Tag: #trailphotos

Weekend Coffee Share; End Of April

On By DianaIn Barn stories, weekend coffee share24 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives with old friends and new!

Welcome, welcome, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I have had a fairly uneventful week this last week mostly working and doing all the things I do at the stables each morning. I have been enjoying our cool weather this April and it really has been unusually cool. There was a memory that popped up and the photo’s that came up were from last year when I planted my container’s with some plants and tomatoes and it was 100F (38C) ~ Wow, this same time last year was really HOT! We have been in the 60’s (15C) almost this whole last week and have only seen a few days in the 80’s (27C) the whole month of April. I am super duper happy with the coolness and the only thing that would be really nice is if we had some rain!

I thought I would look ahead at the weather and it will be really nice until the end of the week. April 29th and 30th will be a high of 95F (35C) and then it will cool a bit next weekend. I will enjoy each and every day and I should really go buy those tomato plants I wanted to grow. I have problems watering them consistently but maybe with my new hours which are more regular than my old hours at my old job I can be more consistent. It certainly can’t hurt to try!

Sorry, I seem to be only talking about the weather as it seems to be on my mind. As I think about the weather, I am thinking about how nice it is to ride and speaking of riding I wanted to share that after many months my bestie girlfriend has found and purchased a new trail horse. (Pretty good segue, don’t you think?) 😀 Haha, I hate to just change the subject but I really wanted to share this news. He is a Palomino registered quarter horse gelding and is super sweet. He has been great on our trail rides and I will be taking more photos I am sure as we trail ride together often.

He is so handsome and I am so happy for my girlfriend who searched high and low for the perfect trail pony! ❤

We have only gone out this last week and he is very relaxed and doesn’t worry about a thing. He was bred and born in North Dakota, I thought that was interesting and my girlfriend and I don’t know a lot about breeding but have had others who have said he has good bloodlines. The vet said he is super nice and I am so happy for my girlfriend so we can continue to enjoy trail riding together. She still has her horse Gracie who turns 29 years old this year. She is completely retired and is just enjoying life at the barn.

The trails looking between Chloe’s ears, and giving Chloe a treat by letting her graze, she loves this treat! ❤
Since I am so obsessed with the weather I thought I would share this photo of the stables with the cool clouds!

I am so incredibly happy my bestie girlfriend found her beautiful trail horse, Roscoe. This is not his registered name but the name he was given by his previous owners. The serendipity of his name is when my girlfriend and I were young and riding together (yes, we are grade school friends and were riding buddies then too!) she owned a horse named Roscoe! How fitting of a name for her as it brings back such wonderful memories and it feels like we are young again. As we age and grow old together it is so wonderful we can share our horses and our love for riding. We are truly blessed!

Thank you for visiting my coffee share this weekend. I have so much fun sharing and I have to thank Natalie for hosting and if you want to read her blog click here! She has a wonderful blog and it is so fun to catch up with her each weekend! Here is the link to even more weekend coffee shares which I encourage you to check out. I hope you all have a fabulous week ahead!

Weather Obsessed Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Enjoying March!

On By DianaIn Living life, Love being Grandma, weekend coffee share14 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 just finished up a nice hot cup of coffee as it’s been cool out, the best weather ever to be honest. March is really a beautiful month and I am enjoying every day. We have had some rain which we always need and the sunny days are so enjoyable at the perfect temps between 60F – 70F (15C – 21C). Yesterday it was a little blustery and the sky full of clouds. There was a 10% chance of rain and never rained in my town but it was very cool. Today it is sunny and not a cloud in the sky which I will enjoy in a little bit as I will head to the barn before the morning disappears.

I have been thinking a lot about my garden and I have about 4 containers and 2 have flowering plants in them and I have decided the other 2 I am going to continue on this theme and plant more flowers. I have not had much luck with veggies in the past and with the attention these types of plants need I decided I am just too busy to be consistent with watering and such things that I decided I will just try for some pretty flowers. I know there are a ton of choices out there for flowering foliage and I LOVE flowers so much and have taken many photos that I’ve shared, so that is where I am heading in my gardening adventures!

On to sharing what’s been happening and if you haven’t guessed what I am about to share it’s what I do every day! Haha, more horse adventures. I took another video that I want to share because I can’t help myself! I find it so FUN! I’ll start with a couple of photos first. 😀

I am going around on the same block but went out the other direction. It is interesting to see the block from the other eye and that is how horses see things as each eye for them works a bit more independently than our eyes.

As we headed out on the trail instead of turning right we turned left and so this is the same block I shared in my last video share only I am heading the other way. I have had my horse walk quietly by things one direction and when we head by it with the other eye she can sometimes spook or be like “what is that” as she sees it with her other eye. Yes, they have monocular and binocular vision and have a far greater peripheral vision than humans because they have their eyes set on each side of their head. They have a small blind spot directly in front of them and behind them. Because they are prey animals they need to see far and wide to stay safe and flee if needed from predators. They can see things we may not and you can wonder all day long at what has ruffled their feathers if they get upset. You can’t know what they sense as we are not as attuned to our surroundings as horses! Our training involves them feeling safe in our presence and this is a subject that people make a living on or write novels about, understanding horses and being able to work with them so that we have a safe ride. Haha, I don’t want to write a novel on training today! 😀

Heading down Hillside on a beautiful trail ride on this cool day!

