We are Trench-less

The last of the dirt has been applied and the rain has settled the dirt and we are essentially trench-free at the Midnight Canyon Ranch.  We need to do some leveling, but basically we are finished.  Jim has moved on to the next  project (Kristl's hay/muck/mud/drainage issues) and is almost done with that.  She is living in the round pen for now and Rodeo has finally quite wondering where the hell HIS "MMmmaarrreeee"  is?  Jim removed a panel, removed countless loads of muck and returned over 23 loads of dirt to the pen.  I think she will enjoy landscaping it to her desired liking. 

The trenching set the pen cleaning back about a month, so we have some catching up to do. Timme's got done when he got OUT and browsed his way thru every feed can in the barn and then visited every horse in the barn and was probably bragging he was out and they weren't.  Oh well, snaps get double checked at the ranch now. He lived, no heat in his feet and no bellyache, he is a tough little pumpkin colored boy.  Sadly Rodeo only got ridden once this month, so he is the beggar when we talk about needing out.

It friday and I'm off to a lesson at Kelly's on Kit. Who I hear is so desparate to be out that even standoffish, Idontknowyou Kit is putting her head in anybodys halter at the gate.  She got shoes about a week ago, so she's good to go. Can't wait to learn more on her about training and reining and spins and , and and and ......  gotta ride !!!

The Trenches

Since the beginning of December we have been digging at the barn.  First it was ditching for water for the pasture, then I offered Calvin $150 for a ditch to the last pen, so we could lose the hoses and have spickets at each stock tank and  not so much freeze worry.  I put a deadline on the finish date (with -15%per day late penalty) of 12.31.2009,  and told  him several times that the digging was tough and needed spread out over several days.  Calvin dug for a couple of days in the filled in easy stuff, then layed off for the remaining time thinking all the rest of the digging was going to be that easy.  He started digging on the 12.29.2009, and when it was obvious that he wasn't going to finish anytime soon, let alone by the deadline. He walked away with the excuse of "I'm just saving the family money" and "I'll still help you finish it, I just don't want you to have to pay me (I think I was truly hearing - don't pester me about the deadline and I sick of doing this - it ain't worth it)."

Jim finally got the ditch dug thru the inguenuity of the desparate and the thinking of a tractor man.  He went to one of his welding guys and had them weld a 3/4" diameter spike extension 18-22" (onto one of the teeth of the gannon's ripper (he bought an extra one from AV Turf & Tractor-Jim favorite store).  The guy called him crazy and almost wouldn't do it mumbling about liability/crashing the tractor.  He made it and Jim stuck that tractor in A-1, and away he went.  Trench got dug, and now we lay the pipe.

Back to the story, its mid-January now and rain is coming, duh!!!  Jim has been busting his ass getting the pipe layed and the drain pipe for the horse laundry run, and the boys aren't as helpful as I'd like.  In fact right now they are watching the movie and not helping Jim.  I asked them to go help, and Calvin is putting his shoes on. 

I am sure that my wonderful husband will finish the project and we will living like normal horse people and be reasonably hose-dragging free.  If it snows, mayhaps the hoses won't freeze.

First Mornin' Back in School 2010

7:AM  - Cruise in, put coffee on,  bell rings, warm up starts on my Geometry class, roll is taken, slackers redirected for  the 3rd or 4th time.  One of them comes up and says, 'I need a notebbook.' I put out my hand in a typical gesture for that comment, and add 'quarter?'  He gives me a "low five slap" (nothing majoron that), and swings his hand up past my face like a backhanded slap was going to be applied. I feel the wind in my eyelashes from it and automatically my brain jumps to hyper speed. No Way, he did not just do that? Listening to the remaining 35 students holding their breath in the silence that is dragging on, yep he musta.....  mmmm  can't hurt him, can't touch him for that matter. mmmmm   He gets told in no uncertain terms to go sit down and I will not be helping him if he's going to do that.  He rants rudely on the way to his seat and as he butt hits the plastic, he ends with 'you're such a bitch.'

The rest of the class has decided that nothing truly noteworthy will be happening without them missing it, so they go back to work. I tell this wonderful cherub to head off to LAD (on campus Suspension room) and the paperwork will follow. Head for the phone to tell LAD he's on his way, and start the refferral process. ......  Now this is the killer to all this..... ALL BEFORE  8AM on a MONDAY after a great 3 week holiday.

Gotta lesson scheduled for 3:30 on Kit, so this day will at least end nicely. 

Paperwork gets shuffled, parent phone calls get made/returned, and by 6th security is really bugging me for an incident report on this... Wait, I'm teaching!!!  So by 6th (MY AP Calc class) I promise to not do anything until the incident report is written and submitted. Calc kids love the excuse to work on their own  (they catch up on their other 5 AP classes and have no math to do)...

Found out wednesday, he pissed somebody off similarily the next day and  was suspended for 5 days and applied for Independent Study (I think working for his Dad for a while would be a great thing).