A wintry ride

I know people that love February. Oh, I know the days are getting longer. Statistically February isn't cold as January. And it's a short month. And every day is another day closer to spring.

I hate February. Everything is hard in the wintertime and I think February is the "dark before the dawn". By the time February gets here I'm really sick and tired of the cold. So I just moped around most of the day Saturday.

Sunday I was desperate for a ride and L was happy to oblige.

The most recent snow was relatively undisturbed and there were tracks everywhere! I enjoy following the tracks. It's fun to see who's been around and where they go.

Saturday 9 February. Deer tracks.
There were some one way bunny tracks. They kind of came out from under some brush and went off into a trail and just....stopped. I was wondering how on earth did he do that?! Blood stained snow under a tree some yards away of course meant poor bunny got snatched up by an owl. Hawks leave wing tip marks in the snow.

It wasn't a particularly pretty day.

Tundra? Windy out here!
But L was very willing to go through this stuff and treated me with a perfectly delightful ride. She knows "careful". I tell her "careful" and she drops her head and she inspects the ground and tests the footing and proceeds very carefully. It's the sweetest thing.

I swear sometimes she almost just puts me to sleep. It was a lot of work getting here and worth every minute of it. Although I wondered about it at the time!

Back to the barn!

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I'll be darned!

I'm rather partial to Bass even though it's not what it used to be. It was an imported Bass pale ale first put me on to ales. The domestic brew isn't anywhere near good as its overseas counterpart but I'm sentimental about it.

I thought this IPA was very good and I enjoyed it. I had no idea Bass had an IPA.

Time flies...

This year seems to have gone by very quickly. I was shopping for some holiday beer. I really felt as though I was doing the same thing just the other day and I realized - no, that was last year! Last year I got some Goose Island Christmas Ale and while I wasn't crazy about it I thought it was pretty good. I felt it was a little expensive for what it was.

What I was actually looking for was Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I look forward to Celebration Ale every year. I think it's excellent beer. In all my life I've only tasted a couple of beers I didn't like. Mostly I just like some more than others. As an adult I discovered I like ales and I tend to favor pale ales although this time of year I like lagers now and then. They didn't have any Celebration Ale!

So I got:

And I like it a lot. I'm becoming increasingly fond of canned beer. There's all kinds of really good beer in cans out there and I really had no idea.

I should do a year in review. Highlights. Lowlights. New things. I have so much on my mind these days I hardly know where to begin.

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Between the solar power plant a half mile away...

And this business with the neighbors...

One sign isn't enough? And I still wonder what's up with this?

The world seems like it's changed more this year than it has in years past.

Beer in a can?!

Apparently there's a whole craft beer in a can movement I never heard of. I stopped at the store last week and, as I often do, just kind of wandered around looking for stuff that I thought "looked good". Of course "looks good" is wholly spontaneous and wildly dependent on my mood.

There with the chilled wines is a variety of 6 packs in cans! I don't ever remember seeing them before.

I'm shaking my head when..wait..I see Baxter Brewing Company. Now, Baxter State Park is in north central Maine and anything with "Baxter" in its name and a moose on the can has to mean..well..north central Maine. That's bona fied wilderness country out there. The towns have numbers rather than names. I'm quite sentimental about it. Fished there for years. Besides. The terms of its use as property of the state of Maine as a gift from former governor Percival P. Baxter make it a very special place. Downright unique actually.

Ok, enough about that. Turns out Baxter Brewing is in Maine sure enough but not hardly north central. More like "not far from here". Maine's a big state as far as New England goes. But it caught my attention. So I grabbed a 6 pack of their IPA. That's kind of a brewery's benchmark, I think. But after a few strides I decided no, I *always* drink IPA. So I went back and got this:

Baxter Brewing Pamola Xtra Pale Ale
What am I leading up to? This is the very *best* beer I've had in I don't know how long. And I'm just amazed it came from a can. I haven't had beer in a can since I was a teenager! I have no idea what it looks like. It just doesn't seem right somehow to pour it into a glass.

Now, after making that comment, I'll have to go over and read the review on Beer Advocate. For all I know they all agree it's the worst beer ever. I like to make up my own mind before I read reviews. As often as not what I think is *great* the beer snobs rate somewhere around "meh".