I Like how you can hear the birds in the video and even though I call the day blustery there was a little bit of wind that actually picked up as I arrived back at the barn. The wind was cool, which added to the wintery feeling. Now it is officially Spring! We will be slowly warming up but I don’t mind if that takes some time. I absolutely LOVE SPRING! I am already seeing some beautiful blooms and so am excited as I already mentioned to plant more flowers.

As I rounded the corner I came upon the field that I usually pass first. Remember I rode around the block the other direction so now this big field is the last part of my ride. I did not let Chloe take a bite of grass, it is only a treat every once in awhile! I wish sometimes I had a super nice camera for days like this where the clouds in the sky and the sun rays hitting the hills with the lush wild flower field all fell into place and was just gorgeous. My phone camera doesn’t do it justice, but I snapped the photos anyways! Here are my photos ~

The clouds shimmer with the sun and you can see the wild flowers all blooming with a yellow and purple hue!

I am enjoying Miss Chloe immensely as I am sure you can tell. I am so happy and in a good place in my life right now. I feel very fortunate and never want to take anything for granted, I truly feel blessed. I am going to end this coffee share with you today with my grandkids. My son provides such wonderful photos, I just have to share. My son said the weather in AZ is good too, not too hot yet so they are out going for walks and enjoying it before the heat sets in there. They sure bring me warm fuzzy feelings and huge giant smiles as they enjoy being outside! I think my granddaughter’s photo says it all! They both are so ADORABLE! ❤

Loving my Grandkids! Love you sweet Teddy and Alice!! ❤

Thank you for visiting and enjoying coffee with me this weekend. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and enjoy the week ahead. Thank you Natalie for hosting the coffee shares and if you would like to connect up with others the link is here!

Trail Riding Cowgirl, and Grandma!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Trail Ride Fun!

On By DianaIn Barn stories, weekend coffee share21 Comments
These decided to bloom about a week ago and oh the fragrance from these flowers are amazing!

Welcome to my coffee share! Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies and they are scrumptious. Lately, I make a half a batch as we just do not eat enough of them fast enough before they start to taste stale, and who likes a stale cookie? This way we eat them up within 3 days or so and they easily last and stay yummy. I had a frustrating work week this last week. There wasn’t anything difficult about work, just a bit frustrating and am happy to have this weekend off. I woke up this morning and enjoyed a wonderful chat with my daughter. She always makes me feel better and I so enjoy our chats! Thank you sweetie, she sometimes reads my blogs. She wants to write in her blog, but hasn’t really done much with it but I believe someday she may write. All in good time and only if she really wants to. I enjoy blogging so much, and to each is own and what ever makes you smile or feel good is what its all about!

I have to remind myself how nice it is to have weekends off. This is something I have always longed for and its so wonderful to look forward to the 2 days off in a row after working over 20 years with a broken weekend. (Meaning my days off were split up and I did this forever!). I really need this weekend and am feeling so much better today than I was yesterday after a long work week. YAY, FOR WEEKENDS!

My kitties, Dinah sitting on my lap and Duchess taking over my seat when I got up to head to work this last week! Silly kitties!

Before I head outside I am so happy the kitties help soothe my soul. Only Dinah will sleep on my lap or near me on the bed. She greets me every morning and enjoys lots of pets. Duchess comes around more on her time and is more aloof. She doesn’t sit in my lap but I have had her sleep next to me on soft blankets. It is so nice to come in after a busy day and relax with the kitties. Duchess isn’t so friendly with the dogs. They are big dogs so I get it, so she will go in her bedroom if they are in the family room. I don’t post many photos of my dogs, they are hard to take photos of as they are always moving around. And because of their size far less cuddly! I love them dearly. I say we need to go outside and I decided to share not one video but two today. I have fun with them and so I thought I would share. I hope you enjoy them too! 😀

Fun sharing my ride today after many days of rain! Wildflowers are beginning to bloom!

As I was riding today and enjoying my time at the stables all my problems washed away. It is great to have a place where you can lose yourself in thought and let those peaceful feelings fill your soul. I know many people run or walk or work in their garden. What do you do to relieve stress? I suppose sitting down to a good book would work too. Or maybe getting lost in a good movie! For me since I have this beautiful animal that needs my attention and care, I so look forward to being outside and at the barn with all those wonderful smells. After I took this video I thought I should take one walking into the stables so I can show you where Chloe lives and where I spend my mornings and my weekends! I hope you enjoy! ❤

Walking into the stables after walking around the block. It was a beautiful day today!

