California road trip, part one

Seth and I are both fully vaccinated now, so last Saturday, Seth, Piper and I packed our bags, climbed into the van and headed west.

We drove up and over the continental divide.

It's been a long time since either of us have gone anywhere, so we made the most of it.

Lots of stops, lots of pictures.

It took longer than it should have, but finally, we drove out of colorful Colorado...

and into Utah.

Then we drove through a whole lot of Utah.

I took this photo for my Cisco owning friends, Fabian and Rachel.

Piper is a good traveler. 

Mostly, she sat in my lap and slept.

But after a whole lot of Utah, it was obvious that she really needed to find a bathroom.

So we stopped.

And we stopped again.

Apparently the only place Pipes likes to pee is her own backyard. The second half of the day got really long, and it was nearly nine o'clock when we straggled into St. George, Utah.

The next morning Piper finally gave it up. We breathed a sigh of relief, fueled up and headed out.

We drove through a corner of Arizona.

Then it was onto Nevada.

Piper and I wanted to stop in Las Vegas, but Seth said no. What a party pooper.

We did stop at the state line to take more photos.

At this point, Piper was not very impressed with California.

We drove through the desert, then up and over another mountain range.

We arrived at my mom's house in Altadena in time for a late lunch.

Piper made herself right at home.

So did Seth.

Yesterday was all about home projects.

Today we went to the beach.

Piper would like to rescind her previous negative opinions about California. 

We had so much fun at Rosie's Beach, we decided to go to Venice Beach, too. Piper is a two beach bitch.

I'm not sure what the rest of the week will bring, but tomorrow's almost wordless posts will feature feral burros in Nevada and dogs at the beach!

Pupper party

Karen and her husband are currently staying with friends in the Denver metro area. On Thursday, she hosted a small hobbyist and dog get-together at her temporary home.

It's been a long time since I've taken a picture like this! I am so thankful for good vaccinations!

Dog attendees included Angelo's pandemic pup, Soot,

Karen's beautiful Wally,

the homeowners' dog Ticket...

and Piper.

It was so nice to sit outside and watch the dogs interact...

and play.

At least it was until these knuckleheads decided to runaway together!

Piper says, "He's a weirdo, but he's my weirdo now."

This was mostly an outdoor gathering, but we did go inside to watch the homeowner, Caroline, unwrap some of her Chinas.

She's not a horse person, but there were a lot of horses.

And look, a snail!

This is the one we all wanted to take home.

The only thing better than a hobby party is a hobby party with dogs.

Thank you for having us, Karen. It was so nice to see everyone. I can't wait to do it again.

Party pupper

It's hard to socialize a dog while you're isolating, so I'm glad my pandemic pup arrived at the same time as widespread vaccinations. For the last six weeks, Piper has been my constant companion, accompanying me on all sorts of local adventures.

And when I say "adventures," what I mostly mean is errands.

Piper has been to the pet store, the hardware store, the craft store and the liquor store. 

Also, the garden store!

The barn is another frequent destination. She especially enjoyed our Cinco de Mayo party earlier this month.

This party was hosted by Amy and her horse, Merlin, as a thank you to everyone who supported them during Merlin's recent bout with colic.

There was food and drink and several other dogs in attendance.

JoAnna dressed Ernie in all his best holiday finery and took people for carriage rides around the property.

 Piper was intrigued.

So we climbed aboard and went for a ride.

So much fun!

The pandemic isn't over, but these good vaccinations have been a game changer. It feels so good to socialize again. Tomorrow I'll share pictures from Piper's first hobby party.

The daily

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day.

It would have been a crime letting a day like that go to waste, so I was forced to spend the morning on the trail.

It's a hard life.

Today is almost as nice as yesterday. I would love to go riding again, but duty calls.

It's been a long time since I made a saddle. So long, in fact, I was worried that I wouldn't remember how to do it. These fears seemed well founded at first, but now that I've got my feet wet, it's mostly coming back to me. With any luck, I'll have this one done before we leave for California!

Blogging is hard

Anne Field has published a blog post every single day for more than a year. I don't know how she does it, and today she very nearly didn't. Somehow she powered through, and I rewarded her efforts with a cup of Ko-fi coffee. If there's one thing I know for sure it's this: blogging is hard.

I am usually a prolific blogger, but this month has been a struggle. My mood matches the weather, grey and uninspired.

Which isn't to say it's all bad. I've squeezed in several rides between the storms. Some were good,

Guaranteed

some were bad...

Stealth

but none seemed worthy of a blog post.

Thunder

Similarly, the three dog life has had its ups and downs.

Mostly, though, we're just chugging along.

Which is not to say that I couldn't fill a dozen posts with pictures of this little girl. 

I could, but I'm not sure that anyone would want to read that.

Ironically, I have been making a lot of tack. My time has been split between an order I've been asked to keep under cover and BreyerFest sales tack that I'm not quite ready to debut. Eventually, there will be post about both, but in the meantime, it's a lot of work and no blog material.

Spoiler alert: There's at least one 4/20 halter and brownie set in the mix

Next week, Seth, Piper and I are driving to California to visit my mother. This could result in a whole rash of posts or another week of radio silence.

What can I say? Blogging is hard.

Rhino

One of the best things about riding at a large boarding stable is that there's always a fun new horse to meet.

This one is extra cute.

Meet Emily's new horse pony Rhino.

He is half Haflinger, half Quarter Horse and one hundred percent adorable.

Welcome to Kenlyn, Rhino!

I can't wait to see him under saddle.