Arf, I am a Stiff Sore Puppy this Morning

Ok I’m a sore stiff sore puppy this morning after working out yesterday. Not as sore as I am stiff though. I’m going to get on the elliptical and loosen up.

It’s a gray overcast outside. The weather channel on my desk top is threatening another winter storm. Ugh. I know the moisture will be great for the pastures. Yes here comes the BUT, I love days like we had yesterday. Calm for the most part. A little breezy, warm (not hot) sunshine. A delight of spring. Cold wet and blowing is not my cup of tea. Best get over that little attitude…lol.

I did get oxycise done yesterday. Whoo Hoo… made it through the red exerciser, elliptical, and walked the ridge route. Didn’t make hip hop abs. Made some headway on my office, snapped a few puppy photos. They are too cute. Took care of the young ducks, Put the pups outside in exercise yards, took them back in when evening rolled around. The way the weather looks outside today they aren’t going to be able to go out and play. They are such cute little hairballs.

Fed and watered the kennels. Fed the chickens and geese, gathered eggs. Did human laundry, and dog laundry. Returned some phone calls. Worked on the whelping house a bit more. Worked a bit with Veretekk, New Vision International, and Trilogy/Healthy Pet Net. Participated in a conference call at 6:30, very interesting, Trilogy has a new facial and body clay coming out that looks wonderful. I love their pet products already. So do the dogs. I can really see a difference in them when they eat it. The way they look, the way they act, their coat texture. Wow.

Ate dinner after the conference, Did red exerciser while in conference. I crashed after dinner. Didn’t have anything left. Serious case of the bobble head. As in head bobbing can’t stay awake anymore. Fell asleep in my chair. Didn’t get some correspondence answered, I’m shooting for it today.

I’m pretty excited about a project Al Turnquist has put together for Jag Team Members. Got to get my office in order, Taxes done and all that then I am jumping in with both feet. So to speak. Lol.

I have learned so much from Mentors/Jaguar, When I think back as to how I got started with it and all the hurdles it’s truly amazing.

Time’s burning, gonna start a pot of coffee, let the dogs in, get on the elliptical

Later Tater…
Life is a journey, enjoy the Trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Beautiful Early Morning Walk with a Special Treat

Wow mornings like this are the reason I moved out here. I took Min Min and Cheyenne for our walk. Instead of doing the loop around the driveway we went up the ridge behind the house, out into the pasture and came back in around the greenhouse. It’s actually a longer walk. I could take Cheyenne off lead out there safely. Maybe I’m a bit over protective but I do not want to walk along the road with her off lead. You never know when some rancher/farmer is going to come by with their dogs in the back of the truck.

Most stay in the truck but I just don’t want to risk it. Not to Cheyenne or Min Min. Cheyenne is around 15 years old now. Min Min is my baby. She turned 5 this year. Our farm cats are actually bigger than she is. I keep her close to me when we are walking. I carried her the last bit this morning. She had pooped out. Actually my legs were feeling a bit like noodles too.

When I walked up over the north ridge I saw that the Prairie dogs had spread over at least 5 acres. I hate to do it but I’m going to have to put a stop to that. I know the other ranchers around would have a hey day with this, but I love the way they talk back and forth.

I looked off to the west and I could see Laramie peak. It was foggy early this morning and there was still a morning haze around the peak.
Then I got a real treat. I heard this wonderful sing song call coming from somewhere. Of course I’d been listening to the meadowlarks all along the way. At first I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then I saw them circling. Hundreds of them in flocks flying in huge circles working their way north towards where I was. There are lakes south of me and ponds to the west and the river runs east and west not too far north of us. There is a creek as well to the east of us a few miles.

I was walking along, avoiding the cactus and gawking at these flocks of birds. They came in low enough so I could see their feet sticking out behind them and the dark tips on the underside of their wings. I wish I’d had my camera or some binoculars at least. But of course, I didn’t. They were Sandhill cranes. Wow I’d never seen them in that close. Usually when we see them go over they are so high they are just dark specks in the sky. This was a wonderful treat.

Here is a link to their call. Such a cool sound. The photo is from the international Crane Foundation’s Web Page. They have more photos there as well.

I saw my first grasshopper of the season too. Could do with out those things; however they are good food for the birds. I’m thinking that if the grasshoppers are coming out I’d best start keeping an eye out for snakes on the southern ridges where the ground is warmed up. Don’t need to step on a bullsnake; nor a rattlesnake for that matter. That’s always a concern when I have my dogs off lead. I walk with a staff, works great as a walking stick but also as a weapon to deal with an aggressive snake if I have too.
With the guineas about we haven’t had near as many snakes in and about. Odds are there are some good sized ones in those prairie dog holes though. Food supply and all that.

