Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Ever so close...

So. Close.

Yep. That is right. We are closer. So much closer to having my ponies here! We had 32 tons of sand delivered on Friday, and they promptly dumped it in an area where it was not needed...thank goodness for having a tractor in the family. Because, I may have muscles galore (ha!) but I am not capable of moving 32 tons of sand in the allotted time. Just no.
Giant goathead free butt resting area!

Meatball Mountain!



But the dogs enjoyed the crap out of the sand mountain in the backyard.

Because hot fence and dead vines isn't a fire hazard....
So far, we have placed the boards up along the bottom of the shelter, so there shall be no slicing of legs on metal. I spent all of Sunday morning clearing old grape vines off of the hot wire fence in the back. That took a lot more work than I expected, and my traps were a burnin' but it was alright. Blake was busy fixing a part of the fence where the neighbor goats had jumped over. And then went to work digging out a tree that was trying to grow half on our side of the wooden fence, and half on the neighbors.

1950 Ferguson. Only falls apart sometimes.
Again, thankful for tractors. The only way to get that stump out of the ground was with mad tractor muscle. And it succeeded.

Oh, hello there Vlad. You fiery Romanian. 
We were later joined by other friends for added muscle. The tractor savvy Ross did all of the tractor work, while computer science boy Robby helped Blake with various other projects, and electrical engineer Vlad helped me with the sand. We got the pens filled with sand, and started to work on the arena, when all of the sudden one of the boys decided it would be fun to light the pasture on fire.

I was somewhat ok with this, because it was filled with tall dead grass, and the tractor could not drag through all of it. Robby had experience with controlled burning, and I had plenty of trust in him. It was the others I was worried about. College boys + torch and propane tank= NO. But, I let them do it.
Here is one of those houses from 2008. About 9 houses away from me.

Robby had it planned out, I had a mild panic attack (note: my house was in between a massive fire back in 2008, where 19 houses were destroyed) and realized it was going just fine. I even went out and supervised and added side weeds to the flames. And then we added all of the grape vines, and the wind picked up a little bit at the same time, and smoke rose, and then we heard some sirens....

Jesus fricken damnit.
I play in the ring of fire!

We all froze. And the fire truck drove right past us. And that is when I called it quits. I forced the boys to put the fire out, and they pouted, but I didn't care. Good news is, the tractor could now get a good bite of the earth and drag it around. Which will make seeding a heck of a lot better.

No more dead grass napping for the moo.
We then regrouped, and started adding sand to the arena area. My arena will only be about 50x50', but it will be better than nothing. My eyes started to light up, and all of the boys could see how excited I was for this to be happening. I worked on the arena until nightfall. And then turned on our super cool lights that may allow me to ride at night in the summer, and kept going. My arms and back hated me, but I didn't care.

Arena!
All we have left now is to finish up the sides of the pens, get the hot wire completely connected and working, bring hay, and bring two ponies! I have my fingers crossed that it will be this weekend!

YAAAAAAY!!!!!

And the endless sand pile is still being endless.



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Nuts and Bolts

Can my ponies have wings?
Scratch that. I would never be able to catch them. I am sure.

I am going NUTS not having my horses here. I have had enough. Separation does not do the heart good. It makes it very very angry and upset. And poor Blake is hearing about it. Everyday. Every single day.
Pure insanity.
I wonder why he gave me this ring in the first place? Maybe he is crazy, and I have never seen this, because I am crazier. It has just now dawned on me. Anyways...

Oh noes dad! I'm trapped!
Tard Ass Building and Construction Inc.












Crazy boy and I went and got some panels to form their pens into actual pens...and whoever built this said shelter is stupid. There is exposed metal about 2ft high off of the ground, so horses that want to lay down hoping to get cast will instead amputate the said leg. The spacing between the wood posts and the whole shape of the pens is weird, and we can't really move them around too much because of the electrical and water system....that leaves us looking for an 8ft panel. Which don't really exist. Gates sure do. That will give Pandora two chances to get out, instead of one.

That damn horse picks gates up and somehow maneuvers them off of the post. Or works the chain and clip until she breaks it. Or finds a weakness in the panel. Seriously, if you want to test your fence line, through Pandora in it.
Someday, she will break out of here.

Sand is also needed for the pens, because I am tired of seeing them as swamp monsters when I go over for a visit. Bacon has weaved herself into a muddy hole. MUD EVERYWHERE. And every time I inquire about getting a quote for sand, I come up empty handed. The damn sand and gravel place is literally two miles from our house. Lazy turd buckets.

Save us from the mud pit! And bring us cookies!
I just want them home. So terribly bad. Even if it is just two for now. We still have to build a shelter for the other two. And it all seems like so far away. I have been trying to be healthier lately also. Because I really really don't like myself or my body. So it has been semi-healthy meals, and lots of P90X workouts. I am hoping this will increase my fitness for riding as well. It should, those damn things are brutal.
Tony Horton is nuts too.

So, this was a blog mostly about whining and pouting. But I am sure you understand. Someone had to hear it today besides Blake....

Someday, there will be ponies in this picture.




Friday, February 14, 2014

Valentine's Day

So, since I don't have much to write about (because my damn horses have not been moved over yet), I am just going to post more pictures. Of my Valentine's.

WOO HOO!

Look at him.

Seriously. Just look at him.

Isn't he just the cutest cowboy nerd you ever saw?

He makes a good ET too.

And we love Lucy.

And Pandora loves him. And not me.

But I love these two paint-a-lonays.

Even this yellow one.

And she gets kisses.

And we had to play those Hunger Game people. 

And these two girls are wonderful too.

Even Bacon gets Blake love.

Hell. All of the ponies get Blake love.

I even give Pandora love.

And then, there is my pups.

I love all of my Valentine's. All of them!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Painterly

I don't really know what to write about right now. My head is filled with Nyquil, and so, I have decided that maybe I will just post some pictures. Of my art. Because I have been sitting here and critiquing it. I'll let you give it a critique or two as well.

Say as you wish.


First off, graphite. People seem to enjoy the pencil drawings. I do too, because they are pretty quick and offer no drying time. My problem (with all of my art) is my patience. I am NOT patient at all, and so I tend to hurry through my work. You might be able to see it in these drawings.
"Diva G" 11x14 on paper.

"Lil Western Pony" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"Snuggles" 8x10 on watercolor paper

"Racing Matata" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"The Bay" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"Westernized" 8x10 on computer paper

"Santa Anita Roan" 11x14 on sketch paper


And then I tried a colored pencil. And I got too impatient.
"Tanner's Event" 11x14 on sketch paper

And then I do a lot of acrylic paintings.
"Nicola" 16x20 on canvas

"Inbetweenthesheets" 18x24 on canvas

"Painted Face" 11x14 on canvas

"The Reiner" 11x14 on Canvas Board

"I Don't Remember What I Called This" 11x14 on canvas

"Hakuna Matata" 16x20 on canvas

I don't wanna

"This Lady Pissed Me Off Real Bad" 12x12 Four canvas

And then I tried to do an oil painting.
"AJ" 18x24 on canvas

And then I use to screw around in class...
 



And that is the end. Ta-Dah!