So, I moved to Denver, right into the middle of EVERYTHING! There is a coffee house close to my apt, and a wine restaurant, several yoga studios, bookstores, ethnic restaurants, and a fencing--yes, sword-fighting--studio not far away. I'm renting for 6 months, in order to give myself a chance to evaluate Denver, to see if I want to invest in a life here. I didn't do that when I moved to COS, and I paid dearly for that mistake. It's already been a good, healthy change for me--emotionally, mentally and financially. You can't ask for more than that!
Let's catch up with the past two months. In August, Ranger & I were invited to participate in a cutting clinic at Barnes Ranch in Larkspur. The Barnes, Gerrie & Jeff, are very active in the Versatility Ranch Horse program in Colorado. Ranger was amazing, as usual, and Gerry invited us to ride on her 2009 team! What an honour! Check out Ranger with the cows:
Beth came over to the house in August to help me with some projects before it sold, and we saw some neat insects. The moth was about 1" wide and emerald green, and spent most of the day on the screen door. The dragonfly was irridescent green. It was about 5" long--it was enormous! Look at the detail of the wings!
Sara's first birthday was in August. Odie blew up a LOT of balloons, and the kids had a ball with them. I'm not sure my heart has recovered from the numerous POPS, every few minutes! Watching her grow up has been wonderful. Odie is due to give birth to Sara's brother in December; it's going to be a Merry Christmas!
The sunrises and sunsets are something I'll miss about my house. These are the last few in Sept:
Kalisha joined me on the deck to watch the sunset. She's 17 years of age, now.
Fungi are always fun. This was growing in one of my potted plants. Pretty, isn't it?
Have you ever seen a baby orca? This little one is in one of the San Juan pods. He or she won't be named (numbered, actually) for a year. Scientists wait to ensure that the calf has a good chance at survival before numbering it. They think he/she was born in June 2008.
Flying has been fantastic. Here's the view from 2000' below another airplane; we were at FL370. No, this wasn't a close-call. Currently, ATC separates airplanes by 1000' in opposite directions. They were going to SFO, too, so were 2000' above, since they were going the same way:
This is what it looks like when everything goes to hell. Yes, we landed safely (DUH!).
The views from my office are always amazing. This is San Jose at dawn, with a sea of fog abutting the foothills in the Bay Area:
Here's Chino at dawn last week. It seems to be the center of the universe, doesn't it?
How about Missoula at dawn the first week of Sept? With fog against the mountains, and snow the night before!
Here's another one of those weird mini-hurricanes. This one is near Santa Barbara the last week of August. I was flying with Andrew at the time. I was glad that something this special happened during this particular trip!
I love sharing the joy of flying with people. Vivian is 89, and this was her first airplane ride, ever. She was thrilled to have a female pilot! We brought her to LAX. Notice the NORMAL display to the right of my yoke (steering wheel)--that's what it's supposed to look like!
This little guy's backpack is almost as big as he is! He was a terrific big brother, wasn't he?
OK, OK, to the anniversary! Seven years ago, on October 1st, Kay & Chuck drove me to Burns, Oregon, to adopt a wild mustang from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It was only a few weeks after 9/11, and I was worried about my job, but I wanted a horse so badly...a mustang, and I was tired of pushing my dream aside for everyone else's ideas of responsibility and common sense. I spent HOURS trying to make the biggest decision of my life. The horse I had originally chosen wouldn't look at me, and the people whose advice I trusted had all told me to choose a horse who also chose me. I was devastated, and didn't know what to do--there wasn't a back-up horse in my plans.Gary, one of the BLM wranglers, suggested that I go to the mare/foal pen and play with the babies while making my decision. I chose two cute bay colts, and there was one little black colt who wanted to come to meet me, but his mama wouldn't let him. I asked for the three of them to be brought in so I could see them more closely. The bay colts panicked; they were terrified to be so close to humans. The black colt stood in the chutes, nervous, but not too scared. He whinnied once to his mama, who had been turned back, then he turned to me. I reached between the bars and rubbed his neck, and Ranger looked into my eyes. That was it. I was lost in his gaze. I had found my horse. Here he is, 7 years later. Isn't he handsome? I'm so very, very awed and honoured that this wild horse has chosen to trust me. I once told Gary that Ranger was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my life, and I still hold to that assertion today. Happy Seventh Anniversary, Ranger!
Of course, I can't leave Beau out. He's 21, now, and still as handsome as ever. People often comment about how wise his eyes are, that he has an old soul. Judge for yourself.
I hope that someone or something is watching over you as well as my horses watch over me.Don't forget to register to vote--this is probably the most important presidential election that you'll ever vote in. I encourage you to check out Barack Obama's website, read his plans for our country, and consider voting for him. www.mybarackobama.com We can't afford 4 more years of Bush/McCain politics, policies and agendas. Voter's registration in most states ends, for this election, within the next week---PLEASE make voting a priority, because it's YOUR life that your vote affects!
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