The day is zipping on and I’m working on my office mess. I will be a very happy person when I finally have all this stuff sorted, shredded, filed, dealt with. So I can easily find whatever I need in my work day.

It’s quite the job coming back from such a long illness. It’s truly amazing how much mess has accumulated. Wow! One pile at a time.

Puppies are outside enjoying the sunshine. Little cuties. Hopefully I’ll snap some photos this afternoon.

Baby ducks are growing like crazy. Wow! Very soon I’m going to have to move them to a larger confinement. Have to keep them penned up tight so the farm cats don’t eat them.

I’m glad we have the cat population though. They have really made a difference with the mice. Before I got sick, right after we bought the place spring of 2003 we planted 20 or 30 fruit trees. The rodents belted them. Killed every one of the apple trees. No it wasn’t just rabbits. Since we have so many cats around now there are not so many rodents. Still quite a few mice. But the cats do a good job of thinning them out. The birds, chickens, turkeys and such will go for them too given the opportunity.

I do want to get some more turkeys. I would like to establish a flock here. Not the broad breasted ones. Those poor birds are so heavy they can’t even breed naturally. I want something that can live on the range and be healthy. Of course they have shelter and grain but they are able to go wherever they want to roaming around.

It will be good to have the surround fence up. The fowl will fly over it for the most part. Probably not the geese. The guineas and chickens will. So will the Muscovy once they are grown. The point is to have the fence up to keep the coyotes out. It will slow down the foxes as well. Depending on the type of wire used.

I just looked at the clock… gotta run…
Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Beautiful Spring Snow and Sunshine

It was a beautiful spring day here today. Started out with a solid gray cloud cover, and then snowed. March is getting its last word in, or rather last snow. It was warm enough that the snow melted before the end of the day.

While I was out feeding and watering the dogs it was actually snowing with the sun shining. I had to laugh. I am so glad its spring. Winter has seemed to stretch on forever this year.

How winter can stretch on forever and I can still be behind on paperwork is beyond me. One day one thing at a time. I think I’m going to put in a bit of garden this year. That is the plan anyway.

We bought 15 baby Rouen ducklings just before Easter. It’s been quite the thing to watch them grow. They are 4 or 5 times the size they were when we brought them home. Messy little critters. They have too much fun in that water pan.

Tomorrow I’m picking up 5 more guineas. They are adults. I am going t crate them in the chicken house for a few weeks before I let them loose. Hopefully they will stay here then. I made the mistake of letting some lose too soon last year and they took off and led most of the ones I had already away as well. Live and learn.

It looks like we are getting a dozen adult geese as well. I’m not sure of the breeds yet. I’ll be picking them up in a couple of weeks. I plan on keeping them in the exercise yards between the dog runs for a while. Hopefully the dogs will not scare them to death. I’m hoping they will adjust (both the dogs and the geese). The plan is to keep the grass and weed growth down in the exercise yards with the geese.

I may have found a local place to get some Muscovy ducks as well. If not I found a reputable nursery that sells them.

Truthfully I would just as soon raise the fowl from small birds rather than buying the adults. That way they are attached to this place as home and used to the dogs and our lifestyle.

David and I bought an incubator. Found one that was not Styrofoam. Farm Tek had it. I am anxious to try it out. Our pair of geese is laying eggs. I’m thinking it would be good to smoke some fowl this year. I’ve never tried that but I’ve heard it’s wonderful.

Easter was a relatively pleasant holiday this year. I kept the menu very simple and put a dinner together. Mom, Linda, and Auntie came over. We checked out Mom’s all terrain wheelchair to see if it would fit through the door to the house and down the ramp. It did with about an inch on each side to spare. There is no room to mess about with it, but with care it can be safely maneuvered in and out of the house. It handled the uneven terrain great. I was pleased with the way it handled the hills as well.

I am working on taxes trying to get that entire paperwork bit put together and given to my accountant. Thank God for extensions. I do want that done though. I really do not like having it hang over my head.

Spring Kennel cleaning has been started. I’ve been raking up big yards. I’ll be starting on the smaller exercise pens soon. This winter there was so much snow it was impossible to clean them all out. Ick. I will be very glad to get them cleaned up, sprayed down and another layer of straw put down. The wind whips it out of the runs pretty quickly. But we can get a good layer in the houses, and under the shades. Hopefully this coming season I can have a semi load of gravel brought in, and spread out into the runs. I would prefer pavers then gravel to fill in, but we’ll see what the season brings.

I am feeling better than I have in years. However I know there is no way to do everything at once. Doing a bit each day achieves a phenomenal amount over time. Just a bit each day.

It will be a hair storm here starting in may. I may start on it the last week or so in April depending on the weather and whether the dogs are releasing coat. The hair storm of course is spring grooming. Actually spring vetting and such will be starting this coming week. There are a lot to do so I will be working on them in phases.

