I've just spent a pleasant half hour reading some of Christopher Hitchens' notes on Facebook. Man, the guy can WRITE. Planet-sized intellect notwithstanding, it's just such fabulously constructed stuff. Even if the content is not something I would ordinarily read, not being the most political of animals, his writing makes it all much more stimulating than it would ever be otherwise. Hitch, you rock.And that's before you get started on the pope, or Mel Gibson.
And now back to our normal programming: that is to say, some sort of hellish cross between Farmer's Weekly and How To Be an IT Manager in 10 Steps You Thought Were Easy But Turned Out To Be A Bit Tricksy.
This weekend it's all been about weeding. Lots and lots of weeding. It got to the stage where, when I closed my eyes, all I could see was a snapshot of the little tendrilly fuckers sprawling out across the pasture. No wonder the grass was struggling to break through with all that going on. I was at it for hours and managed to clear a quarter of the smallest (but most affected) paddock, a feat which translated to roughly four barrows full of weeds, a number of thistle-related minor injuries, a bite from something nasty and some moderately sore triceps. It's addictive though and I find myself eyeing up the remaining insurgents with something approaching desperation, in spite of the fact that my hands are bleeding and I can barely move a muscle. We've got a wedding to go to at the end of the week so I'm a little more conscious of the state of my hands than I otherwise would be, and slapping on a bit of hand cream at the end of the evening doesn't really cut it when said hands would give a badger's arse a run for its money in the roughness stakes and there are layers of good, honest dirt embedded at a cellular level in the knuckles of my left hand. I noticed that today while sat in a meeting next to the second most senior person in the institution, discussing what to do about teaching rooms.
It was an interesting dichotomy between him, the resplendent professional with his nice suit and his clean nails and general impeccable presentation, and my with my knuckles, my second hand Next suit off ebay and mare smeg under my nails. I have learned from Sid that there are certain types of people who pay attention to these things; professional types, mostly, so as a result I spent the rest of the meeting with my left hand either under the desk or curled into a fist to disguise the filth, while giving thanks to all that is holy that the right hand was pretty much ok and resolving to buy a nail brush at the earliest possible opportunity. It's not like I hadn't tried to get the smeg off, it's just that it was particularly resilient. French smeg, then, sitting there, arms folded, going "Non".
Meanwhile Xacra has enjoyed her first head rub and is learning that there might be a point to humans after all.
F-2 days. Not looking hopeful for the farrier, unless we throw her and truss her, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't do the slow build up of trust any good.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Saturday, 14 August 2010
A day of firsts and unusual doings
God it's nice to have a lie in on a Saturday after a busy week.
So a number of firsts today worthy of note.
We're going to a wedding next week and for the occasion I have purchased an LK Bennett dress. This is well outside my usual frame of reference and one I could become accustomed to but mustn't. The only ones who wear designer clobber in our house are the horses, as is the correct way of things. Said dress arrived this morning and is very nice indeed.
In order to get the removable partition in the field shelter that we wanted (ie one that is not solid all the way to the top) we ended up with a new design that only had kick boards on one side. Sid therefore spent much of the morning devising a way add chipboard to the other side of the partition, which involved taking the partition down and nailing it on in three bits before putting it back up again. For my part I de-weeded inside the shelters and otherwise prepped for the much anticipated straw bed installation before going off to de-smeg myself in preparation for the next unusual doing of the day - the hairdresser. Oh yes.
See, I hate going to he hairdresser, so I tend not to do it. And unlike the dentist, all this sort of avoidance tactic does in the way of consequencs is develop a tendency towards very long hair, and that's what scrunchies are for. It's all that pointless conversation about holidays (or mobile phones, as I noticed today, and the intricacies of setting the speed dial options) that does it. However, fortune was with me as I got a young girl (there exists the real possibility that I've reached the age where hairdressers and policemen all look young this should not be discounted) who really only wanted to get the job done and not talk pointless bollocks, so that suited me just fine.
Naturally enough I have the worst hair for what I most want, which is just a little bit of body. If I am to achieve this however I must go beyond my comfort zone in terms of length, and that is something I am just not ready for. I think Sid thought I was a wuss but was secretly pleased I didn't come home with a skinhead.
