes it rather unbearable is the humidity. We are spoiled southern Californian’s and do not do humidity, we just don’t! Haha, we melt and complain and wish this would all go away ASAP! Hopefully it will and then I can stop complaining. 😀

I feel badly for my little tiny garden. I try and keep it watered in this heat. I don’t mind if the bell peppers are done, I went ahead and picked what I could and will let them ripen more on the counter. I actually have a lot and am not sure what I am going to do with them all. Funny, I picked this veggie to grow as it’s not my favorite, I can eat them but I like tomatoes better. I can just cut up a tomato and eat it with a little salt sprinkled on it, but a bell pepper? I know I can chop it up and use in my salads, I’ll have to look up some recipes! 😀

There is one very green tomato. Not sure if it will ripen up as my tomato plant I thought was done but there are a lot of new sprouts on it so maybe I will get more tomatoes. We will see!
My honeysuckle is blooming! I LOVE the smell of these tiny flowers!!

I love my honeysuckle. My hubby accidentally butchered one side of my honeysuckle plant. It is like a big bush and where he chopped it all off it has taken a long time to come back. It is finally coming around and starting to bloom. I asked him to not cut it any more and I will have to carefully prune it. It usually blooms in the summer, such a welcome beautiful blooming plant! The smell is so sweet, love me some honeysuckle!! ❤

Getting a break in the heat! Just arena turn outs this week.

It’s been so stinking hot that I was only able to trail ride once this last week. I only had one day I could get to the barn early at 8:30 am so we could try and beat the heat. My girlfriend and I rode and got these ponies some exercise and I will say by the time we got on it felt too hot, but it was under 90 degrees, just the humidity made it feel hotter. I suspect we won’t ride again until end of next week. The heat should subside soon, hopefully! (Trying not to complain too much!) 😀

This was after our ride earlier this last week! Then they got a nice bath!

Thanks for having coffee with me today. It has been a busy week with work and all the animals. I feel a bit drained because of this heat (I just can’t help myself, it does zap your energy – darn heat!) I also am covering for a vacation at work. My days off were last Monday and Tuesday, then I work Wednesday through this coming Monday. I am working this weekend, which means I need to wrap up this coffee share so I can get to bed! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will stop by and have coffee with you if you are sharing and if not have a great week ahead!

Trying to stay cool!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; July 4th Weekend!

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share16 Comments
  • Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us!
May peace, love, and happiness always be with you! 
Wishing you a very happy Fourth of July ❤

Welcome, I got back from my first walk in about a month. I was giving my knee time to heal and it is progressing nicely. It got a little sore as I was on the last leg of my walk which was just under a mile which I didn’t mind because I knew it was a good sore. Meaning I need to strengthen my knee and I know I didn’t over do it, just got it working so that I can get back to my normal walks. I took a few photos when I was out this morning. It was a nice 65 degrees (18C) this morning which is so nice to walk when it is cool. The high today is expected to be in the 90’s – 96 (35C) to be exact and believe it or not as long as it stays under 100 degrees it is tolerable to be out and with my horses.

  • Celebrating at home! BBQ, YUM!
  • Sunrise through the palm trees!

I forgot to offer you a some ice coffee or tea? I am thinking it is summer and already pretty warm and so the iced drinks are just so refreshing. It’s definitely summer and we try and ride early to beat the heat and am hoping we don’t see too many days over 100 degrees. We don’t ride when its that hot, and we try and keep the ponies cool by hosing them off on really hot days. My girlfriend and I have been enjoying this weekend and trail riding on our ponies. I was able to take a short video I will share. I have so many ropes to take care of when I am riding and taking Zack along ponying him that I have to be careful. Chloe is a steady trail horse and the trails we ride on they know very well. I am very grateful having such great trail horses!

  • My girlfriend and I, not sure what she is pointing at? Lol
  • We are almost back just past that big tree!
Our 4th of July trail ride! LOVE our ponies! ❤

I hope the video plays correctly. I know the last one worked fine. It is so FUN to share, we have such a great time and our ponies bring us much joy and happiness. I say this all the time and can’t say this enough. We have such a connection with these giant beasts, they rely on us to keep them in a safe place and we in turn try and be gentle, kind and give them guidance in a way that is respectful for both horse and human. They really understand so much and they always amaze me how smart they are and how we can actually communicate with each other. So MUCH FUN!

  • Zack after our trail ride!
  • Miss Chloe after her bath!