Hopefully I’ll get some photos taken as well and start updating my main website www.robbinsrun.com . It’s been way too long since I’ve updated my dog pages. This winter it took all I had just to keep up with taking care of the dogs.

I effectively shut down kennel sales this winter. It will be good to get the photos updated and start placing my happy hairballs again.

The internet business is looking very good for this year. Time management is the biggest challenge at this point. But again it’s one day one thing at a time. Rather than trying to do everything at once. Just one thing at a time will do.

I am still losing weight. The last time I checked I had lost 16 pounds. I’ve started walking our driveway loop. Min Min, Cheyenne and I walk it several times a week. Min Min (my furry heart-orange pom) is looking better too. She had become quite round through the winter. Cheyenne is very round as well. (my old friend border collie)

I’d been training on the elliptical, was up to 10 k a day (a bit over 6 miles) and thought I would be able to do the half marathon (a bit over 13 miles) the end of may. If it was on the elliptical I could. However it is between 6000 and 7000 feet elevation on mountain road or gravel trail. Walking the driveway loop clued me in pretty fast that the elliptical was not going to get me ready for that race. The steep uneven terrain is much more challenging than the elliptical. I am continuing with the elliptical however. It is a good conditioning workout. It will just take me longer to get ready for the half marathon. Next may (2009) I should be ready.

I could have completed it this spring, but I would have had to really push it and train to the exclusion of everything else. At this point that is not something I want to do. It’s been challenging enough to take care of my kennels while I was ill for so long, then through the recovery time. I refuse to neglect them to compete in a race.

Frankly health wise it would be better to build slower. Give my body a chance to become much more healthy and strong through the process. Rather than breaking it down for idiocy.

I am truly looking forward to not carrying around this fat. He he, it is truly a pleasure to watch it come off. The pants I’m wearing now were a bit snug in December. Now they are so loose that I have to cinch them up with the drawstring. For the first time in my life I’m not fixated on food. I am actually enjoying cooking again. I haven’t enjoyed that in years. I’ve been tweaking recipes, changing them to whole wheat, and less sugar, and so on. Both David and I feel better for the changes in our food. I made a beef barley stew this evening from scratch. It was yummy. One of those things that I kind of pull out of my head. I do think I’ll start writing down my recipes though, so I can remember what I do from one time to the next. Who knows maybe I’ll write a recipe book sometime.

Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202 USA Mountain Time

Before Dawn's Early Light

Good Morning. Up before the sunrise today. David was called to work for 5:30 a.m. That means the phone was ringing at 4:00. My life is going much better than it was. As you can see I’ve been noticeably absent from my blogs; except for a couple of posts, since January 8th. Noticeably absent from most of my life for over a month, almost 2 months. Before that it was hit and miss, with major crashes in between.

I’ve been writing in my journals. Over 20 pages of writing; all over the place from the darkest twisted regions of my psyche to the euphoric heights. A variable shit storm of words and emotions. I thought about going ahead and posting everything today. But I’m just not ready to put that out there just yet. Maybe I’ll publish it all in a book later. Or use it as inspiration to write a book or two. Whew. There’s enough there for a whole series of short stories.

One of my favorite authors is Edgar Allen Poe. As I look back over this past month’s journal entries I think of some of his stories. Wonderful way to express ones thoughts and inner tortures. This man was seriously pissed at some folks; he expresses his imaginings in a wonderfully macabre manner.

Perhaps my journal ravings will come to light,
But not tonight in this winter’s bite.

Write them out in poetry and prose.
Let your minds wander among the winter’s rose.

Is it a story or a memory froze?
Branches bare, Thorns to expose.

What does it say?
What’s hidden in the prose?

All in plain sight under your nose.
Thorns drenched in blood, winter’s rose.

Author: Mary E. Robbins

I remember literature teachers/professors expounding on what they thought various poets and writers meant by their poetry and/or stories. In truth, writing means something different to each person that reads it. What did the author/poet mean? The answer to that lies within the labyrinth that is the writer’s mind.

Twisted lanes and tangled branches
Amongst them all the wood sprite dances

Dance of light or dark do tell
Are we brink of heaven or hell

All is one and one the other
Father Brother Sister Mother

All do one and one the other
Tis the dance of one another

Do you know of which I write?
Can you see the darkest light?

Tell me now, what do I mean?
Can from my verse the answers glean?

Light of day and darkest night
Can you see the source of my minds fright?

Sweetest chocolate taste so pure
Bitter depths of poison sure

Can you show me now the cure
Can you show me motives pure

Tell me now, you say you know
Where and when does my mind go

Meander now down history’s lane
In amongst the thoughts so sane

Journey on, the travels fair
Jesters court, dance on air

Come along, do you dare
Come with me from here to there

Author: Mary E. Robbins

Life is a journey…there is no script.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs