Pallette Cleanser!

January 7th, 2008

This is like a little cheese and crackers to get the depressing taste out of our collective mouths.

I need to push the depressing further down the blog page.

Imax is such a good guy. Look how cute he is. Folks at the barn have been telling me how much better he is looking, and how far he has come in his training. He is a nice mover and loves to jump. More than I can say about a lot of pretty horses. He almost looks as though his neck is on right way up.

Part of a horse not being in good condition us a "U" shape to the neck, as opposed to an arch. Horse people say "It looks like his neck is on upside down" about ewe necked horses. Compare:

July 7th, 2007

Subtle, but it is coming.

I am warning you, this is depressing.

I have not been posting much, my blog seems to be a sad place these days. But then so is everywhere else, so what do I expect? I'd been avoiding posting because seeing JD's obituary reminds me of how hard the last year has been.

Jake died a little over a year ago, and Mom's illness was hard, and lasted so long. I still think about her all the time, I'm processing and examining our relationship. It is all such a mystery. And I worry about my Dad.

Then there are all my friends' parents, too. C's Mom, and J's Dad. R's Mom died of pneumonia last week. It is not the dying that bothers me -- it is how long it takes. All of these people were (or still are) sick for a very long time. Not "oh i don't feel good give me an Advil" kind of sick. No, it is month after month of actual suffering.

God this is depressing.

I am actually looking forward to the death part of dying, I know that sounds very weird, but I am so curious as to what will happen. Not that I would ever do anything to hasten my demise (unless you count the years of smoking) but the moment will be fascinating. I just want to do it quickly. In about 45 more years.

Okay that is enough of that.

J.D. Franz. 1990 -- 2008

Our little cat JD, passed away yesterday January 3rd. She was my mom's cat for most of her life -- she lived in the barn and would come out to visit mom while she gardened. JD had to be a very courageous and wiley cat to survive out there in the wilds of Lake Stevens -- just to avoid the coyotes, feral cats, dogs and various other dangers, she had to be on her toes.


We took her in when Mom was too sick to go outside to give JD a pat -- Mom was very worried about her old friend, and wanted to make sure JD was taken care of after she died.

We were JD's retirement home for about six months, and in that time Scott and I became very attached to her. She was an old lady who was set in her ways, and wanted affection, but on her own terms. She preferred to be alone, although she forged a truce with King, and liked to share his dog bed. She'd also eat out of his dog bowl, much to his consternation.

RIP little kitty.

Happy New Year from the whole bunch of us

We have many wonderful friends in our lives, some of whom happen to be animals at the moment. I'd like to dedicate this entry to them, and thank them for the past year of love. I could not have made it without them.


First up is Binkie, who we have had for seventeen years. She is a wonderful little cat, with the softest fur. I think she is french, because every time you pick her up she says "Merde!"

Next is Bhodi, who is the smartest, funniest, most loving cat in the world. Has world-domination fantasies. Rules with an iron claw.

Then there is Bug. Almost unbearably cute and goofy, super playful and needy. She also is a garbage scow, who if given a chance will eat all four of the other cat's food, before they can make it to the bowl.


Next up is Miles, who is super weird, we suspect he is actually a space alien who somehow got trapped on earth but is finding it interesting, so decided to stay. He loves to sit in the bath tub, to stare at the underside of cabinets and to sleep half-on and half-off the bed.

Finishing the Cat portion of our program is J.D. She was my Mom's cat. J.D. (named for Jack Daniels - yes, that was my mom-- naming her pets after favorite booze.) is seventeen or eighteen, she spent the majority of her life as a barn cat, living by her wits, luck and determination. We have taken her in for a life of ease in her old age, living as a well-loved indoor cat, with plenty of snugglers, scratching posts and warmth. Unfortunately she has Lymphoma, and won't be with us much longer. I am glad we have been able to make her as comfortable as possible in her last days.

We only have one entry in the Dog category - King. Superlatives fail in praise of King; a purer heart never existed. He loves the cats and me, but loves Scott most of all. He's as beautiful as he is loyal. Dog personified. Or Dogsonified.

Lastly in our pet parade is Imax. I am totally pissed off at him right now, we went on a New Year's Day trail ride with eleven other horses and riders. He went ballistic. Two hours of bucking, kicking out, rearing, lunging forward, striking out and any other butt-holish behavior he could think of.
This is the next photo in the sequence from the one above. Yes, that is him trying to bite my foot. What I didn't get a picture of was what happened next, which was me kicking him in the teeth.

Everyone was very impressed that I stayed on the whole time -- Fortunately for me, his bucking is relatively easy to sit, even when he is jumping four feet vertically in the air. Everyone who was watching that particular display swore that they could see the entire horse following behind, in the space under all four of his hooves. We eventually just left the rest of the party behind, as I just pushed the bastard on all day, forcing him forward, forward, forward. At the end of the ride, he was going over pretty long, scary bridges with hardly a hesitation, so he learned that at least. He still seemed plenty fresh after two hours. Tonight I am going to lunge the hell out of him. But I still love him. I guess.

Anyhow. Happy New Year to you, gentle reader. Onward.