Friday, August 03, 2012

Ah, the mysteries of ranch life...

have bedeviled me now for the past week or so.  Nothing too drastic, just small mysteries that wrinkle my (already-somewhat-wrinkled) brow, cause me to request advice from faraway fisherwoman owner, and ask myself "what next?"

How did Smarty and Ellie (two of the horses, Ellie being the boarding horse) get from pasture 3 to pasture 2 without human intervention, since all the fences appear intact?  How did they later get from pasture 2 to pasture 1?  Oh wait, I know the answer to that one:  they tore down the electric gate.  So, okay, how did they do that without getting a shock? 

Why does the dapply-white mare occupy the low end of the pecking order?  And why is she the one most bugged by the bugs?  Why do all the others chase her away when she comes near? 

Why do I no longer have any desire to ride horses?  I enjoy being around them but I feel no urge to saddle up and ride out, even with other riders.

Where did all the dog food go?  I just emptied a 40 pound bag of pellets into the storage bin.  It should have lasted longer than a couple of weeks.  I'm pretty sure the dogs haven't been into it; they would have a hard time concealing their thievery.

Where did all the horse pellets go?  One week ago, I emptied a 50 pound bag of pellets into the storage bin (with help from bandmate Lynn, hunky guy).  Methinks somebody has "borrowed" some for other horses, but there is no proof of this.

Where did three of the horses go one day?  Why doesn't anyone let me know when they take three of the horses out for a ride?  It's okay with the owner that they ride the horses, so that's not the mystery.  I would just like to know when they do it.

Where did all the dogs go for hours on end?  Are they with the riders?  Are their collars impaled on some branch in the woods?  Did the mama dog have another seizure out there where I can't see?  Is that where the boy dog ran into whatever made his eye swell up and start itching?

All small mysteries, few of them with major consequences, but they give meaning to the cliche "inquiring minds want to know".  I probably don't need to know, but I would like to.

1 comment:

Miss Kitty said...

Now that you mention it, there sure are a lot of mysteries when it comes to farm/ranch life. Growing up with our grandparents, Pixie and I heard the phrase, "Who left the gap down?!?" shouted through the house at least three times a week. Paw-Paw would stroll out the front door only to see an 800-pound heifer helping herself to the kudzu in the ditch across the road, or Maw-Maw would answer the phone and find an upset neighbor calling to say they'd just seen one of our cows in their yard. I never could figure out who left the gap (in the fence) down. Maybe Paw-Paw did, and forgot? Maybe one of our older cousins? Who knows. But it's funny to remember.

Glad to know that things are going OK overall, even if the dogs are eating like horses and the horses are running off & getting into trouble like dogs.