Edited to add:

Baxter State Park September 1986
Awesome fishing there!

Groundwork. Again?!

After the ordeal that was the latter part of the winter we've been blessed with weeks of sparkling Spring weather!

That's our barn there in the middle. 4 May 2013. Abundant Green!
An unexpected "issue" arose this week. I was bringing L into the barn Wednesday night. And there was a SCARY THING in the barn. A dog bed <sigh>. Right there. On the floor. Where IT DOESN'T BELONG. Sometimes. I swear. So L decided it was ok to run me over to escape this threat. She didn't. But she tried.

She does this now and then because I get sloppy. She's a very good horse and I tend to be..well..undisciplined. Sometimes I don't notice things I should when I handle L. My trainer calls this "letting her get away with stuff". What happens is L loses confidence. In me. She starts to think she has to watch out for herself. She's also a very smart horse and she has to think I'm smarter than she is. It took me a *long* time to figure this out. That's always a challenge. Getting her to think I'm smarter than she is. Or at least wonder about it.

So, for example, as we ride, I have to tell her "no, not now" when she *thinks* of snatching up a mouthful of grass. If she actually snatches up that mouthful of grass? Or even makes a move for it? Too late. And trust me on this, she'll cover a quarter mile of pasture at a dead run snatching up a mouthful of grass with every stride. If she thinks she can.

So the question is not "why did she do that?" but rather, what made her *think* she could do that.

And of course, what to do about it. That's easy. Be the "leader", insist on good manners and be consistent. Always. The hard part is getting her attention. Which is where the groundwork comes in! Or, perhaps better put, showmanship. One needs to *lead* their horse on the ground. Be in control of every move. There's no downside to having solid groundwork and we return to it time and time again. As a matter of fact anytime you handle a horse you're doing groundwork whether you know it or not.

So yesterday we did showmanship. To remind both her and me that "whoa means whoa". We moved every which way and I was sure to have her respect my space. While halted she let her face drift towards a nearby branch. And she snapped at it. I got her across the shoulder with a crop before she'd even wrapped her lips around a leaf. And she leaped backwards 3 feet and looked at me like she was thinking "what's the *matter* with you!" and that was our magic moment. She knew I was paying attention and we were done. This time anyway. It really isn't fair for me to have to do this every year. I got her attention and what I have to do now is just keep her attention.

A horse will never ever *ever*, even "accidentally", bump into a lead horse. Horses *always* know exactly where the lead horse is and will *never* get in its space. A horse willing to get in your space is a "drop everything right now and fix it" thing. And master your showmanship skills. Practice over and over.

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I like this. A lot. Might even be a new favorite.

Anchor Brewing Liberty Ale

Problem Solved

I had a problem several weeks ago. When I stopped to buy...beer. I have some favorites but I wanted to try something new. As I looked at dozens, if not hundreds of beers I realized that, over the years, I've at least tried pretty much everything I had a passing acquaintance with.

I had no idea how to choose something (completely) new. By type? Well sure but then what. Go in alphabetical order? Prettiest label? Nearest brewery?

I grabbed a 6 pack from Offshore Ale. Beer from Martha's Vineyard is local and maybe somewhat creative and crafty and I like ales. But then I had to wonder what about Martha's Vineyard would make ...it...good? I thought maybe it was "gimmicky". So I put it back. I was having a problem!

I left there with Long Trail Pale Ale and a vague idea about needing a plan.

A week or so later...I had..a plan unfolding. I Googled "beers to try".

And I made a list!

From the search results I have a list of about 40 beers the "experts" think are pretty good. Some of them might even be hard to find. That will keep me busy for a while. Add this list of seasonal beer and I think it's fair to say...problem solved.

Starting here
I vaguely recall something about Anchor Steam Brewing having been influential in the craft beer movement decades ago and being overall fairly well regarded. So I decided I'd try their beer.

I think it's kind of average but I liked it. I tend to like ales so I found this was malty and sweet but it was refreshing enough. I haven't poured it into a glass yet so I don't know what it looks like. This was different and while I wouldn't say I'm an expert I found it satisfying enough.

Daisies!

Saturday, the 19th of May was a positively stunning day. Even the daisies were out! I don't know that I've ever seen them out this early.

