Tuesday, August 19, 2014

La di da da de


La di da da da

And the heat goes on...and on.  We weren't able to take that extra day last weekend, nor were we able to find caretakers for our horses, so; we went to a nearby location where we went home twice a day and took care of them ourselves.  We parked the truck and camper, set up our camp and brought our car along to make things easier.  It wasn't ideal, but it worked.  Despite some hurdles, we enjoyed ourselves - mostly.  

It was hot.  So bloody hot.  Saturday we took a short walk with the dogs and spent some time playing in the creek cooling off while the dogs swam.  That brought a smile to my face. Our dogs are Labs, and you know what that means?  They love the water!  They enjoyed themselves so much, that I couldn't help but enjoy myself too.  

The rest of the time was spent lazing around, reading, taking some pictures and a little napping.  It felt so good to unplug.  From everything.  


On Sunday there was a poker ride going on, so we thought it a perfect opportunity to take a little ride and check out some old trails that we haven't ridden in years.  We didn't participate formally, but just rode the trail, spent time letting the horses splash around in the creek and enjoyed being in the woods.  The smell of the summer woods is just incredible...truly one of my favorite smells of summer.  That warm evergreen scent mixed with ripening wild berries...hmmm.  

As the afternoon wore on, and the heat became relentless, we made a quick stop at the creek once again and then headed back into camp.  We had to sponge the horses off to remove at least some of the copious amounts of drying sweat and mud that had ran down their sides and legs.  They were hot, tired and I'm sure, feeling particularly nasty.  Afterwards, they relaxed in the shade with a flake of hay, a big drink of cool water and then napped contentedly under the trees with a slight breeze blowing on their damp coats.  When they're comfortable, I'm happy.  



The remainder of our day was spent lounging in the shade, trying to keep somewhat cool.  We were both hot, tired and cranky.  I had a nagging headache, probably from too much heat that wouldn't quite go away.  I read some more, and just relaxed with my eyes closed for a while listening to the birdsong and no traffic, no phones, no worries.  



Yesterday at the clinic was long and monotonous.  I think there were 3 phone calls all day long, and one was a wrong number.  My boss is out of town for the week, family vacation, and there's really nothing to do except refer clients (if they call) to another veterinarian.  It surely would have made more sense to let me have Monday off, it would have extended our weekend by one more leisurely day and made our trip less rushed.  *sigh*  The joys of dealing with a boss who relies too heavily on me to cover for him.  I'm still quite upset with him over the fact that I asked for 1 vacation day, 2 weeks prior to the day I wanted to have off, and I'm certain that he didn't try to find a person to cover me, at all.  When it's not important to him, he just forgets about it.  It really shouldn't be my responsibility to find a replacement when I'd like a day off.  It should be his responsibility, it is his business after all.  He, however, can take any day or days off, whenever it suits him.  grrrrrrrr...oh well, karma or whatever you want to call it, has a way of coming around.  Always does.  

Anyway, in other news, we enjoyed our first big tomato from the garden last night.  So good!!  And my cherry tomatoes pretty much exploded over the weekend.  There are so many I need to pick.  The apples and pears are ripening and it's a full-on race between us and the horses as to who gets to them first.  :)  I dare say, the horses are in the lead...

My neighbor gave me the name of a young gal who lives near us who is interested in helping us out with horse/cat caretaking responsibilities.  I haven't talked with her yet, but left her a message indicating that I'd like to meet her, and discuss everything, and of course introduce her to our horses and show her around our place.  If she seems responsible, and we like her, hopefully, we'll have a new hired weekend/vacation caretaker.  *fingers crossed*  That would be such a relief, as that is the single, biggest obstacle to our travelling on weekend trips or vacations.  

And, I'm already on the lookout for the next weekend trip away...this time, maybe without the horses, or not.  We'll see!


6 comments:

aurora said...

We went camping last weekend too. Canoeing for the first time in many many years. It was heaven being on the water! Nothing like taking a break, walking in a crystal clear creek to cool off, while the eagles are soaring. Weekend trips are just enough to feel like you got away from it all. Hope your caretaker works out, and your boss is a little more considerate in the future.

We are still waiting on our tomatoes...great year for sweet pea pods & beans. It's so nice of you to grow apples & pears for the horses ;)

C-ingspots said...

Haha!! It is quite considerate of us, isn't it? Those horses just don't know how good they've got it! happy to hear you and Brad got away too...canoeing can be so much fun, we went once last summer and it was really nice. Our new gal, Hannah is hired! Whoohoo! Weekend warriors - here we come!!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

You've got some beautiful trail riding country there.. my horse Opie loves wading in water and splashing around.. I only wish I had more opportunities to get him TO it! Glad you had a chance to unplug, it's good for the soul.

Carolynn Anctil said...

It looks and sounds like a great time. We have one friend who will house/animal sit for us. She's talking about moving away and I don't know what I'll do if she does. Never leave home, I guess...

Sally said...

Beautiful photo's. I'm here from Karen - thisoldhousetoo. :)

Sherry Sikstrom said...

great fun, and now that song is stuck in my head! LOL