Our balcony looking north.
The saying goes, "You can tell it's a holiday, 'cause it will surely rain'".Well the saying held true for us here in New Mexico on Independance Day.
Of course, if you live in New Mexico and it's July or August, you also know that it's Monsoon Season and one can expect rain just about every afternoon.
Problem is, that even if the sky darkens up, and thunder is heard and lightning is seen, you can never be sure that even one raindrop will fall. Makes preparing the animals for a big storm a little difficult. And makes me want a walk-in shelter for our horse, too, so she can decide when she's ready to get out of the rain.
Oh. And another interesting thing about New Mexico Monsoons is that you can always count on them dumping their barrels of rain in a short amount of time and then quickly moving on. Makes up for any brief inconveniences they caused. They're kinda nice like that.
The Grill placed on a temporary hiatus.
Looking west.
The fish don't seem to mind monsoon season.
My girls do. They're smart, though. They either go inside the hen house or underneath. Notice the new chicks did not. Phyllis doesn't seem to care if her bouffant is soaked.
All the goats and sheep are tucked nice and dry in the barn. The llamas are al fresco under a tree.
And then the heavens opened up and got serious.
The llamas made a bee-line into the barn to wait out the storm.
Until recently getting Baby Doll to stay calmly in the barn was next to impossible. She would throw a fit, pacing, prancing, calling out to my neighbor's horses and pushing against the pipe rail. She didn't like the llamas and didn't like the confines of the barn or the sounds of rain hitting the metal roof. We've been working with her every week and now she tolerates the llamas and, with the bribery of hay and horse cookies, she is mostly ok with hanging out in the barn for a while. During yesterday's loud storm, I hung out with her throughout the entire ordeal. She was spooky and jumpy and wide-eyed, but I was able to keep her calm enough. And I do think that Baby Doll was finally convinced that the barn is a good place to be in a storm.
Poor girl, before I convinced her to come in, she was soaked. And in case you didn't know: Petting a cold, wet horse is not as nice as snuggling a soft, dry horse. A wet horse sort of feels like what you'd expect a sea lion to feel like. But at least they don't smell like wet dog.
9 comments :
Not one drop...not one stinkin' drop down here. Grrrr. But we had .4" on Thursday night which washed all the trees, so they look a little greener. I'm hoping that little storm will be enough to wake up the pasture grass.
Wet horse = sea lion - you hit that one right on the head!
Yes it did pour! Every day I saddle up to ride just as the rains begin. Yesterday, I made it around the block, quickly, as the raindrops started.
And Dolly got a bath. Boy does she look clean! My horses like to go out and roll in the mud.
Sorry your 4th was so wet. On our side of the mountains it was a beautiful day - no thunder, lightning or rain. We sat out in our road with neighbors and watched the fireworks at the Balloon Fiesta Park and in Rio Rancho.
I'm glad you got the rain to keep the fire danger down. Be safe.
Dan
PS: I'll be out of town for a couple of weeks visiting family in the mid-West.
I love your balcony! Hope you all are staying dry--at least the animals know enough to run for cover. Our chickens either don't know enough or don't care to get out of the rain. They end up looking like drowned rats!
What crazy rain!! Animals are so smart. I love the white under Baby Girl's jaw!! I hope you had fun despite all that rain!!
That was some storm you had out there. I'm glad to see that Baby Doll finally decided the barn was okay, maybe she will go in more often now to get out of bad weather.
I am sure the rain was well-needed, despite putting a damper on your holiday.
You know, my horse has a run-in shed, but even when it pours, he won't go in it. He likes to stand under a tree, which is closer to the mare pasture. The tree provides him with some shelter, but he still gets soaked. I guess if he's got the option and it's his choice, so be it. He does wear a waterproof turnout blanket w/fill in the winter, and a rain sheet in the early spring.
Weren't you asking about turnouts recently? I swear it was you but can't find the comment now. Anyway, I use a Brookside brand medium-weight turnout from the Valley Vet catalog that I really like. It's relatively affordable. My sister used one for several years with her mare and was happy with how it held up, that is why I ordered one for My Boy. It has a dry-wick lining, and the belly and leg strags close with regular snaps instead of t-locks. T-locks can get caught on our wire fence, so the regular snap closures fare better. If it was you that was asking, I hope that helps! ;)
Hey 7MSN,
Thanks for stopping by. When I lived in South Carolina I got sick of rain and humidity, of course, it would rain all day and sometimes all week. haha!
Here in NM, as you know, we would probably do a rain dance naked if that would help open up the skies! hahaha! Hope you get more rain down there, soon, so you can enjoy your own sea-lions with hooves.
Hey Rocking Horse, Yes. Most of the time I get lucky and Dolly won't roll or if she does, will shake off the dirt pretty easily. Sometimes, like today, she looks like an Appy because she stood below where the roof drips water and it made dark spots all over her backside. haha!
Hi Dan,
Glad to hear you all enjoyed a beautiful sunny day for the 4th in Corrales. Perfect day for the Corrales parade. Fun!
When we lived in Rio Rancho, I'd watch the clouds gather over the mountains and wonder if it was raining or snowing......Now I know the answer! haha
Have a safe and fun trip!
Hi Meg! Thanks. Wish you could come visit and I'd have you up on the balcony for margaritas and chips and salsa. :)
Our new chicks are like your chickens. The silkies especially with their fluffy down end up looking like wet dogs after it rains! haha
Hi Andrea!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Funny you noticed her white streak under her jaw. That's one of my favorite of all Baby Doll's markings, too! :)
Hi Grey Horse,
Thanks for visiting my blog. She seems to look forward to spending time in the barn now and almost seems upset when we take her out! haha
We've been doing a little of what my friend next door does with her horses: leaving them in the barn during the day, and outside in the paddock at night. Because we get rain during the day during monsoon season and because the sun also shines strong and can cause sunburned noses, it seems a good idea to do it this way. And so far, so good.
Hi Pony Girl, I know what you mean. Even when Baby Doll is in the barn, unless it's raining buckets, she's standing out from under the roof in the pen. What do they say? "You can lead 'em to water, but you can't make 'em drink?" Well, you can give 'em shelter, but you can make them stay dry and clean" hahah
Thanks so much for the turn-out sheet and blanket info! I really do appreciate it.
Another great alternative are rain barrels. With one rain fall these barrels will fill to capacity and can provide gallon after gallon of free natural rain water. Be sure to find rain barrels which offer a mesh mosquito guard, and also look for barrels which have an overflow valve function to allow the excess water to flow out of the rain barrel and away from your foundation. Hooking a drip hose to this valve is a great way to give your garden or flower bed a constant source of moisture.
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