Sydney's Visit from Missouri

I was so excited when Sydney of the BitlessHorse blog contacted me and said she and her partner, Jim would be driving through my area on their way to the west coast, and wanted to know if I'd like to get together.

Well, hell yea!

They asked if I'd take them up to the top of the Sandia Mountains and show them around.

Thankfully, the sign outside the restroom was not a sign of anything evil to come.

They visited with perfect timing. The leaves were in their full Fall glory.

I decided I'd take them on a hike to that far point at the far right of the photo below.

It was so good to finally meet Sydney in person.

It was a perfect day for a hike above 10,600' elevation. Sunny and warm, but with a crisp coolness in the air. But best of all it wasn't too windy.

The Fall aspen leaves were just gorgeous!

Jim, Sydney and I

We made it to Kiwanis Point. Behind and to the right of Sydney, along the ridge, you can see the Sandia Peak Tram Station as well as the Eastern Plains of New Mexico.

My son Jax came along for the hike, too. That's Kiwanis Cabin on the right, with the city of Albuquerque down below.

Jim really enjoyed taking in all of the views across the city towards the west. Behind him you can see Sandia Crest, where we parked and began our hike.

Such a cute couple!

Sydney and Jim with Kiwanis Cabin behind them, and the Manzano Mountains in the background.

My son Jax and Kiwanis Cabin

Sydney inside Kiwanis Cabin (My horse and I have ridden inside this cabin!)

Jax and Jim hiking back to the parking lot on Sandia Crest.

The Fall colors were just spectacular!

It was a great visit! I wish they could have stayed longer.

Name Change

As some may have noticed, the photo and title name of my blog has changed names. I tried to change the web address, too, but that means that my blog as it's been known and accessed just disappears, so it seems I will be keeping the web address and just changing my blog/ ranch name instead.

I've been thinking about a ranch name change for about a year now. I'm not the same person I was when I first bought this little plot of land, home, and barn over 8 years ago. My life has changed exponentially since I first began blogging. So, it was time for a big change around here. I chose the Arrowhead Ranch name because of the obsidian arrowheads I have discovered here on my land. The arrowheads were chiseled and knapped from shiny, black obsidian, which is volcanic glass that was once forged from lava and fire. This also seems very fitting for describing the person I have become and how I have become this way.

So, there ya go. Welcome Arrowhead Ranch!

Chicken Combs and Foal Feet

 

What do Chicken Combs and Foal Feet have in common?

Well, after going back over all of my posts on Blogger for the past 5 1/2 years, I’ve discovered that nifty little column on the right side of our post list that says View Count, and keeps track of all of the views on each post.

Apparently my two blog posts about Chicken Combs and Foal Feet must be very interesting because they had the most views of all of my blog posts.

                 Feathery Foal Feet had 10,500 views!

                 Chicken Combs had over 10,300 views!

JP Took a Left Turn at Albuquerque

 

Some of you may be familiar with JP of the My Life with Star Blog. JP used to be very active with blogging, too, but, like so many of us, has moved on to using Facebook to socialize and keep in touch. She moved to Alaska over a year ago, but due to her husband's job, had to move yet again this year. This time all the way down to Arkansas.

JP contacted me a couple months ago to make plans to stop in and spend a night here at the Laughing Orca Ranch, during her journey to Arkansas. Since I live close to I-40, my little ranch is a very convenient, easy and comfortable place to stay while on a journey traveling east or west.

(JP’s handsome son Lucas and her two adorable Wowz Boyz)

And since I live east of Albuquerque, she and her husband, one of her three sons, her two horses, three dogs, and one cat would be taking a left at Albuquerque to come visit me!

 

Here are a few photos that I took during JP’s brief visit.

(Star and Abu settled in very quickly in their horse motel paddock at the Laughing Orca Ranch)

(They seemed to enjoy their roomy accommodations and after taking a rolling dust bath, set out to explore and meet all their new neighbors.)

