Long Gone

The last post here was about our new arrival, Augie. Now he's a bonafide member of the family and a total joy!
What has been keeping me away from the post? Well, another blog for one, @crosspropz.com.
Cross Propz is a cyclocross specific business I started last year, but really launched it this season. Well, before Cross Vegas (mid Sept.) which usually marks the start of the Cyclocross season, at least in these parts. Head on over to crosspropz.com for more on 'cross.
Things here at the ranch are running smoothly because NPM is taking care of the place, we finished our enclosed porch addition (10' x 20') and it turned out really nice, and serves as a great mudroom for our poochies, and me too, as the five of us seem to drag in the most debris, according to you-know-who.
This year has been pretty different for us as I was working, but not building a building. No, this time my project was a city park in Wheat Ridge, CO. I had never built a park before so, I'm not very good at it. It was a difficult site with some difficult circumstances all combined which is why we call it work. The good part about this job was that the neighbors would walk by with their dogs. So I got to meet all kinds of great dogs...people too, but the dogs really amazed me. Of course, I gave them treats, and they responded by dragging their owners to the site everytime they were out. And they would search me out, look for a specific human among many and just go crazy-happy when they found me. I know this must sound like I'm losing my marbles, but there's something about that blatant honesty that just floors me. I really miss some of them as the project has been complete for a while.
Winter finally made it to our part of Colorado, we had a nice long "Indian Summer" this year.
So, I've celebrated the cold by putting my truck in a ditch, completely on its side, wheels nowhere near the road. ( no damage) Got that out of my system and now I'm ready for winter driving.
Last night was the first real unexpected storm that we've had this season, and it caught all the unprepared people as well as a couple obliviots. They managed to get stuck every which way on both Magnolia Road and the Boulder Canyon...so we wait. and wait. What gets me is that when the road opens some folks think that its dry and safe at any speed, I was incredulous as a person PASSED me on a double yellow (altho you couldn't see it as it was covered in ICE) in a real hurry to put his car in the rocks or the creek or whatever. Cars ahead were sliding and spinning slowly as this hurried individual attempted passage.
I shouldn't be surprised, I guess it happens every year, like me in the ditch, people need to learn to get their feet under them.
I've been doing some CX racing, really placing poorly, but having fun for a change. I'll take that any day. I haven't had time to train properly so I'm racing against the surfaces, myself, and learning how to pilot these fantasic machines thru thick and thin. I am working through specific goals and not letting my competitive nature ruin the fun that is there to be had.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being patient with this blog. I really like doing this but I guess I really like doing a lot of other stuff too. We are all fine here living in love and treasuring everyday this family of two humans, four dogs and four horses has together.
'til next time,

Paul

New Addition

We have a new addition at NinjaPonyRanch.

His name is Augie as named by NinjaPonyMom, and it seems to fit him pretty well. He comes to it so that's good enough for me. As a matter of fact, this little guy is so willing to be our dog that he came to his new name, like the first time we called him!

He blended right in as well, the picture you see here is of him in the truck with me...he knew I was his new dad and he was pretty happy about it. He sleeps on the bed..no question. When Johnny Ballistic told him that he was boss dog in these parts Augie just said "as if"! Augie is 11 years old and is very fast and adept, he loves to play and likes having a brother and sisters...he licks everyones face. He also likes to chase the horses...we're working on that.

When Augie and I got to the house from the Longmont Humane Society, he ran about the property and really seemed to grasp that this was his home, after he checked everything out he came over to me, sat on my foot and just smiled.

There's no way for me to prove this, but after having rescued several dogs....I think they know when they're being adopted, they know that you are their new dad or mom, and they know that this is their new home.

The thing we can't figure out is how we managed this long without Augie.