We put the beds down for the girls and took the pooch for a walk - blissful in the woods, all fresh after rainfall and with sun shining down through the trees creating a number of beautiful peaceful scenes - wish I'd taken the camera. A day off for the boys principally because the day was rammed and I ran out of time.
Binky caught a baby bunny and brought it back - alive :( - for the meehoos. Tis what mother cats do of course and the natural order of things, but tricky for a sap like me. Said bunny somehow escaped and took refuge **for most of the afternoon** under a pile of railway sleepers while Ted sat on the first watch. Next thing, Binky had it in the garden again and it looked uninjured but deep in shock, so I took it off her and put it in a cat basket and covered it to let the poor thing try to recover a bit if it could. But no, it died a short while later. Good on the one hand as natural bunny control and there really are plenty more where that one came from but sad for the individual. At least it died quietly in the box rather than being tossed about by a number of cats.My farming friends would think I was some sort of fuckwit, not least because the whole purpose of cats on farms as far as most people are concerned is one of pest control and people spend a lot of tme, effort and money keeping down bunny populations to stop them digging their warrens in paddock and risking horses' legs, among other things. A fool, but an honest fool I remain - a bit like Peregrin Took looking into the stone of Orthanc, only taller and with less furry feet.
So a number of firsts today worthy of note.
We're going to a wedding next week and for the occasion I have purchased an LK Bennett dress. This is well outside my usual frame of reference and one I could become accustomed to but mustn't. The only ones who wear designer clobber in our house are the horses, as is the correct way of things. Said dress arrived this morning and is very nice indeed.
In order to get the removable partition in the field shelter that we wanted (ie one that is not solid all the way to the top) we ended up with a new design that only had kick boards on one side. Sid therefore spent much of the morning devising a way add chipboard to the other side of the partition, which involved taking the partition down and nailing it on in three bits before putting it back up again. For my part I de-weeded inside the shelters and otherwise prepped for the much anticipated straw bed installation before going off to de-smeg myself in preparation for the next unusual doing of the day - the hairdresser. Oh yes.
See, I hate going to he hairdresser, so I tend not to do it. And unlike the dentist, all this sort of avoidance tactic does in the way of consequencs is develop a tendency towards very long hair, and that's what scrunchies are for. It's all that pointless conversation about holidays (or mobile phones, as I noticed today, and the intricacies of setting the speed dial options) that does it. However, fortune was with me as I got a young girl (there exists the real possibility that I've reached the age where hairdressers and policemen all look young this should not be discounted) who really only wanted to get the job done and not talk pointless bollocks, so that suited me just fine.
Naturally enough I have the worst hair for what I most want, which is just a little bit of body. If I am to achieve this however I must go beyond my comfort zone in terms of length, and that is something I am just not ready for. I think Sid thought I was a wuss but was secretly pleased I didn't come home with a skinhead.
We put the beds down for the girls and took the pooch for a walk - blissful in the woods, all fresh after rainfall and with sun shining down through the trees creating a number of beautiful peaceful scenes - wish I'd taken the camera. A day off for the boys principally because the day was rammed and I ran out of time.
Binky caught a baby bunny and brought it back - alive :( - for the meehoos. Tis what mother cats do of course and the natural order of things, but tricky for a sap like me. Said bunny somehow escaped and took refuge **for most of the afternoon** under a pile of railway sleepers while Ted sat on the first watch. Next thing, Binky had it in the garden again and it looked uninjured but deep in shock, so I took it off her and put it in a cat basket and covered it to let the poor thing try to recover a bit if it could. But no, it died a short while later. Good on the one hand as natural bunny control and there really are plenty more where that one came from but sad for the individual. At least it died quietly in the box rather than being tossed about by a number of cats.My farming friends would think I was some sort of fuckwit, not least because the whole purpose of cats on farms as far as most people are concerned is one of pest control and people spend a lot of tme, effort and money keeping down bunny populations to stop them digging their warrens in paddock and risking horses' legs, among other things. A fool, but an honest fool I remain - a bit like Peregrin Took looking into the stone of Orthanc, only taller and with less furry feet.