Barn Daisies. 19 May 2012
One thing that isn't early this year is tack cleaning. I'm going to have to clean some tack in the next week or two!

Between the rain and the sun the grass is growing like crazy. L and I hit the fields and the grass is past her elbows. Try keeping your horse out of the grass when it's chin high! It's a challenge. Challenge or not I enjoyed a most awesome ride. And...I think we're going to have some new neighbors! Stay tuned..

I had to stop and get something special on my way home. This time of year is wheat beer season. What better way to celebrate?

Dreamweaver wheat beer
I enjoyed this beer. See how nice and cloudy it is? It has a nice frothy head too but I still prefer Allagash White.

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A very special dinner as well. This is a (Great Lakes) Brown Trout fillet beside some mixed greens. I oven grilled it at 450 degrees. Ten minutes per inch. This went about 9 minutes. I mixed up a glaze with equal parts lemon juice, grainy Dijon mustard and horseradish with some wild flower honey. I glazed the trout at around 7 or 8 minutes and reserved some to drizzle around the plate. That's a salmon recipe. Brown Trout is just sensational. I scattered a pinch of dill over it. Any fresh herbs will do.

I thought the mixed greens were especially nice on a perfect Spring day like today.

Honey mustard glazed Brown Trout
Oh. I had a Charles Smith 2009 Cabernet with it. My wine of choice this time of year would have been white. Maybe a Riesling. Or a White Zinfandel. But I had the Cabernet left sitting around and had to finish it.

Colors of Spring

Spring may have been early but it sure changed its mind this week! It's been cold and dreary all week long. Last weekend was green! Rain earlier in the week followed by some sunshiny days made everything burst overnight.

29 April - Everywhere it's green.
I don't know when we'll ride in the woods again. There's a lot of damage in the woods from last year's storms. One can plainly see how treacherous it can be in there. It's just not worth one of us getting hurt over.

We've spent most of our trail time touring the fields. It's a challenge keeping L out of all that beautiful grass while we're working. Before things got out of hand I poked her with my spurs every time she started to drop her head with that sense of purpose that says "I'm going to snatch a mouthful of grass!". She caught on pretty quick and she's happier when she knows the rules. Really. Not to worry - she can behave while we're working. I read something the other day: You're either training your horse or you're untraining your horse. You're always doing one or the other. That's a fact. Besides. I make it worth her while!

I just love all the shades of green and yellow this time of year.

I'm taking a liking to Long Trail brews. Every one I've tried so far I've found to be excellent! Just the thing after a nice ride.

No place I'd rather be

And nothing else I'd rather do.

20 August 2011
I can't think of a better way to enjoy a beautiful Summer day.

Sweet

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What's this? Beer? In a glass?!

Beer in a glass
I'm trying to acquire a deeper appreciation for beer. By noticing things like...what it looks like. I drink my beer out of a bottle. And honestly, last May was the first time in 30 years it occurred to me to drink beer out of a glass. Since then I've had beer in a glass a couple of times and I've liked it.

Here I've been drinking beer for 40 years and I still don't know what my favorite beer looks like. I imagine it's kind of straw colored.

So. To bring more depth to my experience I have made the commitment to have at least one beer from every 6 pack in a glass. I still can't make even a wild guess about what beer may taste like based on what it looks like. But I find the appearance of that nice frothy head on that Long Trail IPA somehow...satisfying.

My love affair

with beer...

started with one of these
Would you believe up until just a few years ago I don't think I'd had two beers in 20 years?

Here's what happened.

In August 2007, I had finished my barn work, worked a couple of horses and enjoyed a 2 or 3 hour ride with L. It was close to a hundred degrees out that day. I was tired. I was soaked with sweat. I felt great. On my drive home I thought...what a *perfect* day for a beer.

When I was younger I liked Molson Golden. So it was a natural choice. I stopped and got a cold 6 pack of Molson Golden. I got home, took off my shoes, opened a bottle and chugged. It was very very good. I was right. Perfect day for a beer.

The next weekend, same thing basically. Not a hundred degrees, but hot, and now I had 5 beers left. So when I got home I had a beer. Next day too. Just one. After a good ride.

A new ritual was born. I really enjoy a beer after a good ride.

