Treasure From Above

Friday February 12 2010

No, it's not poop on the porch railing, but a pellet! A gift from some owl last night. He wasn't even perching on the roof, because that's overhanging - he perched on the railing!

You can see little rodent bones in the pellet. If I took it apart I could probably put a whole mouse (or two mice) skeleton together.




I hear screech owls here every night. Occasionally I'll hear a great horned owl. Just a quarter mile up Bates Creek, at least two long-eared owls are hanging out - same place I've seen a day-roost of them (they prefer thick vines to roost in - and you will not see them unless they fly), same place I spotted a baby last year.

The long-eared owls and great horned owls will take up and lay eggs in an abandoned nest in the cottonwood trees. The birds aren't sitting on nests yet, but now's the time to view and make a note of the nests, because they'll be hard to see once the leaves are out. (And buds are already starting on some of the trees!!)

Screech owls will use a cavity in a snag. Plenty of snags around here also, but it's hard to spot the screech owls in the twilight or dark.

Did you spot the long-eared owl in the top photo? Here are some hints.




And I do realize that I am probably one of only a few people who get excited about owl pellets...

Eye Spy

Wednesday February 10 2010

I like to say that Jose has Elf Eyes, because he spots things while out on the trail that I'd completely miss. He always sees deer herds before I see the white butts turn and bound away. Once, on an endurance ride, he spotted a coyote on the side of a hill as we were trotting along. I couldn't see anything. Jose kept wanting to stop and look. I even let him stop and look and I didn't see anything. I told him there was nothing there, and I urged him along the trail, and he agreeably trotted onward while he kept looking at the hillside. The coyote blended so perfectly into the brown brush and dirt, and I only saw it when we were within a hundred yards of it and it moved. Jose's found deer antlers and feathers and obsidian. He even found a GPS once. I've got a box of his Owyhee treasures.

On today's ride, he first spotted twenty sage grouse when they flew up from the sagebrush. Must be a new lek there!

Next: a cow in the sagebrush... a cow? Perhaps it was a bull? We didn't want to get too close, because that's probably what it was. Some bull obviously didn't read the cow-lander to realize he should have come down out of the mountains four months ago.


Next: the mother of all deer antlers - and two points are even broken off.

I strapped it on the back of Jose's saddle pack, but as we trotted, it would poke him in the butt and make him swish his tail. I ended up carrying it the rest of the ride. It was heavy enough to know I'd get one big headache if I had to wear a pair of these on my head all the time. No wonder they shed every year!

Next - a stash of calcite crystals. We've ridden by this spot many times, but only now, after a certain amount of snows and rains, the mud has eroded and crumbled away and the crystals have chosen to reveal themselves. I picked a few up for Jose.


And, of course, always, Jose notices and treasures the views of this spectacular country that we ride in (particularly from high spots). I always wonder what goes on in his head as he gazes at the world spread out around him.

Herdus Rompus

Tuesday February 9 2010

Finneas and Dudley come running from up the canyon when I call.

I open the gate and let them run down to the house, where the Owyhee herds mingle in a romping dance - two steps, mad sprints, pirouettes, bucks, leaps; all turning on a dime as a flock and dancing back the way they came, the ground shaking with thunder.






(And look at that old Thoroughbred racehorse dig in and run!)

Too Ride

Sunday February 7 2010

Our horses weren't too motivated to be out on the trail today.

They hadn't been ridden for a week, so both of them let us know just how slowly they could stroll on the way out, and, that they just might feel like bucking under the right circumstances. Whichever horse followed let the rider know there could be a cougar somewhere behind us, and, well, what do we humans know? We can't smell what horses smell. Perhaps there was something in the air or on the ground.

We did a slower ride to cut down on the bucking potential, but added hills and sand washes for a good workout.

Despite our horses not being particularly in the mood, the day was not too hot nor too cold, too wet nor too dry, too windy nor too foggy, too muddy nor too dusty. A perfect day for Owyhee riding?

Too right.

Fresh new badger hole!

It's a Hit

Saturday February 6 2010

The party/First Friday Eagle Art Walk/The Equestrian Vagabond Photo Show at the Wild West Bakery and Espresso was a hit last night.

Not only was the Woodriver Cellars wine tasty, but Chef KC's hors d'ouevres were delicious. They kept disappearing and he kept bringing out new trays of food.

Most delightful (and astonishing) were the kids from the ArtsWest Performing Arts school (grades 6-12) who came and took turns playing the piano, guitar, stand up bass, flute, clarinet. They were terrific and packed the crowd in.

And they are coming back on Friday the 12th! As is Woodriver Cellars and Chef KC, for the Horsemen and Women's Open house, from 6-9 PM.

Of my photos, this was the favorite. Starring who else but my horse Stormy. I didn't tell him though, didn't want him getting any grand ideas.

Stop by next Friday if you're in the area!

Surprise

Friday February 5 2010

I was totally unprepared for what I woke up to this morning: another two inches of snow in Owyhee!

An absolute surprise and delight - for me and the horses.

It took only the slightest spark from Jose to get the herd romping and wrestling in the snow. What had been a pristine sea of white covering the ground quickly became a churned up mess, from the sprints, spins, rolls and earth digging (Jose).

Owyhee Spa

Wednesday February 3 2010

Imagine one thing that can: calm and nourish and energize your soul, calm and revitalize your spirit, invigorate your body, detoxify your body, cool your nervous system, activate body organs, reduce aches and pains and swollen joints, enhance and revitalize your skin and refine skin texture, prevent and treat various diseases, cure arthritis, treat rheumatism and skin disorders (acne, eczema, psoriasis), cure hormonal imbalance, reduce cellulite, remedy dry hair; a product that is a natural antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging, and a beauty treatment.

We've got it right here in Owyhee - a special mineralized mixture of mud, clay and sand, to apply as you wish.

As Jose, Mac, and Stormy demonstrate, you can do the whole body Owyhee Mud Bath.






Note how you can really grind it into the coat for maximum skin-body-spirit-organ-joint effect.




Stormy worked it into his mane, also, and did a pretty good facial.


Kazam shows you can put it on one spot on your face if your skin needs revitalizing-enhancing-refining at one spot.


(The only horse who remains ultra-clean is the baby Smokey, who, as Carol pointed out, isn't going to roll with this herd of uncle-sitters, without her mama to provide comfort and a sense of safety and protection).


I'm thinking about bottling and selling this stuff, and taking bookings for horses at the Owyhee Mud Spa. If you've been watching Jose and the horses here, you'll know it obviously works to - at the least - energize souls, revitalize spirits, and invigorate bodies.

And you can see from today's demonstration that it especially works as a beauty treatment.

Half a dozen horses can't be wrong.