Owl's Well

Monday May 18 2009

Connie took the dogs for a walk, so I snuck up the crick to get me a dose of some Owl. There's a long-eared owl roost not too far from here, and I like to check up on them once in a while. I don't go around there with the dogs because one human crashing and stumbling through the brush is bad enough, but one human and 3 rabid dogs running crashing panting heavily in and over and around their neighborhood is just too much disturbance. Besides, this is the time of year for babies, so I sure didn't want to bother them if there were any around.

Long-eared owls look similar to great horned owls but are smaller and more slender. They're nocturnal owls that rest in roosts of dense foliage near tree trunks during the day. They're found throughout most of the US except the southeast, and they occupy much of Canada. They forage out in the open, preying mostly on small mammals, and boy are there lots of gophers around here this year. They don't build their own nest, but use abandoned nests of Ravens and magpies.

Long-eared owls are amazingly good at looking like a part of the tree/brush/vines they are hiding in. Once the biologist Karen S took me to another long-eared owl roost. We crept right through the area where she knew they normally hung out and we didn't see a one. We walked back the same way a bit later and we flushed at least half a dozen. They'd been there all along; we'd just walked right by them without noticing them.

I crept along the crick here, slowly and as quietly as I could - which was about as quiet as a herd of elephants - and sure enough, I flushed a long-eared owl. I followed with my eyes where it went, then looked back to where it came from - and there was a baby! Looking just like part of a tree. I'd have never seen him if the mother (or father) hadn't flown away. I stood still and stared at him a good long while, and he stood and stared at me, unmoving, unblinking. It's their best defense. The parent circled around, to get a better bead on me, taking up different positions, barking a warning call. After a few motionless minutes I moved on, leaving the baby alone. The adult flew further up the creek, leading me away, then circling behind the trees on the other side of the creek and returning in the direction of her baby. And there were probably more babies; I just couldn't see them.

I slowly (and, sadly, loudly) followed upcreek, and soon 2 more long-eared owls flushed. They peered at me from between leaves and branches. One hooted several times, which became more of an insistent WHOO-UP WHOO-UP call. The other barked warning calls. I just stood and watched them a while. One flew out in the open to have a good look at me, and kept hooting.

Then it was time to leave them alone - I'd gotten my Owl Fix. "Thanks Owlies," I said. I turned and walked back along the creek (noisily), flushed the mother again, didn't go to look at the baby again. The mother led me away from the baby again, one tree to the next, before circling behind the creek and back his way.

I'll leave the owls alone for a while, now that I got my Owl Fix and now I know they are still there and thriving.

Owl's well that ends well.

Fandango Footwork

Sunday May 17 2009

It will take place here next weekend - the 3-day Owyhee Fandango endurance ride.

"Our goal is to bring riders together to ride historic trails in America's 'Wild West', to build friendships and International camaraderie, and to experience it all on horseback.

Ride a relaxed pace - or a competitive race, for 50 miles, 100 miles, or 150 miles ... Any way you want it! " There are also trail rides of 10 or 15 miles for those folks who prefer that.

John and Steph are finishing putting ribbons out on trails. I'm ribboning a portion of trail on foot (I won't do 4-wheelers on trails any more, after I rolled one!). Carol and I hung colorful OWYHEE RIDE signs up on the highway today, pointing the way to base camp. Steph's pulling weeds, planting flowers, mowing and watering the lawn. Dudley's trying to lose a little more weight so he looks really good in his dappled coat.

John the radio guy was here, coordinating times with Steph so he can get his volunteer crew of 15 set up at the right places and the right times on the ride days.

If you want to pick up a little education while you're here, there's the USEF "education session" for riders, and there's a hoofcare clinic to attend.

If you want socializing, there's the Wine and Cheese Social Friday evening sponsored by Vettec, not to mention the nightly meals (during the awards) cooked by Blue Moon Catering.

Of course, the BEST reason to come is to ride our Owyhee trails. The scenery is quite picturesque: high desert country with hills and draws and hidden canyons and washes; a loop around Wild Horse Butte and along the Snake River; a vet check at the Sierra Del Rio ranch - formerly the Nahas Ranch which was an original stop on the Oregon trail where you could water your horses in the Snake River; Hart Creek Canyon and an old homestead; all with the snow-covered Owyhee Mountains to the southwest framing the whole shebang.