As I walked in I caught a horse rolling in the grass! It caught Chloe by surprise as she jumped because she didn’t see him rolling around at first. But she just did a little spook and then continued to walk calmly. She is a sensible horse which I am so thankful for because sometimes they can spook and just not calm down if really scared. Here in Norco and at many stables we use what we call DG dirt which stands for Decomposed granite, often shortened to DG, is literally that – granitic rock broken down into fine particles that hold together better than simple dirt and come in a variety of colors. It is amazing as it will pack down and it doesn’t turn into mud. Horses are so big and heavy that you would not believe the holes they make just by moving back and forth in one place, like where they eat each day. So as the ground gets pushed around and holes or low spots are made which can make the stalls uneven, we put in wheel barrows of DG dirt in those areas to beef it up and level it out. You can make banks if needed to help when it rains so the water will run out of the stall. I can’t say enough about it, it really makes a place that could be very muddy when it rains not muddy at all! AMAZING DG!

I hope you enjoyed my short videos today and you got to see the barn. I enjoyed sharing coffee with you as we wrap up our visit. As I sit and write this it is just after 10pm but where I live the time is changing tonight and I will lose an hour of sleep! YIKES! But I am not even tired yet so I will stay up for another hour and then hit the hay. Tomorrow my time will now be in sync with my son and family in Arizona since they do not participate in daylight savings. I just had to look it up and only Hawaii and Arizona do not participate in the time change.


My sweet girl! Her and I have been together for 15 years! ❤ ❤ ❤

Thanks for visiting and I have to thank Natalie who hosts our coffee shares and you can find many who participate here. I know there is a lot of work put into all who blog and I will try and visit as many as I can this weekend. Enjoy and cheers!

Horse crazy trail riding Grandma,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; First Weekend in March

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share21 Comments
Blooms in the desert! I love the beautiful pastel purple color!

Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee? or maybe some tea? I am reminiscing a little as I share this pretty photo of the botanical garden. Such pretty blooms! As I write this I am staring at a small stack of gift cards that I have received and can you believe I have no idea what to buy? One of the gift cards is from my work, a Christmas gift. I think it is for $25, thoughtful and sitting here unused. I then received from my Equine Veterinarian office rebate offers from the manufacturer who makes the pain pills I purchase and give to Chloe. I have mailed away for rebates over the years, and I have never received anything ~ until now. WOW! I have now received 4 separate rebates and I may have one more coming for every bottle I purchased last year. I mailed these to the manufacturer about a month ago as this offer expired by March 31. My Vet had sent to me photocopies of my purchases through their office. These Equoxx pills are easy on the horses stomachs and help with arthritic pain which Chloe has in an old injured back leg. I now have about $100 in Visa gift cards. What to buy? I have no idea? Something I have to sit and think about I guess…..

I have some good news. My puppy dog is fine after blood work and an aspiration was done on a lump on her belly. They said it was a fatty tumor that is benign and she needs to lose a little weight. We will look for some diet food for her, but she is a breed that can be a bit heavy. I am so VERY HAPPY she is okay. I needed that good news and thought I would share. I am also really happy that my horse Chloe is doing great too. She seems very happy in the place she is living, she is not stressed and has been fine through this last month. I took her out on the trail Saturday morning and took these photos. I just can’t help myself! 😀

I love the big eucalyptus trees lining this street. This is the main street in our town!
I snapped this because I just love our shadows! I think it’s a FUN PHOTO!!

I think Chloe really enjoys our rides together. I know she especially likes going out with other friends at the stables, but she is more than willing to go out by herself with me which makes me so very happy. I have to say that there have been times throughout the years that her back leg seemed to be more sore and she limped more and so I thought maybe our days are numbered and I should retire her from any kind of work. But I keep her moving and amazingly it has really helped her and of course I think the pain pill I give her helps her too. It would be like taking one Ibprofen a day, and lately I have been splitting the pill to half a pill a day and she is doing great! I had turned her out in the arena the other day, and she hardly limped at all. I think she is really doing extremely well for a bad injury that has healed. (She had broke her “knee” called a stifle. It was a hairline fracture that has completely healed with a lot of scar tissue. She is lucky to be alive and to be doing so good, its amazing!)

My Trail ride this weekend!

It was so quiet as I rode down this street, I thought it would be fun to share a video. Sorry for the jerkiness as I zoomed in on the mountains! Haha, I really wanted to share them as these are the mountains that are so beautiful when we get a lot of snow on them. When I shared my last video, I had friends point out how Chloe listens to me as I talk and she does so even more in this video. As you watch and hear me talk you can see her ears turning towards me as I say her name and chat away. I just love it every time I watch it back, she is so aware of EVERYTHING! ❤

The other day I was out by ourselves and I went around a shorter route and down a cul-de-sac and as we were heading back to the stables we could hear a rumble. It was deep and she stopped in her tracks. I knew exactly what it was but of course she can’t see this rumbling and it was deep and loud and I’m sure the ground even trembled a bit. It was a Harley motorcycle that was in a garage behind a house. She didn’t want to go forward opting to turn around and I thought it will take us longer to backtrack then to go the direction we were heading. She was afraid, but I have taught her that it is okay to go a bit faster past something she fears so I asked her to trot (which is like a jog) and we moved past the scary rumbling and then went back to the walk. I praised her and we continued on relaxed. She would have been fine if the motorcycle was in plain sight. Because it was hidden, she didn’t know what it was! She doesn’t get rattled easily, a seasoned trail horse, I LOVE HER SO!