Frosted Horses

Ava and Jupiter


I promised to introduce you to the animals some time ago, today seemed like a good day. Several years ago, NinjaPonyMom and I went to a horse rescue in the Black Forest area (near Colorado Springs/Larkspur) to talk to four sisters that had started bringing young horses in from terribly cruel and inhumane circumstances. We went there to show our support, give them some money, and be on our way.
A young (6 mos) Percheron Stallion came out of one of the stalls as we pulled up and it was "love at first sight" I had never seen a young Percheron before and this lad was stunning. He followed me around one of the pens, I was smitten. At about the same time NPM came over to me and said "look how that little filly looks at me"....well, the rest is history, as they say....that was Saturday, we bought a horse trailer on Tuesday, borrowed a truck the following Saturday and took "our"horses to "our" trainer. After returning the truck, I traded my Subaru for a nice big diesel truck. We owned horses.
NPM has been around horses most of her life, I have not. As a matter of fact, I am a horse owner, but not a horseman, I don't ride well, don't know more about horses than I do know. But I promised that Percheron that he would have a good home, and a name, too. His name is Jupiter.
He is absolutely beautiful, gentle, funny....and if there's food around, predictable.
The little filly with the eyes on NPM is called Molly. Molly (as far as we know) is a Morgan, and the smartest animal I have ever known. She is attracted to tools , machines, and has literally inspected everything I've built on a couple of places. She is also a fireball, has swirls in her fur on her face and head indicating her fireball-ness. She is also athletic and finely coordinated, I love to watch her run, you can get an idea by looking at her that she loves to move, and show you her moves.
Next is Ava, NPM rescued Ava from a situation where the owner of this beautiful quarter horse was allowing stangers to ride her with cruel bits and hardware that pretty much ruined this animal. NPM doesn't stand for that sort of thing and stepped in, rescued this beauty and has worked with her diligently to get her back to being a well-adjusted horse, she still has small temper tantrums (Ava) but no longer does she throw her head at you or bite. It seems horses have a way of telling you that they don't like to be treated poorly. Ava fell in love with Jupiter and they are ALWAYS together, I'm not sure Jupiter has a clue, but he likes hanging out with her!
And last but not least (of the horses) is Henry, the Ninja Pony. Henry came to us after we had met a rancher while boarding our horses in Hygiene, Henry's loving owner had died and her sons just let the horses go......they wandered around a 150 acre place in Lyons for the entire winter trying to stay alive. there were seven horses. One was blind and 33 yrs old, one was 32, the others were younger but in bad shape, their hooves looked like Alladin slippers, their fur mangy and dull, two of them had foundered, they didn't come to us we had to walk them down. After the rancher introduced us to the bunch he said to NPM,"which ones don't you want" and she wrote a check for the whole bunch. Through word of mouth and her friends all the animals went to good homes. The old ones were euthanized in the most humane way. We discovered that no one wanted this Shetland Pony, we didn't want a pony either, he was ill tempered, kinda rude, and who wants a pony? So we put he word out that we wanted to sell him and a couple came by to look at him, the dad placed his daughter on Henry's back without asking anyone, Henry turned and bit him. That's when I started to like Henry. No Sale. NPM worked with Henry for a long time, until he started to trust us. Apparently he had been mistreated by someone along the way, as he was really sensitive around his face and ears. As his personality started to emerge for us we discovered this wonderful intelligent little guy that is fiercely loyal to his horse friends, loves NPM, and has no idea that he is a pony. He is a fierce and handsome stallion in every sense, and is such a part of this crew that everyone whinnies when he goes for a walk with one of us.
Next.......The Dogs!
NPD