Friday, 13 August 2010
this and that
I should have known it was going to happen this morning even though I reminded myself not to forget last night; I forgot to poo pick the mares' field shelter when I went out to do what I fondly call "earlies" at 5:45am, and had to go back out there post-shower, dressed for the office on the top half and the farm on the lower half, resplendent in a nice little black blouse, jogging bottoms and wellies respectively. I quite enjoy the juxtaposition of being a complete scruffy article at home and having to make more of an effort at work - though even then in my case it's less the Nicola Farhi suit and more a second hand Next suit off Ebay.
I wouldn't ordinarily be poo picking their field shelter at that hour in the morning on a school day, but today I felt it was warranted on account of the fact that Chart Stables were coming to change the non-removable partition for a removable one, so that when the girls are ready to pop next spring, we will have a nice capacious area in which they can do so. This has now been done and I can't say enough about Chart - they've been excellent. Our next task - which I would have done tonight had I not been so bone numbingly weary - will be to weed the area where the shelter sits and put down a nice bed of straw. These are the sort of jobs that make having horses such an eminently rewarding thing: even the certain knowledge that their lovely new straw bed will be defiled within moments cannot take away the momentary yet all-encompassing sense of fulfilment at seeing them wandering in there and happily browsing over it for the very first time, then perhaps standing fetlock deep in it while enjoying a nice bit of hay. It's best not to spend too long considering how the next time you see it there'll be poo and hay all mixed in and how you're the poor sap that has to try and make it all nice again.
All of this is eminently more satisfying than wrestling with the implementation of a new IT system, as I am having to do at the moment. WHY everything has to be such a royal pain in the arse defeats me. So LDAP doesn't have all the info we need to pull into it (it's a new Helpdesk system) in terms of user location and such, so we must perforce use our general database and get the stuff in via ODBC. Only thing is it's a Firebird database and doesn't understand SQL so there's some fuckery needed to get that sorted, necessitating the reliance on others to get it working. The server needs to be on the domain (I'm not sure whether the fact that this is news to me is evidence of my technical inadequacies or whether it really should have been mentioned earlier; it could just as easily be either) and this too might be problematic due to server OS version and network infratructure "incompatibilities" which I had understood would only be likely to cause an issue were we to attempt to set up network shares, which we're not. So two days of training and brain overload finished today not with a nice little cherry on top of the cake but a steaming pile of particular effulgent effluent, a substance which has perhaps first passed through the digestive system of a polecat only to be expelled at speed all over the top of this hitherto relatively straightforward and pleasant albeit capacious project - a bit like having a nice bun only to discover that it's fully of candied peel, or sultanas. WHY. There are those people who enjoy these challeges but me, I'm not one of them. It was this aspect of myself that led me to conclude that I'm not and never will be a real techie, cos I just want stuff to work, and so I became a manager.
The whole thing was almost adequately offset by the fact that the trainer had a slightly hysterical giggle that was exactly reminiscent of Herbert Lom's excellent Inspector Dreyfuss in the Pink Panther films. I did wonder afterwards if he wondered why I was grinning at him so much and whether I ought to begin practising the phrase "'ave you got a rrrrheum" in a terrible faux French accent, or whether Kato was going to burst out of the stationary cupboard and karate chop me upside the head.
I wouldn't ordinarily be poo picking their field shelter at that hour in the morning on a school day, but today I felt it was warranted on account of the fact that Chart Stables were coming to change the non-removable partition for a removable one, so that when the girls are ready to pop next spring, we will have a nice capacious area in which they can do so. This has now been done and I can't say enough about Chart - they've been excellent. Our next task - which I would have done tonight had I not been so bone numbingly weary - will be to weed the area where the shelter sits and put down a nice bed of straw. These are the sort of jobs that make having horses such an eminently rewarding thing: even the certain knowledge that their lovely new straw bed will be defiled within moments cannot take away the momentary yet all-encompassing sense of fulfilment at seeing them wandering in there and happily browsing over it for the very first time, then perhaps standing fetlock deep in it while enjoying a nice bit of hay. It's best not to spend too long considering how the next time you see it there'll be poo and hay all mixed in and how you're the poor sap that has to try and make it all nice again.