In her stall eating her lunch! She is very happy living here which in turn makes me happy! (Since I described her injured leg, the leg she is resting in this photo is the injured leg. The stifle is the bend near her belly high up on that bent leg where the injury is located)

I am happy to say that I am very thankful I can enjoy the trails on my girl. One day, hopefully a long time from now she won’t be able to go out on the trails and I will be there keeping her as comfortable as I can as she ages. I can’t help but share as this is what I do every day and every weekend. I’ll spice things up a bit as you all know with my other hobbies, this weekend I am enjoying the beginning of March and my outside fun on the trails! Thanks for joining me and I hope you all are having a great weekend too!

Here is a link to many more coffee shares and thank you Natalie for hosting. I so enjoy sharing!

Crazy horse gal,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Feb. 18, 2021

On By DianaIn weekly smile14 Comments
Welcome to my weekly smile! These roses were blooming a few weeks ago at the stables where I board my horse.

I decided that I needed to smile and this beautiful rose I saw and stopped and took a photo sure makes me smile. It’s that beautiful pink color! And I can imagine the beautiful smell as I just Love the smell of roses. How are you this week? I am doing good and as I sorts things out I am the type of person that looks to the future and remembers the past with super fond memories. I have been enjoying our mild winter and for those of you in places of wintery weather, my heart goes out to you all. Especially in those places that do not commonly have such frigid cold and are suffering with power outages and the like. I pray for warm weather soon!

I have been working and enjoying my time at the barn with my horse Chloe. She makes me smile as she is always very happy to see me and we enjoy the trails whether it be with a trail partner, or not. My best friend and I have been able to go out which is great therapy as we chat about life as we ride along! When my friend is not available, it is just Chloe and I. She has so many trail miles and knows the way, like she has GPS in her brain! Which she does right? She totally knows the blocks, the turns and knows exactly where she is going!

Usually us crazy horse gals match everything! But I randomly bought this red halter and lead rope a few months ago. So now we are very patriotic. Haha, with her white blaze, red halter and my blue reins and breast collar! 😀

We are all tacked up and ready to head out on the trails. She and I just ride along and I take in everything. From the song birds, to the clouds in the sky. To the cars that go by, which on this day there were a lot of folks that waved as they passed by. This is rather common in our town since it is a small community and everyone so friendly. Today I got more than normal waves! I felt so special. Haha, it truly was such a nice feeling. Here is a video of my trail ride on this day. 😀

This trail ride was so wonderful for us both. Enjoying this pretty day today!

I am actually riding out on the trails more often than not which is my goal. I own horses because I love to ride! I sometimes wish I could afford a couple more horses so that I could get back into competition riding, but at this point in my life it is just a dream. Maybe it will always remain a dream because competing is expensive, and I don’t have that horse at this time, but I love every minute I spend with my girl Chloe! I think we all should have dreams, its important to our psyche and so this is what I dream. I dream of living near my grandkids some day too. It may or may not happen, but for now it is something I have had to put on the back burner because I just got a new job. So we will revisit this in another year or two.

I really wanted to share a smile post this week, it makes me feel good to share! So my smile is for the mundane things I do each day (they aren’t all that mundane, haha, but it is the same routine day in and day out!) Makes me feel warm, sane and happy.

She’s a pretty girl and am thankful for Miss Chloe! I Love her and she melts my heart!

Have a great day, week and weekend!

Horse Crazy Grandma,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; As The Wind Blows!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share26 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives with old friends and new!

How is your weekend going so far? I can’t believe it’s Saturday and it’s late afternoon. I am actually drinking some ice tea because it is a warm January day. It was 86F today and very windy. We get winds here called Santa Ana winds. These winds originate inland and affects coastal Southern California where I live. I thought I would try and get in a ride this morning before the wind was to pick up. I didn’t succeed as the wind blew us down the trail but I am so proud of my ponies today! I thought it not a safe idea to video my ride, but before the wind really kicked in I did take a couple of photos. 😀

My favorite view, looking down the trail on Chloe! And Zack walking right along side us!

As I head down this block, the wind was reasonable and just gusty. I thought I could head down this way which made my ride twice as long before the wind would get stronger. I checked the weather app earlier in the morning or was it last night? And the wind by late-morning was to be around 12 miles per hour, or so I thought and I thought I had plenty of time. Little did I know that within the next 15 minutes or so the winds were going to pick up. You can’t really see the end to the road ahead, but it turns where you see the mountain rise in the background past Chloe’s ears in the photo to the right and as we headed down the turn to the start of the next block home the gusts turned into 18 to 20 mile per hour sustained winds, with stronger gusts! We had to cross the street and as we walked this next block home with what felt like howling winds which were very warm, my ponies just walked along like another day on the trails. I am so very thankful for their steadfastness.

