WoT Visitors

5 weeks passed between book club meetings. I'd hoped to see everyone before then (and maybe even get a board game on the agenda), but it didn't happen.

I texted the group, "Want to get together this weekend?"

Mark replied that he was "seeking permission," so I threw in "If it helps, bring the kid to the farm and my kid can help entertain!"

Mark said, "Do you want to go see horses?" was an easy sell!

I cleaned up the house to help sell it to Carrie. Loki and Shane didn't need any convincing! 

I brought Maddie in from the field, so that Hazel (7) could pet her. 

The real hit was Shane. Hazel's an only child, too, so she's been just as kid-starved as he has! They kidnapped Happy cat at first, talked a little Pokemon, but the fun kicked in to high gear when they realized they both liked Roblox.

They asked and I let them play so long as both of them were taking turns. When one got tired of clicking to earn money the other would take over. Mark said that Hazel wanted to grow up and be a YouTube commentator just like Shane! They were laughing and squealing for hours.

Meanwhile, the adults talked and played The Crew. I was happy to get a game in that even Carrie would play! You knew whenever Scott was the commander, because he'd pull out the Top Gun hat!

Tsuki was outside with us, but it was cold. She hid inside Carrie's poncho. Carrie was delighted and asked for a picture.

The kids played so well together that the visit rolled on and Carrie eventually grilled up burgers and hot dogs for everyone. I was worn out from being social by the time we called it quits.

"Can they come back tomorrow?" Shane asked.

Hazel liked the idea, too.

Hopefully, we won't go 5 weeks in between meetings next time! 

Virtual Schooling - Two weeks in

Virtual school has been a lot more work than I thought it'd be.

For me, at least. 

Shane thinks it's easy by comparison. He's gotten more Super Nintendo and electronics by being quiet when I'm working my tail off!

Indeed, one of the challenges for Shane is making sure he remembers to log in to his class. His main Zoom starts at noon. Unfortunately, I have a class session from 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM, so I'm in the thick of it when he needs a reminder.

There was an oops or two, but I started setting the oven timer to remind him (and me) when his class starts.

I'm better at getting him on the 30 minute small sessions he has one or two of each morning....usually. There are times I'm knee deep in my own preparations and I look at the clock and he's already a few minutes late and oblivious!

Somehow, Carrie was out of the house during this time window 3 out of 4 days (There was the farrier who came one day, errands another...)

I have meetings from 11:15 AM -4:30 PM with only a few minutes offline to use the bathroom, so I really haven't seen much of anything Shane's doing in class. I set up my email to be able to see his progress, but to be honest I haven't checked.

Our internet situation has improved, though. Instead of Shane and I fighting for and draining all our bandwidth, Carrie signed up for internet through the Caylx Institute. We had to pay for a year contract up front, but so far it's working.

We tried a bunch of different options when we moved in. We found out Sprint was the best option. They offered a 60 GB/mo hotspot or a 100 GB/mo hotspot if you used a phone for a similar price. 

Caylx was around $600 for the whole year and claims to be unlimited GB/mo. They go off the Sprint network, so I'm not sure how they can say or do that.

But it's working. For now. 

It didn't stop the cat from turning off my computer one day. Aria stepped right on the power button mid-class! 

The kids were highly amused.

She's been seeking all sorts of attention and doesn't seem to take the hint no matter how many times I push her onto the floor.

She helped me one time to many and I moved my laptop to the bedroom Thursday and Friday.

It'd be more frustrating if it wasn't funny. I think it's good for the kids to see me having those kind of problems.

Loki's been acting neglected, so I tried to let him in the bedroom while I worked.

He laid down for a hot minute before he started rolling around and wanted to play! I had to kick him out, too.

Whenever I get a lunch break, I take him outside to run for a couple of minutes to make up for ignoring him all day. Then it's right back to the grind.

I had 7 zoom meetings on Friday.

9-9:30 AM - Parent meeting on Zoom

9:35-50 AM - Planning phone call with coworker

9:50-10:15 AM - Shovel poop at the barn before office hours.

10:15 AM - 12:30 PM - Office hours on Zoom

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM - Sophomore Seminar on Zoom

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Staff meeting on Zoom

3:45 PM - 4:30 PM - Geometry meeting on Zoom

Emails and stretching my legs filled the gaps.

I got a request from Carrie during the staff meeting: Run outside and meet the bus! I was amazed the Caylx router's signal reached that far.

It was a bit windy, so I relocated to the rocks and waited for Shane's school bus.

There was a scheduled supply drop off. Carrie had taken Shane on an errand and was running late. She got a 5-minute warning on her phone and it was fairly accurate.

I ran out to the bus, grabbed the supplies, and never technically left the staff meeting.

There were some directives from above I would have preferred not to know about, so maybe it was a mixed blessing.

So far it's gone fairly well. Yes, everything takes longer. EVERYTHING. I'm working my tail off, but it feels like it could work.

I meant to do my grading over the weekend, but I needed time to recharge. I'll have to scramble Monday, but the break was needed!

Household Additions

"Barn cat" just means "delayed house cat" to Carrie.

I fell for it twice, but no more.

The kittens came inside to recover from being spayed and they haven't left.

And they get away with everything, because they're cute.

"You know, that's a terrible idea to allow," I said. "It's cute now, but that's a pain when they keep doing it."

My wisdom fell on deaf ears. I refused to pick up the mess. I don't know if Carrie or Shane did it in the end.

