The Bane Of My Existence...

My Computer or Blogspot has dealt me misery this week.  I am quickly loosing patience with it and myself.

I have been unable to sign in to blogspot, unable to make a collage of pictures, unable to post a video...and it goes on and on and on.

I think I may be my own worst enemy. 

Corel photo program has joined my list of least liked things on my computer.  I guess I am just ignorant of things from geekdom but darn it, it should not be so hard.

Corel will be executed today at sunset...slowly and with pure unadulterated joy.  I am the executioner.

For Your Enjoyment...

Summer skies

in Izard County

Arkansas

beauty and the heat

Humidity, I Abhore You!

I guess if you love the South, you have to love the humidity.  Yesterday and today, we have had more than enough to love.  We have no break in sight.  It is hot and dry and all living creatures are suffering from it.

I do barefoot and natural with my horses with the belief, unfounded or not, that Mother Nature intended it that way.  Well, Mother Nature in all her rainless, hard ground glory has done a number on the horses hooves around here.  Today we worked on improving this.

My youngest, Broken Arrow, does not especially love the trimming as you can see by the set of his ears.  Arrow does improve each time.  The treats I hand out are not hurting anything either.

Here is a freshly shaped and trimmed hoof. You can tell how the dry weather is affecting the hooves. Knothead has the smallest feet, they look like pony feet compared to the rest of the herd but Knot is the only one with no draft blood in him.  This is his white hoof so it suffers more than the dark ones.  Even with the dryness there are no major hoof problems, thank goodness.

His papers call him Arabian but it matters not to me.  I measure the success of my animals by the size of their hearts and not the size of their papers.

This is a solid rock drill core that has been removed from the ground as the high line crew were installing our new lovely eighty foot metal monstrosities they call poles.  It has at least a three foot diameter and this one is about eighteen inches tall...the perfect mounting block.  It is certainly not going to fall over and there is plenty of surface in which to move around.

It is limestone turning into granite, not sure what the rock is called but does have a very limey base and is, that's right, hard as a rock!

We have a few of these that the crew has yet to remove.  Hubby has tried to place some in useful spots with his Kubota.  Kubota is having a hard time.  Hubby has moved one that is about three feet tall and an unknown enormous weight.  It is currently the mineral block holder and the horses love it. 

The day Hubby moved that one was a blessed day.  It started rolling!  Now the barn is down hill from these rock cores so you guessed it...it began to roll right toward the  barn.  Hubby swiftly geared up or down, whatever he needed, and flew in front of the rolling mass of rock and stopped it with the tractor.  The core now rests where it was stopped and will probably move no more unless we have a back hoe or dozer.  I am so grateful I did not witness this!

I have many imagined wonderful uses for these core drillings but I may never see them to fruition.  The house is also on the down hill side of these babies and I am not sure it is worth the risk...how would you explain that to the insurance company?

Who Forgets The Fireworks???

It had been long planned for the grandsons to enjoy the fireworks.  We THOUGHT it was Sunday night we were sadly mistaken.  It was last night and we missed it, here's your sign!

So Andrew played a concert for us as my camera battery died. I turned my camera to fit Andrew in the screen and I can't figure how to rotate it.  Would you say I should have stayed in bed today?! So tilt your head and join me in being thankful I did not have to work with sharp knives. (I have waited two hours for this video to upload and no luck.  You will  have to make do with stills.)

Andrew said it was his biggest crowd since the science fair.  I am so pleased Andrew has accomplished all this without a lesson.  He simply wanted to play and he made it happen.

Zander was dancing but every time I tried to get a shot, he stopped, of course. 

Jake was singing.  Aunt Bevie was clapping while Mom and Nana enjoyed the concert .

It may have not been shooting rockets but we could see the stars!

Today I Celebrate Independence

After many years of listening to doctors instead of my common sense, I am drug free.  I imagine how wonderful it must feel to addicts to reach this plateau.  Today I celebrate independence from drugs.

I finally found a doctor that uses good sense and is open minded about treatment.  He was shocked by what the past doctors had me taking.  Zanax and Lexapro! 

I should never have listened and should have followed my own motto of  "Get over it".  I was lured into the world of medicine by the very people who benefit from my continuing need.  What ever happened to healing for healing's sake?

Zanax was used for anxiety...I often had chest pains.  I soon discovered it helped me sleep so those were taken in the evenings.  I was supposed to take two a day but I am a cheap date. It does not take much to affect me so I cut my intake to just one before bedtime.

I have taken these for years, it seems.  This is the one Doc really was worried about.  He said sometimes when you stop taking these, you have seizures.  Funny how they never tell you that stuff when they recommend it.

I know we are adults and are supposed to read the side effects.  I found out long ago, if I read the side effects I will not take any medicine at all.

To make a long story short, I lessened the dosage by half for about a week and then stopped all together.  I am sure this method would not have pleased my present doctor but, hey, it worked.

I have a clarity now that I have not had in a very long time.  I wake and there is no coming awake period, it is immediate.  For a while I did have trouble sleeping.  Now, I know I do not require as much sleep as I thought.  The sleep I have is very refreshing and renewing.

This also marks the third week of no Lexapro.  So far, so good.  I have had a few moments when I tense and have to move around but that doesn't last long.

Drug free, Independence Day, indeed.  Now if I can just stop the cocaine and the crack...kidding!

It Takes A Thief...

Must have a look out...

or two,

Need some one to case out the joint...

Then the whole gang can steal the corn.

This was removed from the cab of the truck.

All took part, all enjoyed the rewards.

Marcy took back the corn

and no one cried.

Shootin' The Neighbors