(Abu and Star weren’t at all bothered by my neighbor’s 3 alpacas or 4 horses, nor my 2 llamas, 3 goats, 1 horse and 1 dog)

(My Apache mare, on the other hand, wasn’t at all impressed with her new guests and was rather rude, barely glancing at them after the two of them arrived. Her dinner inside the barn was obviously much more important than making two new equines feel welcome)

(But that’s ok. Abu ad Star made themselves right at home and were happy to just hang out together, just the two of them. And for me, it sure was a little like deja vu, having Star here. She reminded me so much of my first horse, APHA Dakotas Baby Doll)

I made JP and her family home-made pizza and margaritas for dinner, and soon afterwards they crawled into the cozy bed in my guest room. They were very tired from their long day of driving, and had to get up early the next morning to continue their journey.

In the morning after breakfast and hot coffee, it was time to gather up the horses and load them back onto the trailer. Star and Abu didn’t seem too keen on the idea and wanted to stay another day at the Laughing Orca Ranch.

But soon they were haltered and ready to load.

(JP’s husband Sean and his horse Abu) 

(The lovely JP and her beautiful mare Star)

(And an early morning photo of JP, me and my daughter, Jen, just before they headed on down the highway towards Arkansas)

This Made My Day

 

Today I was reading through my comments left for me by my readers from my Sunday Stills post, so I could make sure to stop by and visit their blogs, leave a comment for them and say thank you.

Well, the first comment I read was from Wish I Had a Horsey's Blog and when I visited her blog, the first post that showed up was from February…not a Sunday Stills post at all. So I decided I’d still go ahead and read it anyway and leave a thank you comment just the same.

Well that post shook me for a loop! I was reading the post and smiling about her hubby reading her blog, as mine sometimes sneaks a peek at mine now and then, too. But then I read a little further on about how one of her favorite blogs was ending. Keep in mind, she made this post back in February.

I got kind of sad and wondered who it could be and if it was also one of my favorite blogs....and....and………

it was MY (!!) blog she was talking about.

Well that felt really weird…in a surreal way, but kind of nice, too.

Nice that there are people out there in the Blog Universe and real world that read about my life through my blog and actually even consider it one of their favorites. And then to even create a post about my blog when I decided to shut it down.

Wow. I’m honored. I had no idea. I just  post my words and photos and don’t spend much time thinking about who might be reading. This really opened my eyes. Knowing that some of you actually missed my blog while I took that month off really means a lot to me.

I’m still on Facebook, but I’m trying to come back to blogging little by little. During the month that I was away, I discovered that I also missed the longer updates and stories that blogs provide. And keeping up with my blogger friends’ lives via your blogs was something I didn’t realize I’d miss until I stopped blogging. Facebook posts tend to be a little more brief, and of course, it’s a also more meager on the photo front, too. And I really do miss that most of all.

So, I just popped in just to say thank you to all of you who read my blog. Being reminded today that my life, shared through my photos and words on my blog, has touched other’s lives, and that it mattered to you that I went away, even if just for a little while, really means a lot to me.

More than I can say.

 

Saying Goodbye

 

 

After much thought and consideration, and after 6 long years of blogging and over 1,300 posts, I believe it’s time for me to say goodbye….give this old blog of mine a long deserved rest.

I’ve come to realize that my blog readership and comments are way down, which makes me less interested in spending so much time composing and uploading posts and photos. As it is, I'm posting only one or two times a week as it is. But most importantly, I’m just plain busy living my life, taking care of my family, home and animals, and staying too busy to post blog posts and keep up with reading other blogs.

I’ve also discovered that Facebook is quicker and easier at keeping in touch with friends and family, and the feedback is much greater and more immediate with opportunities for extended conversation and chatting. So, that’s where I’ll be if you need to find me. lol!

Thanks to those of you who have followed along faithfully for all or most of my 6 years of blogging. I appreciate your comments and friendship more than you’ll ever know. Maybe someday we’ll be able to meet in person. And if you plan a visit to New Mexico, please contact me and let’s get together.