I know where my loyalties lie.

"Oh, hai. I'm in your picture!"

Shane and Carrie are both very pleased with having the pair in the house. Shane's less fond of the kitten poop (it's extra smelly), but it's not enough to convince him to side with the Barn Cat Coalition and kick them out!

The kittens immunity status is largely Tsuki's fault. Aria is cute and playful, but Tsuki wants to be a lap cat when she grows up. And the lap of choice is Carrie. 

She's very affectionate. Anytime Carrie sits down Tsuki is not long to follow. If Carrie goes too long in between sitting down, Tsuki will follow after her and call out.

And Carrie eats it up. She coos and giggles and her mirth is the only reason I'm not more sour on the interlopers.

And don't think for a moment I'm the only one taking pictures.

It's Carrie's favorite pastime. 

Many of the pictures here are hers! And these are just the ones I've decided to post!

I get frequent picture notifications whenever Tsuki is passed out on Carrie's lap.

And they get into everything.

Everything.

Nothing is sacred or off limits save the bedroom. 

The older cats take the hint when you take them off the table or counter and put them on the ground. The kittens keep at it. They refuse to be dissuaded. 

Aria's been difficult with virtual school. If Tsuki's claimed Carrie, Aria seems to think she has a claim on me. Either that or she finds the feeling of the keyboard stimulating under her feet.

It's a good thing they get along with the other cats and Loki. 

I haven't given up on the idea of them being outdoor kittens.

They'll come with us when we do barn chores. Then they'll roam outside hunting and playing.

But they keep coming right back. We can make a kissing noise and the kittens take notice. They know they've got it good and they have no intention of sleeping in the barn again especially with the weather cooling.

The Barn Update

Where to start? The barn is part of the daily routine here.

Samwise has moved on to California. You can see the arid hills behind him. His new owners "Fed-Exed" him by air. I didn't realize there was a demand for flying horses!

It was a bit of a shock when he sold, because the first buyer fell through. It was nearly a done deal when it evaporated based on the opinion of a new vet who'd never actually seen Sam after the couple paid a well-known vet to inspect him.

A couple of weeks later he sold for real. Carrie misses him. 

However, she has "my" mule to keep her busy now. Pockets and Abby are quiet the bonded pair. They go everywhere and groom each other. Abby's even backed up towards him while in heat, but he had no idea what to do with it (to her chagrin!).

I don't ride the horses, so my view of everything is based on the work. I'm getting better at paying attention to how the horses walk to see how they're feeling. I spotted gash on Eddy's leg one day (the bright red helped attracted the ADHD).

How'd it happen? Not a clue. "Horses do some stupid things," Carrie said. She threw some clotting/first-aid powder on it and when it stopped bleeding when turned him back out. There's nothing but grass and other horses in the field, so it's hard to guess how he got a cut so high inside his leg.

Magic's been the recent high-maintenance case. He was walking lame with Carrie and Ellie suspecting an abscess in his front left hoof. He got multiple duct tape booties.  

He got the occasional epsom salt foot-bath, too. Carrie seriously impressed me. Magic didn't really want his foot in a boot and kept shifting his weight, but she wouldn't let him out of it. She was able to hold his hoof up and turn it this way and that to make him keep it up so she could treat him.

Normally a horse hoof looks something like this (pre-picking out the dirt).

When the abscess finally did start to drain it came out in two different places. You can see one of the gaps on the back left near the frog of Magic's foot here. It was very tender and he'd flinch anytime the area was touched.

The second drain point was under the hoof behind the hoofwall. The hoof looks grosser here since it was in a bath softening up.

Magic has had to stay inside or in the dry lot a couple of nights when it's been raining and he's hated it. He's a huge chicken and can't stand to be alone. He whinnies through the night even though the other horses can usually touch noses with him across the fence lines. 

When the weather dried back up, Carrie let him out and he took off. He was sprinting and squealing the whole way across the field to rejoin the herd!

In the mare's field, fly gear is en vogue. Abby had pink fly boots that didn't fit her right, so now they're further emasculating the mule. Carrie got Pockets and Maddie new fly sheets. 

Technically, Magic has a fly blanket, too, but Huck already chewed off part of the tail. 

Speaking of the little trouble maker, the rescue owner, Sarah, stopped by to check on his progress recently. Carrie groomed out his tail beforehand.

Carrie gave Sarah a full showing of what's he's learned since being with us. He recently master cantering on the lunge. 

Sarah was impressed. Huck's a smart boy and will make someone a good companion.

What impressed me is that Carrie and Gay backed Huck a couple of weeks ago. Gay was visiting and said, "You know what? Let's try it. I think it will go well."

They went for it and it worked!

I came outside when I realized what they were doing. Otherwise it would've been done before I got a picture.

I've been opposed to Carrie taking any big risks. She's thought Huck would do well, but didn't want to do anything without experienced backup, so when Gay offered to help....

It was a happy coup.

Carrie hasn't been riding as much since the hunt season ended.

She and Barbara went on one last weekend ride a couple of weeks back.

Barbara went out of town on vacation afterward. She's one of Carrie's main riding buddies, so Maddie got to take a vacation herself.

Carrie sent Barbara some "postcards" from Maddie. Barbara "wrote" back to apologize for any extra seafood poundage! 

This weekend (9/19) Carrie hopped on Maddie to get her back into work mode (and try out her new poncho!).

Those are the main bits, at least. There's always something going on around here. Even if it's just lots of poop shoveling.