All of this is eminently more satisfying than wrestling with the implementation of a new IT system, as I am having to do at the moment. WHY everything has to be such a royal pain in the arse defeats me. So LDAP doesn't have all the info we need to pull into it (it's a new Helpdesk system) in terms of user location and such, so we must perforce use our general database and get the stuff in via ODBC. Only thing is it's a Firebird database and doesn't understand SQL so there's some fuckery needed to get that sorted, necessitating the reliance on others to get it working. The server needs to be on the domain (I'm not sure whether the fact that this is news to me is evidence of my technical inadequacies or whether it really should have been mentioned earlier; it could just as easily be either) and this too might be problematic due to server OS version and network infratructure "incompatibilities" which I had understood would only be likely to cause an issue were we to attempt to set up network shares, which we're not. So two days of training and brain overload finished today not with a nice little cherry on top of the cake but a steaming pile of particular effulgent effluent, a substance which has perhaps first passed through the digestive system of a polecat only to be expelled at speed all over the top of this hitherto relatively straightforward and pleasant albeit capacious project - a bit like having a nice bun only to discover that it's fully of candied peel, or sultanas. WHY. There are those people who enjoy these challeges but me, I'm not one of them. It was this aspect of myself that led me to conclude that I'm not and never will be a real techie, cos I just want stuff to work, and so I became a manager.
The whole thing was almost adequately offset by the fact that the trainer had a slightly hysterical giggle that was exactly reminiscent of Herbert Lom's excellent Inspector Dreyfuss in the Pink Panther films. I did wonder afterwards if he wondered why I was grinning at him so much and whether I ought to begin practising the phrase "'ave you got a rrrrheum" in a terrible faux French accent, or whether Kato was going to burst out of the stationary cupboard and karate chop me upside the head.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Quick update
Well it's been a marvellous week for a number of reasons, but mainly because Sid has been out each evening on the yard pursuing our new mantra of movement being the key. This has resulted in an embarrassment of poo picking assistance, which is also good for a number of reasons including (a) non-demanding time with the girls, who are really Very Wary Indeed of blokes, and (b) less poo picking for me. It's so much nicer to be out there together doing the horses and keeping tabs on why it is we are doing this.
Since T's last wild man episode I have changed tactics a bit. I had noted that his response was escalating in line with movement (ie much more rancid face in canter even than in trot, and it was quite rancid enough for most purposes in trot) so I thought I know, I'll take movement out of the equation and see how we do with that. We did a nice stretchy warmup a couple of evenings ago at the other end of the arena while the girls of course were mooching close to the fence. Once he was relaxd and attentive to my satisfaction I walked him in hand gradually closer to them, assking only for him to keep his attention on me and not to do any unpleasantness of the face, and he managed that very well in much closer proximity , so well pleased with that.
Tonight Sid was working late and T came in with a gleam in his eye (more of a glitter) that I really didn't trust, so I went and put the girls in the shelter so we could have a trouble-free session as I wasn't really up for dealing with half a ton of very antsy stallion this evening. Back to his usual lovely self, very calm and attentive and a good session, finishing with some piaffe in hand.
Meanwhile the girls are doing well and we are making slow but steady progress. I've taken to leading Xacra around and doing feely leggy in the middle of the field, and she finds that better. Alfama is revealing herself to be one very sweet mare and once she gains confidence she's going to be awesome. God knows how long it will take to achieve our aim but we are moving in the right direction.
The meehoos have been going out in the evening for their constitutional while we can keep an eye on them, and it's the sweetest thing in the world seeing the family group (that's Binky, Ted and the meehoos) all out and playing together, whether it's racing around the garden or leaping around in the long grass playing lions. Ted has rediscovered his inner meehoo since he's had his nads off and is great with the little ones - who are growing like weeds. Got them trained now to come galloping in at night by the simple expedient of not feeding them before they go out. Genius eh?
