Rainbow Heart - Say it With Stormy!

Wednesday September 21 2011

Another of Stormy's greeting card series.

Rainbow Heart is blank inside, the notecard size is 4 1/4" by 5 1/2", and each card comes with an envelope. The original cards don't, of course, come with the copyright marks on it.

You can find these on Etsy in packs of 6 (various designs):
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EquestrianVagabond?ref=pr_shop , or, if you want single cards you can get them from my photography and art website:
http://www.theequestrianvagabond.com/ArtForSale.html.

You can get a preview of more available cards on the 2 site links listed above... or check out the slide show and link on the right of this blog... or you can just wait as Stormy posts them as the mood strikes him. (He's very busy with many projects... besides mowing the lawn.)

Until next Stormy post, happy trails!

Trailmeister

Monday September 19 2011

Officials for the upcoming 5-day Owyhee Canyonlands Pioneer September 27-October 1:

Ride manager: Steph Teeter
Day manager: Regina Rose
Veterinarians: Robert Washington and David Hayes
Trailmeister: JOSE VIOLA! (see above)

The goal is, if there is enough help during the ride so I can actually RIDE, for me to ride Jose Viola 5 days in a row! I've never done a 5-day, only 4-days! And Jose's never done 5 days in a row!

If the Raven and I ride and finish 3 days, we'll both reach 5000 miles!! (well... actually The Raven will still have 5 more miles and one more Tevis buckle than me).

One day at a time...

Just Me And...

Friday September 16 2011

Nothing. For miles around.

No cows, no cats.

No humans, no horses.

No deer, no donkey.

No noise, no life - nothing for miles around.

Solitariness.

But look again:


...at the Owyhee skies and clouds - a presence sculpting a shifting personality onto the mountains.


... a watching vulture, part of a rock until I get too close; then a brief silhouette.


... a wild mustang stallion pile, marking his territory.


...obsidian flakes, an old rock corral - traces of the past.


Listen harder:


...quail, canyon wren, the sigh of the breeze, wafting down over the Owyhees, whooshing down the Owyhee front, passing over me on its way to the Snake River.

For miles around - just me and Owyhee.

Celebrate - Say it With Stormy!

Thursday September 15 2011

That horse of mine, he's something else. In between all of that hay eating and lawn mowing, he's come up with a line of greeting cards. He's up late into the nights working on them.

The antics of Stormy (well... in his younger days) and his friends are the inspiration for these horse cartoon art cards. He's developing some for every occasion you might need, and those occasions you might not, and those occasions you might need but you might not know about yet.

Celebrate! is blank inside, the notecard size is 4 1/4" by 5 1/2", and each card comes with an envelope. The original cards don't, of course, come with the copyright marks on it.

You can find these on Etsy in packs of 6 (various designs):
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EquestrianVagabond?ref=pr_shop , or, if you want single cards you can get them from my photography and art website:
http://www.theequestrianvagabond.com/ArtForSale.html.

Best of all, if you aren't more than thrilled with Stormy as the subject, (and if you are not, what's wrong with you!), you can have your own horse be the star of the cards. If you're interested, send me an email, mer at theequestrianvagabond dot com for a price list and instructions. Sorry, just mailing to US and Canada at the present time.

You can get a preview of more available cards on the sites listed above... or you can just wait as Stormy posts them as the mood strikes him.

More to come, including some he's developing for upcoming holidays!

And then i had to go SHOPPING

Tuesday September 13 2011

When I was around 10 years old, every two weeks I had to drive with my mom on the long-a** drive into the big city and get allergy shots. If that wasn't bad enough, then I had to go shopping. It took all day.

I didn't want to go shopping. I was never in the mood for shopping. I slumped around with a sour face. I tried a sad face. I complained. I dragged behind my mother, irritating her to no end. ("Would you come on!"). I shuffled my feet in protest. At every shop she stopped at and went into, when we came out I immediately turned around to head back to the car. She pulled me around the other way and we kept shopping. She always tried to make it sound better than it was: "It's such a nice day!" "Oh, isn't this pretty!" The day always dragged out forever.

When we were finally finished shopping, and turned around to go home, the day wasn't so bad after all. My pace picked up beside my mom on the way to the car, and the drive home seemed shorter and much more fun.

****************************



And then I had to go FLAG THE TRAIL (by Finneas)

I'm 13, too old and pretty for this stuff, but every couple of months, I have to carry M on the long-a** ride across the big Owyhee desert. If that weren't bad enough, then I have to flag the trail for the upcoming Owyhee Canyonlands endurance ride. It takes all day.


Today I didn't want to go flag trail. I was not in the mood for flagging trail. I slumped around with a sour face. I tried a sad face. I planted my feet in the dirt and complained. I dragged behind M, irritating her to no end. ("Would you come on!"). I shuffled my feet and tripped over rocks in protest as she rode. At every sagebrush she stopped at to hang a ribbon on, when she climbed back in the saddle, I immediately turned around to head back home. She pulled me around the other way and we kept flagging. She always tried to make it sound better than it was: "It's such a nice day!" "Oh, isn't this pretty!" The day dragged out forever.

When we were finally finished flagging trail and turned around to go home, the day wasn't so bad after all. My pace picked up for M on the way home, and the trail home seemed shorter and much more fun.


**********************
(P.S. by Merri)
It always comes back to bite you in the butt, one way or another!

Sunny: The Healing Continues

Friday September 9 2011

We've been following Sunny's healing from her hind leg's battle with barbed wire on July 18.

I did an update through August 13 (Day #26), Amazing Healing.

The following is her steady progress since then. The pain has gone away and in fact, she spends a lot of time pacing and/or running her pen when the herd has left (she doesn't care about Perry, who's babysitting her - and in fact I had to move Perry to her own pen this week when I heard, then saw, Sunny outright attacking her!). Which has led to the latest problem: her sore hock. The bandage starts slipping down, and the wraps above the hock become tight, and have started cutting into the skin right above the top of the hock, and leaving the point of the hock swollen.

Last night for the first time, since the wound is looking so good (it's about half the original size now), I left her unbandaged. I figured it would be cool enough overnight that the flies would leave it alone. I hosed it a long time with water, dried it off and sprayed Shriner's spray on it, and a coating of fly spray. This morning I rewrapped it. I'll probably keep doing that - leave the wrap on 3-4 days, then leave it off a night. We'll have Dr Washington out to look at it one of these days... she still may need that lower flap of skin, and some proud flesh removed, but overall, she continues to heal marvelously and at an amazing pace - and still no sign of lameness.

Day 28:


Day 30:


Day 33:


Day 37:



Day 40 (see the bandage cuts above the hock and the swollen cap of the hock):





Day 42:






Day 47:


(today) Day 52:

Our Newest Owyhee Celebrity

Thursday September 8 2011

Our Newest Owyhee Celebrity

Following in Stormy's footsteps, when he made the cover of the Washington Thoroughbred magazine, Rhett is our latest Equine Celebrity on the crick!

He and Steph made the cover of the Endurance News magazine. Rhett was pretty amazed.


Stormy was impressed. He added his snort of approval.


We have had a few dealings with the paparazzi out here, but hopefully these two Cover Boys live far enough out in the boonies so they don't start a stampede of them out to Owyhee. The two 20-year-old grand old boys prefer to live out their celebrity in quiet Owyhee anonymity.