This went on until I think November. When I found Molson Golden was a little too light and refreshing for the cold weather. So I got Guinness in a bottle. I like Guinness. But not in a bottle. Oh I finished that 6 pack but I'll never buy another. I followed that up with a Guinness Extra Stout. Now that I liked.

As time passed I went back to another old favorite, Bass ale. I tried a Samuel Adams Winter Lager. I liked it.

I'm not really a beer snob. I think you at least have to drink your beer out of a glass to be a beer snob. But definitely a big fan.

And apparently, as of 2010 anyway, there are 1759 breweries here in the States and 1716 of them are classified as craft breweries.

I could have a beer after every ride for the rest of my life and not have the same one twice.

I like to try new (to me) beers first and then read the reviews so I'm not influenced by anyone else's opinions. I find it rather amusing that one my most favorite beers is consistently trashed by all the beer blogs and I'm just glad the brewer keeps brewing it anyway.

I've expanded as well! Last fall I tried a couple of hard ciders. So far it just tastes like fizzy cider vinegar to me but hey, that's just me and I'll keep trying.

And it was a good way to mark training progress for a while. I really don't remember the last time I didn't have a beer after a ride...

Tomatoes

I *love* tomatoes. Really. How can anyone resist this?

Friday Night Snack
I stopped and got a greenhouse vine ripened beefsteak from a farm not too far from here.

And yesterday I find the neighbors planted roughly 6000 tomatoes! Along with maybe 1000 mixed peppers.

And I have a dozen of my own in some community garden space.

It's going to be a good year for tomatoes. I never get sick of them.

We have to be careful. Baby turkeys are starting to leave their nests and wander about.

Back Off!
L doesn't spook at stuff like this. She goes after stuff like this and I don't want anyone getting hurt. It's the most amazing thing. She'll puff up like a cat and confront threats face on. I never saw a horse do that before. I don't mean she gets a little poofy. I mean she gets all kinds of BIG. And woofy. I'm used to it now but it took a while.

We did a little ring work yesterday. My trainer and I have differing opinions. Early on, learning something new or refreshing some training, I'll back off as soon as L gets it. That can be hard. Because when you get it right you want to keep doing it. Which is what my trainer recommends. When you get it right - do it again. And again. And again..

But when we do that I can sometimes almost feel L telling ok ok, enough already. Chances are, under the circumstances, what I'm asking her is going to be hard. So when she gets it right I'll do it again just to be sure it's not a fluke. Then I'll back off. And then I'll start there next time. It works for us.

Well. They redeemed themselves with this! It was a little cool and breezy. Nice day to try a new stout. I thought their Summer Stout was just awful. In all fairness though it could be great stuff and I just don't like Summer Stout. But this. This is strong. Bold. Thick. Rich. It is what I expect of stout.

Here, this deserves a close up:

I have another bottle of the Summer Stout and I'll wait for a perfect summer day to try it again. After all. I didn't really like this until I learned how to serve it. Now it could be a favorite!

War horses

She always looks better than I do!


She's almost camouflaged this time of year!

Canadian Horses are directly descended from the royal stable of Louis XIV. Intended as riding mounts for the nobility, military and clergy of New France, these animals were of the very highest quality from the finest horses of their day.

Louis XIV did not keep a royal stable of show horses. These were war horses. The "armored division" of the time, they were bred and trained for use in battle. Contrary to popular belief soldiers in earlier times did not ride fire breathing nutbags into battle. Strong, fit, smart, steady and sensible horses were highly prized battlefield partners.

Here is an excellent online article with a historical description of the Canadian Horse.

Their ancestry of battlefield mounts comes to mind as I've been reading Xenophon. Every horseman should read Xenophon's On Horsemanship. Poetic and practical, On Horsemanship is as relevant today as the day it was written. Roughly 2400 years ago.

To a large extent what Xenophon has to say is written for the soldier. Regarding posture and balance, for example. About how to sit and being supple and flexible. It's about making it harder for your adversary to knock you off your horse!

Things like "...the brilliant horse must be the agent of his own graceful motion ...", "Beauty of motion depends upon the mover initiating the motion willingly ..." and "...be of little annoyance to the horse as possible..." are philosophical things riders should think about. Often. I've always thought handling a horse was a lot like dancing when you get it right. I'm an awful dancer.