Since T's last wild man episode I have changed tactics a bit. I had noted that his response was escalating in line with movement (ie much more rancid face in canter even than in trot, and it was quite rancid enough for most purposes in trot) so I thought I know, I'll take movement out of the equation and see how we do with that. We did a nice stretchy warmup a couple of evenings ago at the other end of the arena while the girls of course were mooching close to the fence. Once he was relaxd and attentive to my satisfaction I walked him in hand gradually closer to them, assking only for him to keep his attention on me and not to do any unpleasantness of the face, and he managed that very well in much closer proximity , so well pleased with that.
Tonight Sid was working late and T came in with a gleam in his eye (more of a glitter) that I really didn't trust, so I went and put the girls in the shelter so we could have a trouble-free session as I wasn't really up for dealing with half a ton of very antsy stallion this evening. Back to his usual lovely self, very calm and attentive and a good session, finishing with some piaffe in hand.
Meanwhile the girls are doing well and we are making slow but steady progress. I've taken to leading Xacra around and doing feely leggy in the middle of the field, and she finds that better. Alfama is revealing herself to be one very sweet mare and once she gains confidence she's going to be awesome. God knows how long it will take to achieve our aim but we are moving in the right direction.
The meehoos have been going out in the evening for their constitutional while we can keep an eye on them, and it's the sweetest thing in the world seeing the family group (that's Binky, Ted and the meehoos) all out and playing together, whether it's racing around the garden or leaping around in the long grass playing lions. Ted has rediscovered his inner meehoo since he's had his nads off and is great with the little ones - who are growing like weeds. Got them trained now to come galloping in at night by the simple expedient of not feeding them before they go out. Genius eh?
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Wallop
Today, I have:
* sorted and filed the paperwork of approximately four months
* cleaned the office, ready for computer equipment
* cooked a full English
* cleaned the bedroom
* cleaned the bathroom (after an unseemly gap from the last time)
* ridden Q
* worked T through a lot of unpleasant herding behaviour in the picadeiro while the girls came RIGHT TO THE FENCE and spent the whole time grazing apparently unconcernedly and IMO with great insouciance at the periphery
* did some shopping
* poo picked the mares' field
* walked the pooch
* cooked supper
Meanwhile Sid spent many hours cleaning and de-weeding the front drive and garden path, so that in the winter we may have a fighting chance of beating a path to the car without getting covered in mud, and trimming all the overgrown brambles and other miscellaneous vegetation to ensure that it doesn't short out the electric fence.
The girsl spent the entire afternoon loafing in their shelter so that when the time came for evening doings and goodies they couldn't give any less of a monkey's and stayed resolutely grazing on the other side of the field.
In view of all this and the session with Tessa yesterday, who explained to us the new research revealing that movement has a huge impact on the ongoing efficiency of the central nervous system, our new phrase is "movement is the key". If there's any justice I should have one of the best CNS's in the business.
* sorted and filed the paperwork of approximately four months
* cleaned the office, ready for computer equipment
* cooked a full English
* cleaned the bedroom
* cleaned the bathroom (after an unseemly gap from the last time)
* ridden Q
* worked T through a lot of unpleasant herding behaviour in the picadeiro while the girls came RIGHT TO THE FENCE and spent the whole time grazing apparently unconcernedly and IMO with great insouciance at the periphery
* did some shopping
* poo picked the mares' field
* walked the pooch
* cooked supper
Meanwhile Sid spent many hours cleaning and de-weeding the front drive and garden path, so that in the winter we may have a fighting chance of beating a path to the car without getting covered in mud, and trimming all the overgrown brambles and other miscellaneous vegetation to ensure that it doesn't short out the electric fence.
The girsl spent the entire afternoon loafing in their shelter so that when the time came for evening doings and goodies they couldn't give any less of a monkey's and stayed resolutely grazing on the other side of the field.