They didn’t seem to blink an eye to the wind, and I am thankful these strong winds were not blowing any debris, lose tree limbs or trash which can all spook even the steadiest horse. As I made it up to the last block and street to the stables I could feel Chloe increase her pace. Yes girl, I know you want to get home and I did too! I did not plan on riding in this rip roaring wind! I think I would rather get caught out in the rain! As I arrived at the barn the other ladies that own horses there were all saying, boy are you brave! Haha, I didn’t plan on this I said. It really wasn’t that windy when I left and I was gone all of 45 minutes! CRAZY WEATHER!

Zack is begging for a treat! This is when we returned. They did not care how windy it was as I cleaned them up and spoiled them!
She stands so pretty! And I gave them extra treats as I really could not believe how good they were today! ❤ ❤ ❤

I am giggling sharing these photos as my good friend Jane was sitting nearby as we chatted and Zack just would not stop begging. Haha, he just would not stop with his goofy sideway looks! His way of begging for something please! I thought why not take more photos. Oh my, I have so many photos of these ponies, I never tire of them and love to share. I am so very thankful I can ride them on the trails as they age and they are a bonded pair. I think Chloe would be fine without Zack, but Chloe is Zack’s best girlfriend and where ever Chloe goes, Zack goes too! It just is, what it is!

Zack is home after a nice windy trail ride! Chloe’s stall is across from his in the barn.
  • Here is Chloe’s stall!

Can I get you a refill? As I sit and think about this last week I was feeling rather emotional. I know that is normal right? There are many reasons for these emotions, missing my family in Arizona ~ so much so I am going to try and visit in a few weeks if possible. I am hoping to visit there in February because my grandson will be turning one near the end of Feb. Wait what? I can’t believe it and I am so excited about baby Teddy’s birthday as this year has gone by fast and am so sad it has been near impossible to spend time with my grandchildren. No wonder I am so emotional. I am also saddened by all affected by the virus. We have employees out and some in the hospital. I am now getting tested weekly. I just checked and I am negative, so thankful as I continue to be needed at work filling in holes of absenteeism. This next week I will go in early and stay late, thankful I get paid over-time now. I think it will just be for this next week, hoping things get better soon.

As we all deal with all these changes and I have read of others affected by more lockdowns in their area, or mask wearing where they hadn’t been but now it is deemed necessary. I am thinking maybe sharing and writing about this is somehow cathartic. So, I’ll say it here to stay safe and stay strong. We will all make it through these crazy times and all we can do is take one day at a time. I am glad to see vaccines rolling out even though it will take time for this to become effective especially since there are booster shots involved. Some how I feel better expressing my feelings on this subject, so thanks for listening. On to happier news…

I do have some really happy news and that is my daughter adopted a kitty last week. If you were to read through my blogs (or have been a follower) my daughter once owned one of the brother kitties that I share that both now live with my son in Arizona. Wolfie was such a handful (that is an understatement) and one of the biggest problems is he would not stop eating the Guinea Pigs hay and so he would upset his stomach and she ended up at the vet so many times that she decided to give him up. So, off to his brothers house he went. (That’s her brother and Wolfie’s brother, Haha!) It has been one year now, and she found this beautiful black kitty that is about a year and a half old. She hasn’t decided on a name, but she is sweet and calm. Here is a photo. 😀

My daughter shared this with me as she was working on her computer but kitty had other ideas! YES! A good lap kitty! ❤ ❤ ❤

Thanks for visiting and having coffee with me today. The link up you can find here, and thank you Natalie for hosting the coffee share. ❤

Happy crazy trail riding Grandma,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Begin Anew

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share21 Comments

Welcome to my coffee share and before I get started I want to thank our new host Natalie the Explorer for hosting our coffee share gatherings on WordPress. I share my blog posts on another social media so those people would not really know what I am talking about if I don’t explain that this is linked to other coffee shares within WP. Anyways, I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee can I get you a cup too? I bought a new cup at a small farm in San Luis Obispo, we call it SLO for short. It’s a neat little farm where you can buy lettuce to feed goats, and they have chickens a couple of cows and two ponies. They have a store where they have lots of fresh produce grown on the farm and fresh eggs, and lots of jarred items, jams, chutneys etc. It is fun to visit there and this time I decided to buy this coffee mug because it was so pretty. Can I get you a biscuit or english muffin with your coffee? I have hot tea and ice tea too!

As I write this I am thinking back and I wanted to write during the week this last week but it started out really busy. My work is extremely short handed as positive Covid cases has hit the night shift and in numbers. We have at least 8 positive cases and other’s out because they were near a positive person, a protocol our work has put in place to help stop the spread. Per state protocols the remaining employees are to be tested which my work set up this last week and we all were tested. My test came back negative. As they clean and we all take precautions they do have an action plan if the spread gets worse as we are dwindling in numbers. But as the weeks pass hopefully those sick will recover and return to work. I don’t talk much about the virus, but since it is spreading and reaching closer it is affecting my schedule and so I thought I would share. Last week I worked earlier 11a – 7:30p. I will work this schedule one more week and then hopefully go back to 2p – 10:30p.