Thank you so much for enjoying coffee with me today. This weekend we celebrate Independence day and I can’t believe how different this celebration has been this year. We heard and saw some far away fire works from our front porch. There was plenty of fire works going off around the neighborhood (which is illegal) but plenty still fire them off which I know can scare many animals. My horses do fine, I have one dog that gets nervous but they did great as we keep them near us through the worse of the fireworks going off.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend. I hope you were able to get outside even if it is a walk around your block. I think being able to get out of the house and doing some sort of exercise is so important for your mental health. I am not an expert mind you, I just know that one needs to get some fresh air and keep moving no matter what age you are, this is so important and can sure bring smiles your way, I know it does for me! 😀

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; June 26, 2020

On By dprastkaIn blogging, Horse stories, weekend coffee share24 Comments
  • Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us!

Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a strong cup of coffee? or maybe some tea? I am having ice tea as I am getting an early start to this weekend and its rather warm out so ice tea is very quenching right now. As this week ends I am realizing it has been 2 months since I moved my horses to a new stables. I live in Horse town USA (It really is what our small town is proud of with over a hundred miles of horse trails all over town). There are a ton of stables, too many to count but that being said I had decided to move across town to a bigger place with more amenities. I can’t believe 2 months have passed! WOW! Time flies!

The horses have settled in really well. I did have one little hiccup with the hay I chose for Chloe that she ended up not liking. This new stables offers 5 different types of hay. She has lost some weight which isn’t a bad thing as she’s a big girl, but I think she was getting an ulcer from this hay and so I had them switch it out with what she is use to and she is much better now. Zack I didn’t change any hay when I moved him so he is doing well and I like his weight. Chloe may gain weight, I don’t want her to get too heavy as they can get something similar to diabetes called Insulin resistance which can cause many metabolic problems. Zack has this Insulin resistance, so I have to watch his weight and what he eats. It makes me very happy to see them thrive and enjoy where they now live. 😀

  • This is the front of their stalls. They are nice and big
  • Zack and Chloe eating lunch!

I have to say that I personally have settled in as well. I had many regrets after I moved the horses leaving many friends and I found that change is hard. I think change is harder than we think and sometimes we just want “normal” back, even if that normal had some underlying emotional strain. I had some issues at the old stables, some things that happened in the past that left some wounds. Wounds do heal, but I just felt that it was a good time to try something new and change things up and boy, that’s exactly what my girlfriend and I did, changed things up! We are finding our groove and a new routine. I am enjoying our new stable digs! ❤

  • Zack enjoying lunch today!
  • Hi Chloe! She’s a happy girl!

I have one last thing I need to accomplish and as we get into July I want to go out on the trail by myself with both my horses. I have only gone out on the trail with my girlfriend and her horse Gracie at this new stables. I have confidence that my ponies will be just fine together without my girlfriend, and it’s important to me that I give this a try as there are days my girlfriend is working and I LOVE the trails so I need to get out there and my world will be complete. Just a goal I would like to complete sometime in the near future. They needed time to get use to all the new things out on these trails on the other side of town. My horses have had plenty of time to settle in, and I am settling in too!

  • Silly kitties, sleeping together!
  • Duchess, you barely fit!
  • Dinah is so beautiful!

I usually try and have a segue into the next subject, the photos will have to do as I really wanted to share the kitty photos. The boys are the ones that are probably in baby Teddy’s bassinet more than the baby, aren’t they silly and my family in Arizona provides me their photos. These kitties live there. Duchess and Dinah are with us and they are the best girls. They are sisters and the boys are brothers for those who are new to my blog posts. I’ve posted many photos of these kitties, they bring us much joy and happiness! Thank you for visiting and having coffee or tea with me today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; April 29, 2020

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekly smile12 Comments
Welcome to my weekly smile!

I have a lot to smile about as this week is half over and last week I was so busy I was not able to write my weekly smile. So this weeks smile will include what I was working on last week. It has been a whirlwind of events as my girlfriend and I have moved our horses to a new stable in our horse town in Norco, CA. While we were preparing the stalls at the new stables we needed some shade cloth that we put up in front of the stalls to help shade and keep our shavings from blowing away when it gets windy. While at Lowe’s I decided to buy some plants/veggie starts to plant in my containers. I am so happy I finally was able to get my tiny garden planted, so I have two things to SMILE about this week! YAY! 😀 😀 😀

My veggies if they survive and the bunnies don’t jump in and eat them!
Pretty flowering perennial’s in another container!
My third container I put a Calla lily and Iris. I will split them up as I have a fourth container if it gets too crowded for them.
My tea rose, so beautiful!

