Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

I got my first pay check today! Felt sooo good to put that in the bank. I had almost nothing in there, so that's a big relief.

Today was a gray, cooler day. I had been going to go out for a hike in the afternoon. But, I didn't like how the sky was looking and didn't want to take a chance on getting soaked. And, tomorrow there's an even better chance of rain. So, I won't be doing any hiking until next week at the earliest. So, I finally went thru all the stuff I was supposed to go thru B4 the job was supposed to start!

Got the check today from the nuggets. They only brought $3.00 a piece. But, that's better than $1.00.

I'm tired. In a way I can hardly wait until September. I'm enjoying the job, but I just have too much to do right now.

 

[SSDreamin]

Paycheck!
nugget check!

Just keep thinking of how much better the bank account will look by September

 

[hqueen13]

Yay! Good for you!!!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Paycheck!
nugget check!

Just keep thinking of how much better the bank account will look by September

Well, maybe. I'll be stockpiling hay B4 then plus hopefully finally finishing my tack shed.

I'm done 2 weeks, there's 2 more weeks of the kids day camps and 6 more weeks of work. In some ways I'm enjoying the job, in other ways I'm not. One of my responsibilities is to clean the nature center. It has not had a good cleaning in I don't know how long so I'm doing a lot more cleaning than I want. I hate having an hour lunch break. While I can use the computer during my lunch break to play games, I'm not allowed to use the internet. And the mouse on that computer is horrible! I played solitaire for a bit but stopped pretty quickly because of the mouse. Plus, out of the 10 days I've worked, 5 of them have been on my own. The naturalist has been taking off Monday and Friday afternoons and left one day because she wasn't feeling well.

My leg is healing up which is good. I had to stop putting a bandage on it. I don't know why, but it was messing up my leg. I've used them B4 so I don't know why it's a problem now.

Today was a cool, cloudy day. I wanted so much to saddle up Misty and go for a ride, but didn't have time. I'm hoping I'll have either an evening next week I can get on her, or hopefully over the weekend. As much as I hate to ride when everyone is there, I just may have to.

 

[pinkfox]

deb keep meaning to ask, riding...are you "self taught"
its one thing i want to do (leanr how to properly ride) but affording lessons...well...
I cant help but wonder if owning and safely riding a horse is somehting i can learn myself assuming im not taking on a "green" horse.

 

[Denim Deb]

For the most part, yes. I've had a few lessons but not many. I could never afford it. Still can't. If at all possible, if you can find a GOOD instructor just to get the basics down, that's a good idea. But, make sure they're good. If you can learn how to ride w/a balanced seat, learn how to properly ask a horse for various things, etc, it pays for itself in the end. I've seen too many people that have ridden for years that have a horrible seat, horrible hands, and can't handle their horse properly. They keep trying different bits, martingales, etc to "solve" the problem but fail to realize that THEY are the problem.

 

[hqueen13]

I have to agree with Deb, spend the money and get some good lessons. I pay $115.00 for a one hour lesson (that I double up with a friend and ride for 2 hours for the same price), and it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it. I LOVE my instructor. If you're into it, the Parelli natural horsemanship program is a really good program for getting people to a basic point of riding and being safe with horses. They have a LOT of self learning materials that are wonderful. They also put a lot of emphasis on understanding the horse's behavior, and working with their behavior. In my (not so) humble opinion, they disengage the horse (move their hindquarters over) too much putting strain on their hind legs, but the program overall is a really good starting point.

 

[pinkfox]

oh yeah i ddefinatly wouldnt even consider wihtout some basics, but its the on going and the "add up" that has me discouraged...
right now its deinfalty not an option (though ive got my feelers out for lessons in exchange for barn chores lol) i can get onand off a horse safely and smoothy, and assuming its already been taught to respond to reighsn forward backwards left and right are no problems...

definatly need some help with posting though...i CANNOT get my timing and generally just "stand up" at that point rather than risk injuring myself or the horse lol. so balance in the seat/posture and timing for rise are definatly musts...

i also obviously wont be buyign a horse for a very long time, but the dream is there and its good to know that assuming i can get GOOD basics I would be able to move forward with just occasional tutilidge...

(im going to be looking for a SMALL draft (ie fjord, halflinger, vanner ect type size))

 

[hqueen13]

Sounds like a good plan. don't be afraid to shop around for an instructor. There are plenty of people (as with most anything) that just blow smoke, and can't really teach. The toughest part about teaching riding is that it requires the skill to be able to verbalize feel. There are so many people that can't do that. They may be able to ride well, but they can't explain it, and that doesn't serve the student very well, and often ends up in frustration, for the student and teacher. My instructor is AMAZING at being able to verbalize things, and keep shifting how she explains something until the student gets it. I have never found anyone that teaches like she does. She's worth the price!!! That is what is most important!
You should be able to find somewhere that will give you the lessons for barn chores. Always something that needs doing in a barn, LOL

 

[Denim Deb]

Forgot to post this yesterday. When we had the kids out for the walk part of their lesson, they got a big thrill. First, I noticed a great blue heron flying over the lake, so I pointed that out. I'm not sure that all of the kids had seen one B4. Then I noticed a disturbance in one of the trees on the other side of the lake. I look and there was a pair of bald eagles in the top. Not really sure what they were doing but I pointed them out. Then, one left and flew across the lake right towards us! I don't think any of the kids had ever seen a bald eagle B4, let alone 2!

I know eagles can be a problem for chickens, etc, but it never fails to give me a thrill to see one. I never saw one in the area until 1994 or so and then it was rare. I'm seeing them more often and know where there's 3 nests.