Either way the earlier schedule isn’t all that bad as I am still able to go to the barn before work. I live so close to the barn (it’s just a mile away) that I can get there and ride and return home, change clothes and am off to work. I have some photos of my ride this week. I actually was able to ride 3 times but only took photos on one of my rides. What I noticed when I rode at 9:30am is the morning shadows as I rounded the block. So these are my shadow photos! I just LOVE them! 😀

As I rounded the turn in the block, I noticed these cool shadows! And Zack looks so handsome walking along side us too!
Me and my shadow pals!
These two shots are my favorite! Best view ever sitting up on your horse looking between those ears! ❤

The mornings have been crisp and cool. Usually in the 50’s(F) and beautiful sunshine. I finally got to my day off and it was super windy! Darn it all, it was too windy to ride. But I will be able to ride tomorrow and am hooking up with my best friend who is now leasing a horse at my stables. Tomorrow will be our first ride together on her leased horse which I am really looking forward too. We haven’t been able to visit as often and so we will be able to chat and catch up with our lives during our ride. It will be great FUN!

I wanted to look at this year anew, the dictionary describes anew ~ in a new or different and typically more positive way. I think we all need to look at this year we have started anew. My ideas are thinking positively towards the world and each other. I just need more positivity which I try and have each day as each of us take care of ourselves and our loved ones. I have furry loved ones as well that need my time and attention. So I am thinking my word for this year is ANEW ~ I do not usually have a word for the year, but I think I will have one for this year!

Thank you for visiting my coffee share. I hope you all are safe and sound and I enjoyed sharing with you my happenings. I wish you could go on the trail with me, as the weather here has been just fantastic this time of year (other than the wind). I have a kitty near me and was on my lap earlier so I will close with one of my pretty kitties. I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and a good week ahead!

Shadow Loving Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Summer Trail Rides and Horse Fun!

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Horse stories9 Comments
  • Miss Chloe waiting for Zack to visit with me in the turn out arena!

I have been wanting to share some more trail riding fun and as I get ready to go out on any given day, I always give my horses some time in an arena. It might be our round pen, which is a smaller round arena (usually around 24X24 round, but I think the one at this barn is bigger) where I make them trot around and stretch their legs. I may turn them out in our big arena where I will ask them to run and/or gallop to really stretch their legs! I have shared a video of them running in the big arena here. And sometimes I let them out in this turn out where there are trail obstacles permanently in this arena and so it is not a good place to make them run because there are all those big poles on the ground and I wouldn’t want them to run too fast in this arena and trip and fall. So this arena I let them do what they want, they often are scratching each others back as I let them mosey around.

UP CLOSE! HAHA! Chloe looking for a treat as Zack is photo bombing! They are not shy, not at all and she knows if she gives me a kiss (which I taught her to do) that I just may have a horse cookie in my pocket. Kind of a dirty nose, but then its the stables and they sniff and smell stuff and well, can be plenty dirty until I groom them and clean them all up. And then we do it all again the next day! Its a labor of love, and one I will never stop loving. I enjoy grooming them as much as they enjoy getting dirty! You have to love the outdoors and not mind the dust and dirt as it is EVERYWHERE! 😀

  • Out on the trail and I am all alone with both my horses!

Mission Accomplished!! If you follow my blog you will know that what I LOVE doing with my horses is trail riding. We have miles of trails in our town and I do not trail ride alone very often. But there are times where my girlfriend is working and so if I don’t want to ride in the arena, I have to trail ride alone with both my horses. They are very good on the trails having logged in hundreds if not thousands of miles over the last 12 years. I ride Chloe and pony Zack (which means I have Zack leading next to me with a lead line while I ride Chloe in my western saddle). Here is a photo of Zack walking next to Chloe.

I am so proud of both my ponies and I am proud of myself for finally getting out there and riding. It has been my goal after moving to this new barn to ride alone with my horses on the trails. I’m a happy cowgirl! 😀

  • After my trail ride I turned out my girlfriends horse Gracie. She is 28 years old, doesn’t she look great! She is still riding her on trail and going strong!

I decided to give both horses a bath and usually I spray them off kind of like a car. Not that the spray is really hard but it helps to spray to get the sweat and dirt off their coat. But today I just let the water run over them and boy how they loved the water just running off their backs. I took videos but because my hands were wet, I tried to dry them off and then for some reason I held my phone at an angle and both videos are sideways. I’ve been debating whether I should share, because it bugs me that I can’t rotate them so it’s not right. I suppose you can just turn your head and still see them getting this wonderful cool bath on a hot summer day! Okay, I’ve talked myself into sharing one video of Chloe. I have a video of Zack which I think you have to turn your head to the left to watch. Haha, I swear I had my phone positioned correctly – apparently not! Next time I will do better and have the video straight! It’s all a learning curve right? 😀

Goodness, I am talking kind of strange too… haha, I am just a crazy horse loving girl and so forgive the sideways video. For those of you who do not own horses I thought you would enjoy it even though you have to turn your head. At least it’s not upside down, I would not share if it was! Since I took some still photos I will finish up sharing those as this post is all about my summer fun with my ponies!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

  • Nice and clean, so soft!
  • Treat please!!
  • He is the goofy one – Silly Zack! He is nice and clean!