I Love to garden partly because I am outdoors and I am a neophyte learning as I go with gardening and just try the best I can and sometimes I have a green thumb, and sometimes not so much. I try to fit so much into my busy schedule – working full-time – owning two horses and dogs, cats a house to clean – oh my, I am getting tired thinking about it all! Then I add gardening which takes care and some love or it will not do well. It so makes me smile when I go out and see the flowers bloom and/or the tomatoes grow! I will keep you posted now and again on how my tiny garden grows!

They are enjoying a turn out at the new ranch!
My girlfriends horse Gracie and behind her Miss Chloe walking around and checking things out!
Zack enjoying his new digs!

We were able to spend as many days as we needed to fix up the new stalls at the new ranch. We moved some railroad ties to the front of the stall with some shade cloth to help keep the shavings on the ground from blowing through the pipes and out into the aisle or another stall. We will still lose some shavings probably but this will help keep a lot in our stalls. We get winds here that are very strong called the Santa Ana Winds! So it was worth all the work we put in and am grateful the stalls were empty so we could work on them. We moved a week early after putting in our 30 day notice where we were, mostly because my girlfriend and I were able to take extra days off of work. (We are essential workers in the medical field).

We moved because my girlfriend really needed more shade for her horse as she has aged, she has some sun sensitivities and with my two horses I should be able to save a few dollars. I wanted to help her out and this place is a nice place and sometimes it is just nice to change it up! I Love the stables I was at, there are always pros and cons at any facility and I will not go into all of that here. I think sometimes a change is needed, enough said on that subject! We now need to give the horses time to settle in and they are doing just that! ❤

Miss Chloe is such a good girl and I am so blessed to have her, love her so much!

Thank you for visiting my smile and I hope you are all doing well. I am so enjoying my tiny garden and my horses as they get acclimated. I like how they can look out over their stalls at this new place! The old place is nice but the pens have a link fencing that they can’t look out over the doors or fencing. It’s just a nice change and they can even scratch each others back if they wanted too. I hope you all have a great rest of your week!

Happy Gardening Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Keeping Busy!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Living life, weekend coffee share15 Comments
Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us!

This last weekend came and went like a whirlwind for me and I so wanted to participate in the Weekend Coffee Share and decided to call this the weekend wrap up. At this point it may be a little late to offer you coffee and for me it is lunch here. Can I get you some Ice Tea? or maybe some lemonade? I am a tea drinker and prefer tea over lemonade, or maybe we can mix it and make it an Arnold Palmer!! I ate breakfast so it will have to be lunch, sandwich with potato salad for me, can I make you the same? Sounds yummy. 😀

I wanted to share some photos as I always do and I also am going to just go through my weekend and the fun I had as you know I am always mixing it up with my crafting and horse back riding. The first photo is of a project I am working on for my sister. I am thinking of making a bunch of these as gifts as they stitch together easily and I am so happy I finished one! On to the second one, after I tie up and stitch in the ends! They come in a pair! SO FUN! 😀

Finger-less mittens. I know it’s Spring now, but they will come in handy this next winter!

I also finished another baby blanket for my nephew and his wife. Their baby is due in May. Here is a photo, look familiar? I made the same one for my grandson, only I chose a different blue so no two are alike, that’s how I roll! I have to personalize them. This baby blanket stitches up fast. So fast I may make more in different colors and sell them at the local craft fair!

I used a baby blue for baby Teddy (my grandson). I Love this too! Lots of boys this year adding to the family tree!

I stitch at home in the afternoons before I have to sleep. Since I work night shift I need to have some down time so I crochet while I watch some TV. Usually I am watching recorded cooking shows, I am really into them and like the competition shows the best. I feel like an old lady saying that, but oh well, I’m probably an old lady! HAHA! I watch other shows too…. some news but that gets old after awhile and there’s other recorded drama shows my hubby and I watch together. Holy smokes, how did I get on that subject! So silly. On to my weekend, and I really wanted to share a few photos from my trail ride. 😀

My best friend on Gracie, the chestnut and I am riding Miss Chloe and ponying Zack!

We were heading back to the barn when another best friend was heading out and saw us and stopped and took a couple of photos of us coming in and I am so thankful for these photos as I am terrible about asking someone to take them of me riding! AND we have our masks on too, so it will be our photos to look back on during a pandemic! CRAZY DAYS! Our friends at the stables call each other pony sister’s, so Thank You Jane, my pony sister for these wonderful photos. ❤

Zack looks like he’s thinking, are we done now? We went for a longer ride so I think he is tired!
I gave Chloe a bath after my ride this weekend! She is SO SWEET!!