So, for now, it’s farewell….goodbye.

Photo Editing

 

Just like many of you, I prefer to let my photography skills shine through my unedited photos. A person can buy the most expensive cameras and use the most expensive photo-editing software, but if they don’t know how to take photos correctly, then their photos will never look good straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) and they will have to spend hours editing them just to share them with anyone. This is not a lot of fun and can be very tedious.

Most of my photos that I share on my blog are SOOC photos, and the only thing I add is my LOR watermark before uploading them via a fabulous free program that I’ve been using for almost three years now called Windows Live Writer. If you get frustrated with Blogger or WordPress when your post vanishes while trying to upload it, or you just find the entire blog composing process difficult and tedious and you wish you could do it all off-line on a larger, brighter, easier to read screen, then I highly recommend Window’s LiveWriter because you never have to be online to compose a post and it even allows you some basic photo editing and a few other fun extras, too. You also never have to upload your posts via Blogger either, as this program does that for you. So, the only reason you’ll ever have to visit Blogger anymore is just to read blogs or tweak your blog design. I love it!

But I digress.

This post isn’t about Blog Post Composing Software, it’s about Photo Editing Software. I want to recommend the free, easy-to-use, fun photo editing software called Photoscape that I’ve been using for over a year now. Anyone can use it straight off the bat. There isn’t a learning curve and the options and interface are all easy to understand and you can quickly find what you’re looking for. There are also lots of fun creative special effects and filter tools to play with, too. Since I’m techno challenged and find most photo editing software to be too complicated and/or too expensive (I prefer free), this one is perfect for me and is the only photo-editing software I use.

I tend to use Photoscape to brighten, add contrast and color saturation, or sharpen a few of my ho-hum photos that are otherwise composed well, but need a little ooomph.

I’m including some Before and After snow photos below, which tend to be extra challenging to photograph, to show you what PhotoScape allowed me to do and you can tell me if you prefer the SOOC or After Photos.

                                             SOOC

   

The After: I used the the Clone Tool to remove a blurry snowflake on Apache’s fur, tweaked the Saturation Curve, the Luminance Curve, Brightened, added Contrast, used the Deepen filter, Cropped and Sharpened.

 

                                             SOOC

 

The After: Again I used the Backlight tool, Saturation Curve, the Luminance Curve, added Contrast, used the Deepen filter, Cropped and Sharpened.

 

                                                 SOOC

 

The After: I used the Backlight tool, tweaked the Saturation Curve, the Luminance Curve, Brightened, added Contrast, used the Deepen filter, Cropped and Sharpened.

 

                                                  SOOC

 

The After: I rotated the photo to the right to make it level, used the clone tool to cover up the big wheel bike, then tweaked the Saturation Curve, the Luminance Curve, Brightened, added Contrast, used the Deepen filter, Cropped, Sharpened and added a Frame and a Font.

And finally:

                                             SOOC

And After: I used the Clone tool to remove the distracting pipe rail fence, then tweaked the Saturation Curve, the Luminance Curve, Brightened, added Contrast, used the Deepen filter, Cropped, and Sharpened.

 

So which do you prefer: SOOC or After Editing?

Do you use photo editing software? Which one?

The Bad Idea Fairy at Haiku Farm

Aarene’s post today was very entertaining and I couldn’t stop laughing. And while it is focused on Endurance Riding…and what NOT to do, it could also pertain to just about any equine discipline. It is also filled with lots of Haiku Farm-isms that really should be included in mainstream equine terminology. lol!

 

You just gotta check it out:

The Bad Idea Fairy 

(Why is this photo included in this post? I dunno. This just seems like a Bad Idea to me…….Bada Boom!)

Just Lovely

 

I just want to acknowledge and say thank you for the award that was recently bestowed upon me, not once, but twice.

Thank you Deanna from My Country Genes

and

Wolfie from What was I Thinking?

I think it’s lovely!