In view of all this and the session with Tessa yesterday, who explained to us the new research revealing that movement has a huge impact on the ongoing efficiency of the central nervous system, our new phrase is "movement is the key". If there's any justice I should have one of the best CNS's in the business.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Crunch
The boys and I had an appointment with our chiropractor this morning; first time in ages. Both boys in good shape: Q just had a minor tightness to the right just above the wither and T a little tightness around the right stifle - this is the one that gets a bit sticky so not a big surprise. Otherwise pronounced in good shape. Me on the other hand - Jesus. Let's just say there was a deal of crunching going on. I'm not sure why it is that this always makes me giggle like a loon, but there it is. Felt much better afterwards, with advice to take it easy. Of which, fat chance, really. We took the pooch for a walk, did some shopping and poo picked all the fields, so I hope I haven't undone all the good work by humping around half a hundredweight of poo. The boys have had a day off though in the name of me taking it easy.
Good progress with the girls today; Xacra is getting the idea of picking up her foot when asked, which is fab. Both girls are quite wary of men though so I'm not sure how far we'll get with the farrier, but we'll give it a go. They're looking really well though and taking much more interest in all our doings. Alfama is also doing well and is much more approachable having discovered the joy of succulents. She wanted to move around a bit so I spent some time using body language to underline that I was guiding her feet and then she stood really beautifully and allowed me to run my hand down to her fetlocks, so really pleased with them both.
Good progress with the girls today; Xacra is getting the idea of picking up her foot when asked, which is fab. Both girls are quite wary of men though so I'm not sure how far we'll get with the farrier, but we'll give it a go. They're looking really well though and taking much more interest in all our doings. Alfama is also doing well and is much more approachable having discovered the joy of succulents. She wanted to move around a bit so I spent some time using body language to underline that I was guiding her feet and then she stood really beautifully and allowed me to run my hand down to her fetlocks, so really pleased with them both.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Progress
So the mares have been with us for a few days now and are settling in well. It's going to be a challenge for me getting them ready for the farrier; I'm not sure it's doable in the time frame but will give it my best shot. These things can't be rushed. Today I was able to give them their first grooming session including a foreleg - one down, 7 to go :O They're enjoying a bit of hay so I can bring them in to the field shelter and do things with them in there. Really don't want to rush this, enjoying the small yet huge breakthroughs and the little signs that they are starting to relax a bit more around us.
Throughout the week I've been working the boys in the arena next to their field. Q has been his glorious self, nickering and interested but otherwise ready to concentrate on work as usual, so I rode him on Friday and again this morning - noting with interest that the presence of two mares in the corner is a really good aid for half pass across the full diagonal.
T has been a bit more interested and intent on doing that ears back snaky neck herding thing, while I have been equally intent on getting him to stop. We did two in hand sessions during the week with a reasonable level of understanding, so today we did a warm up session on the lunge and then I rode him. Of course, when I got on the mares were away down the field, yet almost the moment my butt hit the saddle they were mooching over to see what was going on, and ended up right in the corner as they invariably do :) The focus was on keeping T calm and rewarding that, edging closer (bend is your friend Rachibum) while retaining a nice long relaxed frame. Found the exact distance where he started the herding thing and worked through that, so very pleased that he kept good levels of focus and relaxation. Finished with a bit of work in hand right next to them without the behaviour so was very pleased with him.
Less good is the fact that the last pair of meehoos went today. It's not easy but I had no choice :(
Throughout the week I've been working the boys in the arena next to their field. Q has been his glorious self, nickering and interested but otherwise ready to concentrate on work as usual, so I rode him on Friday and again this morning - noting with interest that the presence of two mares in the corner is a really good aid for half pass across the full diagonal.
T has been a bit more interested and intent on doing that ears back snaky neck herding thing, while I have been equally intent on getting him to stop. We did two in hand sessions during the week with a reasonable level of understanding, so today we did a warm up session on the lunge and then I rode him. Of course, when I got on the mares were away down the field, yet almost the moment my butt hit the saddle they were mooching over to see what was going on, and ended up right in the corner as they invariably do :) The focus was on keeping T calm and rewarding that, edging closer (bend is your friend Rachibum) while retaining a nice long relaxed frame. Found the exact distance where he started the herding thing and worked through that, so very pleased that he kept good levels of focus and relaxation. Finished with a bit of work in hand right next to them without the behaviour so was very pleased with him.
Less good is the fact that the last pair of meehoos went today. It's not easy but I had no choice :(
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