After our ride I cleaned up Zack and put him away and then gave Miss Chloe a bath. I really need to give Zack a bath and am waiting until it warms up this week. By Thursday it will be in the 90’s (32 Celsius) so I will give him a bath then as he takes longer to dry. His coat isn’t as short as Chloe’s and I would like it to be nice and warm for him since he is a bit older.

As I wrap this up I have all these thoughts running through my head. I usually try hard to write my blog with a theme, whether it be my horses, or my family or sometimes just my crafting. I think I’ve mixed my crafting and horses often as I do take the most photos of these two things. I am finding that my mind is kind of all over the place, probably because our every day lives are a bit tenuous, and that is probably an understatement. I want to stay positive and keep this post about the weekend, I think you all won’t mind. 😀

Aren’t they just ADORABLE! ❤ ❤ ❤

These two brothers are just amazing to me. How can you not say – AWWW! Sending my hugs like these two kitties, from my house to yours!

Happy thoughts, Happy Loving Cowgirl,

~Diana

Weekend Coffee Share; Spring Trail Rides!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, weekend coffee share27 Comments
Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us!

I am really happy it is Spring! The weather is warming up a little bit. As a matter of fact, the weather here where I live is actually PERFECT right now and has been for the last few weeks. Other than the rainy days, the temps outside are so nice. It has been in the 60’s most days which is so comfortable. The horses don’t get too hot after a ride and the fly’s at the stables are not bad, still asleep or whatever they do when it is cool outside. The fly’s are terrible in the heat, as that is when they are most active. Sorry about going on about bugs, and the only ones we really complain about at the stables are the fly’s. Mosquitoes don’t come around until Summer, and they aren’t bad here either. We are looking at temps in the 60’s into next week where it will start to warm up into the 80’s by end of week. Great trail riding weather! Can I get you another cup of your favorite drink? I wanted to share the last two days, riding in the best weather! 😀

Let’s get ready for our trail ride Zack!
Come on Chloe! Let’s go for a ride. Today it will be just Chloe, Zack and I on the trail.
This is our tie rail where I am tacking up Chloe. My saddle is on her and Zack waiting with his trail boots on for our ride. They are well behaved and tie well.
You know I have to take a lot of photos of getting ready for our trail ride! I think Zack’s tail looks so beautiful. I make sure to keep it clean and it’s not hard. I just brush it every day! 😀

I ride Chloe and pony Zack which means that he walks with a lead line next to Chloe and I control him by keeping her by her side with his lead rope. He LOVES Chloe, and willingly walks along side her and my horses now have months of training on the trials riding side by side. I am so very proud of them and proud of myself going out and getting trail miles. It’s so fun riding with these two ponies. It is such joy to be outside listening to the birds sing and seeing the spring flowers bloom.

I had to take this photo quickly as I have a lot of ropes in my hands. Not the best photo but still wanted to share!
I am using cross-ties which is where we have hoses so we can wash them off if needed. I just washed their legs today. They are all done today, my pretty ponies! ❤

I am enjoying my weekend as I got to ride the next day with my girlfriend and her horse Gracie. I told my girlfriend I wanted to ride to River Rd. where I can get a great view of our local mountains. The last of the snow for this season is about to melt away from the last storm that blew through. I will share a photo I took of Mt. Baldy. I’ve shared this mountain before and its snow peaks, just trying to get all I can get outside this weekend. How is your weekend going? I know we all are staying home, I am lucky to be just over a mile from my stables. And our stables is open, lot’s of space and am thankful for my trail rides. It is the best therapy in the world, at least in my world.

The last of the snow on our local mountains. This is Mt. Baldy! All the trees in the foreground is the Santa Ana Riverbed. There are a lot of trails in the riverbed.
My girlfriend on Gracie and I on the trail! We are on River Rd after I took my mountain photo!

Thank you for visiting and am always so happy to hear from you. Drop me a comment or two if you feel so inclined. I always love hearing how you all are doing. My life has not really changed too much, mostly eating out is gone for now, but everything else is good. I am so thankful I can get outside not only for walks but also for my trail rides. ❤ ❤ ❤

Stay safe, stay strong! AND don’t touch your face, and always wash your hands!

Love, Diana 😀