 

I’m also supposed to follow the guidelines that come along with this award, like sharing this award with some of my favorite blogs. I’m sure some of you have already received this award, but I just can’t keep up. Also this is by no means a list of all of my favorite blogs. This post would stretch far too long if I did that.

Fern Valley Appaloosas

Cowgirl by Proxy

Gravel Roads and Daiquiris in the Dirt

Of Horses and Boys and Everything in Between

Mustang Saga

California Cowgirl

Celestial Ramblings

Nuzzling Muzzles

Equestrian Vagabond

Stefrobrts View

Wildlife, Wildflowers and a Window

My Country Genes

At the Farm

Bay State Brumby

Dan and Betty's Place

Fantastyk Voyage

Southview Farm

Postcards from Arizona

Life on a Bison Farm

Zambito Oaks Farm

Little Keebler

There is a Horse in my Bubblebath

The Daily Coyote

I’m also supposed to share 7 things about me that some of you may not know about me.

Ok. So here are my 7 things:

1)I don’t mind dust bunnies, but clutter and lots of knick knacks freak me out.

2)I have no problems throwing stuff out or giving things away (see #1). My hubby does. He’s probably a good example of a pack rat. Hence, much of my purging and tossing must be done with lots of stealth.

3)I’m a military brat and grew up with both of my parents serving in the Navy. We moved often…and purged often (see #1).

4)When I worked for the airlines, I would drive all sorts of vehicles, including: Tractors, Mules and Tugs (both stick, automatic, diesel and electric) that pulled baggage carts(often 4 or more), baggage conveyor belts (parking them right up against a jet), jetways (yes, they must be driven), fuel trucks (yes, I used to refuel commuter planes), pushbacks (that pushed the jets away from the jetway and out to the runway), and even double connector buses (essentially a bus towing a bus) to transport passengers from the terminal out to the commuter planes (and I had to maneuver these double buses filled with passengers around 2-6 small commuter planes. And I never clipped a wing or ran over anyone!). But get this…..I’m still nervous about towing a horse trailer. Why? I have no idea!

5)Hubby still works for the airlines, so we can fly for free anywhere in the United States and just about anywhere in the world. But I rarely do because I prefer the relaxing, no hassles, freedom of driving. My last time flying was when I went up to Nevada in November 2009 (wow! time flies!) to spend the weekend with my sweet friend, Nuzzling Muzzles. (Click to visit that post).

But I’m going to be taking my first flight, since that last one 2 years ago, with my twinlings out to North Carolina for Halloween Weekend….and I am nervous but very excited!

6)I still haven’t ridden my horse around my barn or house, since August a year ago. All of the bad things that have happened to me with horses have all happened here at home. It’s weird, isn’t it, that I’ll ride my horse just about anywhere, but not at home?

7)I have many different hobbies and interests, so my blog is probably just a little too varied for most bloggers, who decide to read based on similar interests. Some of my favorite interests and hobbies are: Letterboxing, Hiking, Camping, Road trips, Horses, ACTHA, Llamas, Chickens, Gardening, Knitting, Spinning, Cooking, Reading, Homeschooling, Hanging out with my awesome kidlets, and exploring every inch of my enchanting New Mexico that I possibly can.

           

Bye Bye

 

I’ve decided to take some time off from blogging, a little Blog-cation, if you will.

I’ve got so many projects I’m working on this summer and a plethora of activities my kidlets and I are doing, that the days seem to be zooming by so fast, especially when I use a big chunk of my time to visit and leave comments for all of my favorite blogs.

Summer is beautiful in New Mexico, even with our drought and winds, and I don’t want to spend too much time indoors when I can be outside playing with the critters, working on my garden, hiking, camping, or just lazing around while reading a book in my hammock beneath the trees.

Before we know it, summer will be over and there will be plenty of time to cocoon indoors again.

I’m going to try to continue posting for Sunday Stills, because I enjoy the photography challenge so much, and I’ll probably do a few posts about our new chicks once they arrive next week, but otherwise I’ll be MIA for a while.

So, bye bye for now and I wish everyone a wonderful summer.