Thanks for coming along with me on my horsey fun. We turned out the horses, rode out on the trail, turned out my girlfriends horse and then gave Chloe and Zack a nice bath! It was a beautiful day, and I have been wanting to share. I will have to make another trail ride video soon. I have shared one already which is here if you missed it. Loving my big furry friends!

~Diana ❤

P.S. If you really want to see Zack’s video I can share on another post, let me know in the comments. It’s okay if no one comments. It’s the same watery fun only you have to turn your head to view! Lol

Weekend Coffee Share; Spring Trail Rides!

On By DianaIn 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 😀

My Weekly Smile; Dec. 4, 2019

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Family is important, weekly smile10 Comments
What makes you smile? This is my weekly smile hosted by my blogging friend Trent! Thank you Trent as I just Love to share and to see everyone’s Smile!

I am so excited about my weekly smile as I have been very lucky and thankful to be smiling as I got a lot of trail riding in this last week. My sister Sharon who lives up in Idaho was here visiting over Thanksgiving weekend! Her youngest son lives here and was unable to go home for Thanksgiving so she decided to come here and we had such a wonderful visit. Sisters just love to chat and we were able to catch up on the happenings of our year, and we were able to catch up with my best friend Sally who is like a sister to us and it was a packed, fun-filled weekend! I am smiling from ear to ear!! 😀 😀 😀

My sister riding Zack. He was her horse for many years and I adopted him when she moved north. It was great FUN to all be riding together again!
My best friend Sally riding Gracie with us and this is after a couple of days of heavy rain which we need but makes owning a horse interesting as we try and keep some dry spots for them in their stalls with partial roofs!
This rain storm was a very cold storm and brought snow down to the 1,000 foot level. Our local mountains you can see in the background are covered in beautiful snow!

We chatted and chatted on our trail rides, so much fun and much like getting together with your friends over lunch. Our trail ponies are so relaxed and trail savvy that we can really enjoy each others company and not worry about our ponies. We do pay attention to our riding, I guess what I am trying to say is we’ve been riding these trails for so many years that the ponies are great and we just have a grand time together! I miss these days with my sister and am so very thankful for her visits and cherish every moment! ❤ ❤ ❤

Best view ever through the ears of my horse!
My best friend with her horse Gracie! How can you not SMILE! 😀
Thank you Sharon for making this Thanksgiving so wonderful! My sister with Gracie, Love my friends and family!

Thank you for sharing my smile with me this week. What made you smile? I am so thankful that we were able to enjoy our trail rides even with the weather. The trails dry very fast and have great footing so we do not have to worry about slippery muddy trails. We can ride the next day even with very heavy rain. My sister made it home safely yesterday and we promised we would stay in touch more often. It is funny how busy we get and how the weeks just fly by. I must say I can’t believe it’s December! I hope you have a wonderful week full of smiles!

Smiling Cowgirl,

~Diana

Weekend Coffee Share; Trail Riding Success!

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, weekend coffee share12 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! What’s been going on in your life? any weekend plans?

I am completely enjoying this month as we move into fall. You can smell it in the air as we cool down especially at night so the mornings stay fairly cool for many hours. The nights will start to dip down into the 50’s soon a very welcome reprieve from the summer months. I often mention how time flies as we get older, it just goes by faster each year so it seems. I really do try and savor each day. I have dreams for the future that sometimes feel out of reach, so instead of getting frustrated I try and concentrate on each day to each week. It does make life more fulfilling this way in my eyes! How is your coffee this morning? I had a delicious cup with my oatmeal and english muffin. Or maybe you are drinking tea? I have been having a wonderful time this last month trail riding on my horses, and it took some experimenting but I figured out a way to pony Zack next to Chloe with little to no biting. I’ll explain!

Miss Chloe and Zack, I ride Chloe and have Zack follow on the lead line. This is SO DIFFERENT for me and my youth training of riding Hunter/ Jumpers. This is a whole new discipline of riding that I am enjoying very much! ❤
I ride Miss Chloe with a short rein that is easy to hold, since I have to hold Zack’s lead rope as well. I am getting very comfortable with them both. TONS OF FUN!
I bought a trail riding muzzle, not very successful! He can still be annoying!

When I started on my trail rides ponying Zack I started with just his blue halter with a stud shank (the chain that is attached to the halter) and the lead rope. For those of you who do not know horses, the stud shank chain adds a bit of strength for us puny humans. Most horses weigh around 1,000 pounds give or take 100 pounds. (Zack weighs about 1,000 pounds, Chloe weighs just over 1,200 pounds. We use a tape that measures their height on one side of the tape and measures their weight on the other side that goes around their barrel/belly and approximates how much they weigh. We use it for treatment purposes, as I have to watch Zack’s weight because he has Insulin resistance a metabolic syndrome older horses sometimes acquire as they age. It is nice to have if you want to see how tall your horse is too!)