Any season the scenery is awesome, but this spring we've got a good helping of green grass (green for the desert, anyway), and a big variety of wildflowers, with new ones popping out every week.

Here Jose gives you a mini-tour of what to expect:

Indian paintbrush


Phlox


Arrowleaf Balsamroot


Field o' purple flowers


Globemallow just came yesterday. There's also monkshood, lupine, buckwheat, purple sage, asters and plenty others I don't know.

The green carpet is already edging towards brown, and it's quickly getting dry, so if we don't get another shower this week (not in the forecast) it will be browner and dusty. The flowers will still be around for a while, however.

You'll see and hear a variety of birds during the day - Ravens, red-tailed hawks, kestrels, magpies, killdeer, bright yellow goldfinches, red-winged blackbirds, and if you're lucky, a golden eagle or two in the desert canyons, or maybe a bald eagle near the Snake River. In the morning you'll probably hear downy woodpeckers hammering away and if you're lucky, at night you might hear (or see, if you're very lucky) a family of screech owls (two parents and two babies).

But don't forget this is the Wild West: keep your eyes peeled for rattlesnakes. I came upon the first one of the season today while out marking trail, leading Dudley on foot. Yikes! Thereafter I was very jumpy, leaping in the air any time a bird flew out of bush or a sagebrush rattled when I brushed against it.

There's also peril in the scattered Death Camas - they look a bit like wild onions, but don't be fooled and taste them like I almost did! All parts of the plant are poisonous for you or your horse. We've seen a bit of locoweed around, though your horse would have to chow down on it for a while before he started doing cartwheels. But that's just a little part of the Wild West experience.

The Fandango starts in 6 days (May 23-24-25) - get your horse's dancing shoes on, and head on down. (I'm hoping to dance with Jose...)

Preview of the Fandango on Endurance.net

2009 Fandango on Endurance.net

Gold Up That There Crick

Saturday May 16 2009

Carol and Rick woke up this morning - and there she was, the newest golden addition to Pickett Creek, a little buckskin filly. The mare was bagged up, but she hadn't waxed yet, and Carol missed the other signs last night. "The mare was telling me, 'It's tonight, really,' but I just didn't notice. We woke up and the little filly was out there already bounding around the sagebrush!"

Carol moved them to the foaling pen she'd already fixed up (and had planned to put the mare in before she foaled), and she and Rick did their foal imprinting on her.


She's all legs and already looks more than her 6 hours old. Her sire is Carol and Rick's cremello Quarab stallion LJ Owyhee Moonstone. He sired his first three golden babies at Lost Juniper ranch last year.

There will be more little gold coins to be found on the Crick in the next 2 weeks: Carol has another one due any day, and Steph has one due next week (due during the 3-day Owyhee Fandango!)


What to do with these legs while getting up?










stretch


resting with Mom

Girl Troubles

Thursday May 14 2009

They can just drive the boys crazy, can't they?

We keep the girls and geldings separated here - it's just easier on things, less chance of anybody getting hurt. When a mare or mares come into heat, well, sometimes the boys forget they are geldings and they think they have a few things to straighten out with each other.

Stormy often hangs with both groups. He moved in with the mares two days ago because they were out on the good grass, and he wanted the good grass. He didn't really care about the mares.

Until I separated him today. Without realizing it, Stormy had quickly gotten attached (addicted). The girls were like a drug, and he couldn't get enough, and when he found himself on the other side of the fence, he wanted more! Especially with three of the four in heat.

He trotted the fence and whinnied, and got himself more worked up. The trotting became cantering, which became galloping, which turned into some full blown sprints. He would dig in so hard with a burst of astonishing speed that his whole body would lower to the ground. I do not think this horse ran so fast on the racetrack 11 years ago. I didn't know he still had it in him!

He was scaring me after a while, so I finally moved him to a further away pen.

Now he's still working out, but only at a walk, and sandwiching some hay in between. Hopefully in a few hours, all he'll be thinking about is his stomach.

Equinolo Blahniks: EquiDesigner Shoes I

Wednesday May 13 2009

Stormy's got navicular syndrome (heel pain, basically.) Last time he had a good exam years ago, there was no bone damage on the Xrays, but we didn't pin-point the problem. Pain can come from the navicular bone, cartilage damage, inflamed navicular bursa, deep digital flexor tendon damage, etc, and no single treatment works for all cases.

