January 7th and Waiting

Waiting...

The fifth wheel has been sitting up near the house for a long time now and for a while Teresa was regularly taking things in and out with bins and boxes filling all over the house. There was talk of the 27^th of December for heading south, but then the horses had a visit from the vet on Christmas Eve and that was the end of that. The next departure date was set for New Year’s Day, but on the Monday after Christmas they hauled a couple of the horses off to another vet and were suddenly talking about the 8^th.

Storm getting his New Year's bath.

On the last day of the year they started giving baths to the horse herd with five of them done on that day and the other six the next. Bathing eleven 1,000 lb animals in freezing temperatures seemed like an odd way to celebrate the new year but apparently the horses have some kind of cooties. In the event it's something transferable to dogs, I'm glad I only come in contact with the backs of their heels now and then when I’m herding one of them. I’ll pass on the itchy skin and missing hair.

Ready for the -30C windchills.

Until recently, I didn't see the need to go anywhere this winter because the weather's been so warm and snow-free. Although we did have one nasty stretch back in late November when we had to wear the dreaded jackets a few times. I don’t mind so much if it makes my people feel better about taking us outside since I’m all about the outdoors, but Chico rolls around and rubs himself on everything he walks past as if the thing is strangling him. If he were human I’m sure he’d be a nudist. And if you think that's funny, you should see him when they put boots on his feet -- more effective than hobbling a horse! He won’t even move for food, which I didn’t think was possible without hog-tying him. He moves like lightning if I drop even a morsel of something I'm eating. I admit I did feel for the little guy when Teresa and Nollind got laughing so hard they were wiping tears from their faces. Poor dude, standing there in the kitchen in my new boots, a ring of treats around him just out of reach. Good thing he’s got tough paws and doesn’t need protection from the volcanic rock in the Arizona desert.

The travel delay doesn’t really bother me. I get to sleep in my own bed, explore my home turf and chase off any coyotes who dare enter my domain, and I don’t have to ride in the four-wheeled death trap. They assure me this new truck will be quieter and therefore less scary than the old one, but it probably goes just as fast, maybe even faster since it’s supposed to be more powerful, and I'm guessing those monstrous rigs with their freaky jake brakes still roar up and down the interstate highways south of the border.

Checking out the Coyote Freeway

I admit, I miss going for walks when it’s cold like it has been for this past week, and in the desert we walk for 1-2 hours every day. If only I could get there without the days of terrifying truck travel. How I envy Chico his ability to sleep most of the way. They once put me to sleep to have some dental work done (got a little too close to the horse’s heels that day) and it would be ideal to have some of whatever was in that needle to get me down to Arizona. Although, who would keep an eye on the road.