Zack knows his strength and my sister and I have had him just put his head down with us holding the lead rope while we lead him and he would trot off pulling us on the other end! He is too strong and he knows exactly what he is doing and so we have to let go or be dragged. I have been working on his ground manners with GREAT SUCCESS! And he hasn’t tried to “run off” like that in some years. But I do not want to lose him on the trail, should he shy or spook at something I want as much control of him as I can while riding Chloe. This chain works PERFECT! It goes over their nose and up the side and they have nerves on their nose which when pressured applied, they will comply. It doesn’t hurt him unless he tries to pull away. He actually LOVES Chloe so he stays pretty close, but that’s where the biting comes into play. He just nips and bites her butt, side or my leg as I ride! He is such a brat!!!

He can actually bite the lead rope through the muzzle I bought him which I show in the last photo above. He can grab the lead rope with the muzzle and lead rope in his mouth and then pull and pull on my arm. UGH! He then bumps Chloe trying to bite her through the muzzle which after awhile she gets VERY ANNOYED! STOP IT ZACK!!

I decided to try a bridle with a bit and I took off the reins. Low and behold he is so much happier with the bit in his mouth. He has an oral fixation and just chews and chews on the bit and rarely tries to bite as we ride along. I finally found a solution to my problem as the trail rides were getting more and more annoying with all the nipping and biting. I was about to give up, but it is absolutely the best thing I started doing because I can exercise both horses at the same time and he really needs the exercise! It is usually 30 up to 50 minutes of walking depending on the trails we choose to ride on any given day.

I am a happy cowgirl, thankful for my ponies and the fun and joy they bring to my life. I was asked on my weekly smile to share a photo of my haircut. So I will share what I took here. 😀 weekly smile

I didn’t share because I thought it was a little blurry in the background. I love my color as it always comes out great. Thank you Preference by L’Oreal! Hehe!
I can barely braid it now that its cut, but a small braid is better than none. I like a braid for the stables as I ride with a helmet. So now I have a short braid, better than no braid at all! Haha!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by my weekend coffee share! I am heading to the stables and am thinking this will be bath day for my ponies. Zack is starting to grow his winter coat and each year I always pray it won’t grow to thick. I know I am hoping for a miracle because he just grows a super thick coat like he lives in Alaska or something. I will just shave the hair off once November arrives. It is just to hard to manage in this warm winter climate here in So Cal. Chloe does not grow a long coat, Love that girl! ❤

Happy trail riding Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

The Weekly Smile

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Gardening, Horse stories, Living life12 Comments

I think it is so important to smile. I am joining in on the weekly smile with friends and this is put together by Trent who is so kind to put this all together for all of us to enjoy! Thank you Trent! I know I am enjoying reading and hearing about everyone’s smile and so I will share what I am smiling about this week. Part of my smiles is a vacation day with July 4th off tomorrow! Yippee!! We all LOVE an extra day off of work, and to celebrate our Independence even better right? I hope you all are going to have a wonderful day tomorrow, I know I will have a great day! 😀

Me Smiling today riding my girl Miss Chloe on trail!

I am so happy to be riding my girl down the trail. Today I was by myself and am lucky she is really a good girl all by herself. We do not travel far and she knows the route by heart. I don’t even need to guide her as she knows every turn. We ride around the block which takes about 30 minutes and what a big huge smile on my face as we quietly walked the trails. Thank you Miss Chloe for a perfectly, wonderful ride! Love her so much! ❤

This morning I was watering and the smell of this rose AMAZING! MADE ME SMILE!

I have had a busy week, it will only get busier later in July for me but I went outside this morning to water my very small garden and the temperature and air were just wonderful. I was just taking in the beauty of the day and as I was watering I noticed some beautiful blooms. This one rose bush did not bloom last year and almost died. But this year it is flourishing and I am thinking probably because of all the rain we have had, what ever the reason this rose has the most incredible rose smell. I don’t know much about roses, but this one the buds are so round and compact and then when they eventually unfold, it is just beautiful but so different than my other roses or what I would call “normal” blooms. I guess its just the species of this rose. I’ll have to do some research. These roses were all planted by the previous owner of the house.

This is a bloom from the same plant above. It’s so different, and I am glad it came back to life!

What are you smiling about today? or this week? I have a new employee starting at work this week and that puts a huge smile on my face. I am hoping she will like working at the lab. I am looking forward to more trail riding tomorrow and through the weekend. Both my horses need the exercise and it is so fun to ride and am hoping to be joined with my girlfriends at the barn. I will end with a photo of my horses since they are my therapy and really help keep that smile on my face. I hope you enjoy your weekend too! 😀 😀 😀

This photo is from 2015. I’m planning on sharing more photos on my next blog post from 2015, but thought I’d share this one here as I smile at them beauties!

I feel like I am smiling at a lot of different things, but that happens right? So this blog is about my day to day things I love and when I see things that catch my eye, I sure enjoy sharing!

Keep Smiling!! 😀

-Diana