Of course I always finish a good ride with a beer. Good rides only. I can't remember the last time I had a bad ride. Although I have had plenty. It's a personal tradition. I'll explain that one of these days. I have a story for almost everything.

I'll confess I was a little disappointed with this.


It seemed the thing to have this time of year. I don't know what I was expecting, it wasn't bad by any means but it just ... didn't work for me. Of course I have 5 more to ponder so I might change my mind too.

Riding in the rain

Last Sunday it started raining early. They hadn't forecast the rain to start until overnight Sunday night into Monday. But there, first thing Sunday morning it's pouring rain.

So Sweety and I went and rode in the rain. Actually, we've ridden in the rain before but only in a light rain. This was our first time riding in real downpours and..ya, it was fun!

Back at the barn as I got some clean bedding ready I noticed:

I titled it "Rain Butt". Nice motor, don't ya think!?

It rained all week here in greater Boston. We've been spoiled this summer. It hadn't rained like this since last March. It kinda sucked. By the time Wednesday and Thursday came around I didn't know what to do with myself.

Friday it cleared and we're having a perfectly stellar weekend. Here, we hit the road early yesterday and you can plainly see what a beautiful day we had!

Notice anything interesting? Yes, how observant! No fly bonnet! The bugs. They're gone! The flies are all over the place but the deer flies and green heads are gone. How nice is that!

We did some schooling out near the hay field and then had a good run down the tree line to the woods. We poked around the woods for a while. I really have to bring my good camera out into the woods with us. There just isn't enough light in the woods to get a decent picture with the pocket camera. I don't know what I did for fun before we had digital cameras!

Aw no! I'm a beer snob!


Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is regularly ranked one of the, if not *the*, best ale ever. I try to ignore such things. I love ales and I have to admit, it is pretty darned good. And the perfect way to wrap up a nice trail ride on a not too hot day.

Heatwave?

Sweety doesn't like the summer heat like I do!

One obvious thing to help make your horse more comfortable, especially if they have a thick, luxurious mane, is to band it so air can get under it and help cool them off a little.

On days like this we don't really work. Maybe a couple of circles left and right to stretch but that's it. Then we just do a little 20 or 30 minute bareback pony ride. There was a little breeze today and it was actually kind of nice in the shaded woods but holy crap the deer flies were just awful! Maybe 50 feet or so from the woods we were descended upon!

So we went off to lap the fields. A good head shake to get rid of the last of those pesky bugs!

Much better. Off on the left there is a couple of acres of eggplant. Yum!

Take a left at the eggplant and oh my! Look at all that hay!

She was a little bit of a pill lapping the hay fields. All she wanted to do was eat! You'd think she'd been just starving to death I swear. So I had to get all mean and then she was really awesome.

Make no mistake. If anyone wants to know:


It's not the heat it's the humidity!

Really.

If we do any real work in this kind of heat I'll hose her down. But when it's both hot and humid the water doesn't evaporate and in a few minutes she'll just be all covered in hot water. Even after scraping the water she's still just covered in hot water.

So I sponged her down good with a linament solution when we were done. A linament solution will help her be more comfortable. I just kinda wing it. Maybe 6 or 8 ounces of Absorbine in a gallon of icy cold water. I use a big sponge, start at her feet, get her good and wet but not soaking, and by the time I get to the top of her legs she's making faces.

After I worked that around and scraped her down and let some air move around her, I put her away and I went and had one of these:

I like the seasonal brews.

I would surely like to have done a few miles in the woods. The woods are relatively cool and they smell so good this time of year but all things considered, ya, this was a nice day. Just like I thought it would be.

As happy as I can be. For now anyway.

A hot day, a good horse and a cold one. It doesn't get much better!

After mucking stalls and doing chores, we hit the road:


Poked around in the woods:


Found our way home:


Sponged down with linament. I think she likes that better than a shower. Here, look at this beautiful butt! No no not mine! Hers! Nicest butt on the property.


Note to self: When riding bareback on a hot day? Keep some extra pants around.

Then after tucking L away with some well earned treats, I wrapped it up with:



I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I found my "thing". There's no place I'd rather be. Nothing else I'd rather do.