He's lame off and on, and he does best with natural balance shoes. He was able to go barefoot in the winters several years ago, but not anymore. Now if he loses a shoe, he instantly goes lame. As he did in this case.

Linda and Mike of Perfect Balance Hoof Care had a custom design job to do after Stormy ripped his left front shoe off, ripping with it a lot of the hoof wall on both sides, leaving very little to nail a shoe to.

Michael did the artwork: heating the shoe, and very carefully, hammering a little bit at a time - repeating the heating and hammering process many times - pounding out a first, then a second, very large clip that would fit over the missing hoof walls.

Once the clips were shaped and bent perfectly and filed down, a pad was trimmed and fit precisely into the shoe, screwed to the shoe, and then Michael carefully nailed the assembly on, with 2 nails on each side helping to hold the shoe in place, with the clips.

Custom fit, instant soundness, one-of-a-kind-in-the-world designer shoe, and of course, most importantly, very stylish.

(And so far - 3 1/2 weeks - the shoe has stayed on!)

Paparazzi II: Star Struck

Tuesday May 12 2009

OK, I better fess up.

I must admit, I can get a little excited over certain celebrities. Some can make my heart pound, make me freeze up, lose my voice, some can make my knees tremble.

It was at Santa Anita Park for the 2003 Breeders Cup, where I was shooting for a magazine.

There she was: Six Perfections, a magnificent black mare, stunning in her beauty. And very unique: true black Thoroughbreds are rare. Never seen a horse like this before. Poised, classy, elegant - and a winner over the boys in the Mile. I gaped, I followed her around. I so wanted just to touch her sleek coat! I wanted her to look at me, to notice me. I wished I could yank out just a small lock of her mane to keep! She seemed so kind, like everybody's horse, like my horse.

Then don't EVEN ask me about Falbrav - my GOD he was stunningly gorgeous. HE made my knees weak. I fell in love with him instantly - love and obsession at first sight. I started following him around the backstretch, shadowing him to the track, stalking him around his barn. I knew he'd never notice me, he was way out of my league, but I could gawk. When he schooled in the paddock the day before Breeders Cup Day, I drooled over him; I swooned when he walked past me on race day. And as he was coming down the stretch in the Turf race - one of the best Breeders Cup races I have ever seen - don't ask me how I was able to shoot photos, because as he (on the rail) and High Chaparral and Johar were fighting neck and neck the last sixteenth mile, I was screaming, "OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD!" Falbrav fell short by just a neck, (Johar and High Chaparral dead-heated for first), and oh boy, I almost passed out.











Okay, so those were celebrity horses. There were a few human celebrities there who also made me a bit giddy.

There I was, among the elite horse and sports photographers from around the world, only one of 2 photographers there still shooting film. With my little Canon EOS Elan, and my little 1-300 zoom, I was pretty insignificant amongst some of the Big Photographers with their lenses so big they had an assistant just to carry the lens and tripod. Some lenses were as big as cannons. I was too timid to talk to any of them.

One morning me and my little camera and lens were ensconced in a row of Big Photographers leaning over the rail shooting the Breeders Cup horses on the track. I stepped back to take a breather in the shade, and found myself somewhat near two big photographers who started talking to each other. My heart started pounding when I heard names - Katey and Skip - and I realized: OH. MY. GOD! I am standing beside Katey Barrett and Skip Dickstein! Only two of the most famous and talented Thoroughbred racing photographers around! (IMO). I couldn't work up the nerve to speak to Skip, but when he walked off, I stepped up to Katey, my nerves fluttering, my tongue tied, and introduced myself. "I love your work!" (Ugh - don't fans always say that?) I don't think I made a fool of myself, though. She was quite gracious.

And to top that off, on Breeders Cup day I met, and even spoke with for a while, Barbara Livingston - only another of the most famous and talented, and nicest, Thoroughbred racing photographers on the planet!

Lucky me - five celebs in two days! So I suppose all this proves that I do get star-struck at times.

Or maybe I just recognize and appreciate good talent, and I enjoy beauty.

Or at least that's how I could justify my actions and reactions, right?



(But seriously - how could this sight not stop your heart?)