Heart Broken

There won't be any pictures in this blog, and I know I don't blog very often. I hope that changes.
Today, I'm heart broken as I got the news this afternoon that my close friend Tony was killed while on vacation in Hawaii.
To say Tony and I were friends doesn't really do our relationship justice. I met Tony on a really difficult job in Dillon, Colorado. We lived up there thru the fall/winter/spring of 2006/07. We got to know each other really well. I am a vegetarian, bike riding/racing liberal with no discernible prejudices. Tony, a proud (and vocal) NRA member, dyed in the wool republican, did not trust government and was awash in conspiracy theory, he ate meat, loved guns and motorcycles. He walked like a gunslinger.
By the time we left Dillon, he was eating salads and I was perusing gun magazines.
Tony taught me one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned and I loved him for it. We both TRIED to see the others point, TRIED not to step on each others toes and, as a result, respected each other well beyond any expectations. People knew we were partners. He had my back, no questions, I had his back.
In Vietnam I learned what real love is, it had nothing to do with love as we normally think of it, it has to do with trust and respect. Love between a man and woman ( or romantic partner) is one thing, but the love developed between two people based on trust and respect is different. Tony and I never talked about it. It was always there. I got calls today from people that knew Tony much longer than I did, but realized that he and I shared something different.
When I returne to work after my heart attack, Tony walked over to me, hugged me, no words, just a hug.
We talked about the stuff we do, he would ask about bike races, (being as far from his world as is possible) but he wanted to know from me what it was like, he told me about weekends in the woods on ATV's with his kids doing crazy stuff, I wanted to know what he was up to..... I guess you see the point I'm trying to make.
Tony was killed on a motorcycle riding behind his son, with his wife on the bike with him. his son saw his Dad's bike go airborne in his rear-view mirror. Tony was dead when he hit the ground. He was on vacation with the people he loved the most in a place he visited several times.
I'm so upset I don't know what to do, but you know what I'm thinking....blow something up, go way too fast, stare the bastards down, and let God sort it all out.

New Year

Well, there was a month that FLEW by1
I had all intentions of blogging my head off this month, but it seems my "gainful unemployment" has taken legs. I'm really busy....I'm looking for work, accomplishing work, working on my home, working with my dog, dog-sitting a friends' dog, going to holiday parties.....I love holiday parties, by the way.....and, frankly, its been so long since I've worked with my tools, I'm exhausted every night.
Its a nice exhaustion though, I have been "running work" (construction term) for lots of years, I used my tools (carpentry) to get away from it all, stress relief etc. now I'm using my tools like I did 30 years ago.....hmmm, where's the stress? I kid myself into thinking I can keep up with these younger guys working with me....they play along. On really cold mornings I long for my heated construction trailer, the funny thing is, I really don't miss it. I have the good fortune of working with guys that just get stuff done, we are starting to realize where our strengths lie, and enjoying each others' company, I feel so fortunate.
So, the real reason for this picture-less blog is to wish all of you out there a Happy and Prosperous New Year. The old year seems like a good one to get away from, although I learned an awful lot and experienced many things I could not have imagined last January. 2010 has a nice ring to it, so lets "ring" it in.
I will try to get some pictures out soon, but for now, use your imaginations......
NPD

Adding On

This isn't the typical season for adding onto a home. But this year has been anything but typical.

So, I'm at home waiting for a project to get started in town, time on my hands....gainful unemployment.

We need a mud room/sunroom.....a place where muddy-footed individuals (the dogs and I, I'm told) can shake off a little of the dirt we have been transporting to the interior of the house.

The project actually started BEFORE the temps decided to hover around zero.The cold makes the tools reluctant to start and the builder even more so. Its pretty bad when I'm out there and the dogs are watching me from inside......."Daaad, you're craaazy..."

But theres something about being out there, yes, its cold, but that's what I have all this gear for.

Its quiet, at least until the compressor starts or the saw whines its way through lumber, and theres progress. OK, slow progress. The glass guy can't make it up the hill, its too cold for tile work, snow keeps getting everywhere....my nose won't stop running.

But pretty soon we'll have a new room, with lots of windows a nice tile floor and a window seat that doubles as a storage bin for all the gear I mentioned before. It seems when you have size "mongo" feet and lots of boots, interior real estate becomes a battle ground.....especially if they're muddy!

Cold Pony

Not really......Henry (the NinjaPony) has like four inches of fur this year. I love it when his fur starts to grow in, its so soft and luxurious. By the time its all grown in, it goes in several directions, making hin difficult to brush to say the least.

This year, for the really cold nights, NPM has made a new barn stall just for Henry, he acts like he doesn't like to be fussed over, but he really hasn't complained. he is his own animal, has his own likes and dislikes, is fiercely loyal to his friends and has no problem defending the two mares in our herd, even though they're more than twice his size. You see, Henry, (the NinjaPony) has a full sized heart, which is what we noticed right off. He was terribly mistreated by someone so that he wouldn't trust humans. We have had him with us for six years or so and he very slowly and very surely has opened up to us.....not that you would notice, of course, as he is a NinjaPony!