Peaceful Springtime Scenery

Just a few shots from my hike yesterday in Otter Creek Wilderness. Enjoy!

Columbine. I love the shape of this flower.

Taiga photobombing me.

The shot I thought I was getting.

Emay, Kala, and Kenai!

This creek is so stunningly gorgeous.

Not the greatest shot, but a gorgeous maidenhair fern. 

Undercut rocks

Simply magic

Taking in the beauty and so overwhelmingly grateful that this is only a 20 min drive on a 1 lane road from my house.

Old rock wall where the RR grade was

Wild and curious little husky

Wild and curious big husky

More columbine

And one more columbine shot

Taiga Packing

I've been going nuts completing oodles of projects around the farm that I want to share, but as they're all in a state of partially-complete, today's post is meant to tide you over and kill you with cute.

A couple weekends back, my little quaran-team of humans I've interacted with since the chaos began headed to spend time in the Sinks of Gandy at our family camp. It's possibly the most remote place in West Virginia and thus is a great place to spend time right now!

While my brother and Leslie went fishing, Dave, Kate, Taiga, and I headed out on a 24-mile bike ride.

Forest Service road along Gandy Creek

So in love with this weather and sunshine!

It was a GORGEOUS and perfect day to be out.

While Taiga has completed 17 miles with energy to spare in the past, she became foot-sore on the mixed dirt and gravel roads during the first 13 or so miles of our trip. Dave opted to sprint ahead to get back quicker so he could get the truck and come pick her up, but in the mean time, I wanted to see if there was a way for me to carry her so she could have a break.

I definitely did not have a plan and honestly had no idea if we could make it work. But with a little help from Kate (who never questions my crazy ideas like this), patience from tired Taiga, and some creative use of Taiga's webbing leash, we made it work!

Look at this happy little bitch

Amidst constant giggling, Kate then captured media of the first mile or so of our venture.

Ridin' Dirty

Her little feet tucked in slay me

She was LOVING the sites and smells here. So much livestock and a light breeze to carry the interesting smells make for a happy little husky

What am I doing with my left arm? Trying to relieve the increasing pain and numbness in my left shoulder/arm of course!

I ended up carrying Taiga like this for a solid 3 miles or so. She LOVED it. She took in the sights for a bit, and then put her sweet little chin on my shoulder and took a nap. It was the most adorable thing ever.

I'd have continued carrying her for longer, but the setup was NOT comfortable for me. My left arm/shoulder was in a world of pain from restricted blood flow and it was hard to breathe with a dog trussed so tightly to my body. Not to mention, the very large majority of this section was a very steady uphill!

Once I couldn't continue, we moseyed at Taiga's pace until Dave picked her up. (It was amazing how much easier the uphill was when I could breathe lol)

All-in-all, it was a FANTASTIC day. Taiga was plum tuckered by the end and slept for two days straight. A tired husky is the BEST kind of husky!

Easing into a New Norm

I finished the barn only to be completely inundated by what feels like 80 million photoshoots. Something about autumn and trees and pretty leaves? Regardless, while I've had "more time" to "do things" my time has temporarily been consumed by photography. It isn't the worst!

Blackwater Canyon from Pendleton Point - cell phone photo because I haven't had time to edit my personal DSLR photos yet!

To the defense of everyone wanting to cram in a photoshoot during autumn, it has been a really stellar year for color. Like, I can't remember the last time things were this gorgeous. My daily commute and outside time is spent extending grabby hands toward gorgeous trees, gaping my mouth open and closed like a fish in shock and awe, and babbling incoherent noises about how gorgeous everything surrounding me is.

Sunrise from Table Rock - cell phone photo because I haven't had time to edit my personal DSLR photos yet!

My gratitude for this place is overflowing. I just... Damn.

My backyard Saturday morning *insert all the heart-eyed emojis*

Despite photography-consumed time and my autumn prattle, I have been riding a bit more lately! It's amazing what I'm able to do with a little bit of time when I don't have so many "unfinished" construction projects.

Last Monday, I took the Q mare out to play around in the neighborhood and enjoy a perfect autumn day. She was absolutely perfect!

We went up and down the mountain a time or two, galloped through fields, and gawked at trees. Through everything, she was a solid, reliable partner. Such a difference from where she used to be! (Evidenced by all of the happy, forward and/or listening ears in every photo above!!)

I find myself enjoying riding her and looking forward to the time I spend with him as opposed to feeling apprehensive/anxious about what her mood will be like. I'm getting excited for a winter that I can focus on honing her responsiveness and developing her abilities undersaddle.

Last Friday, a girlfriend and I took Stan and Q out on a lovely 7.4 mile ride. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was the first time I'd trailered the horses off-property since bringing them home.

Because both horses are barefoot right now and I haven't dialed in hoof boots for Stan yet, we were a bit restricted in trail options. The choice we ended up making wasn't even one on my radar when we headed out that morning, either! But sometimes last-minute plans are the best plans.

We had a perfect ride in which we saw approximately zero other people except in the parking lot. We had equal parts trotting and walking with one long canter stretch. The conversation was rich. The time spent in nature with horses was much-needed. The horses really seemed to enjoy themselves. And Q - who led the whole time! - was (once again) perfect! I really couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable ride.

On Saturday, amidst a wealth of barn and farm chores, I began clipping the horses.

Feeling fresh!

Yes! Clipping! It's so exciting to be able to do this and not worry about the horses being too cold this winter. If I need to change blankets or whatever, it's only a short walk instead of a 50-minute drive!

I'm starting each horse off with just a bib clip and may upgrade each to an Irish clip (or more) as needed. This means everyone can be more comfortable, I can be less stressed, and - most of all - I don't have to worry about planning my winter workouts around how sweaty/not sweaty my horses may become. I'm really excited.

Unfortunately, my clipper batteries seemed to have kicked the bucket permanently after clipping Grif and Stan. Ugh. Sorry, Q! But I'll get a new battery soon enough and everyone will match. 😂

On Saturday night after a long day of chores and copious photo editing, Griffin got to enjoy a workout at home. The first of many such workouts, I hope!

We enjoyed a steady warm up of walk and then trot, ending with a bit of canter in each direction. From there we worked through 6 trot poles for a time before adding in cavaletti work and eventually a few XC jumps!

We jumped the lower left side of the pile

He looks so chill about his accomplishment. I was psyched he handled it with aplomb because a similar jump gave him pause at Loch Moy in 2017.

He was literally trying to eat the tree 1 second prior... Sigh.

Griffin. Was. Psyched. He's been begging to work for awhile now and it was like he knew he was going to get to go be a jomp-jomp horse again when I tacked him up. (Or maybe it's because I exclaimed, "You're going to be a jomp-jomp horse again today!" when I pulled him into the barn? lol) He excelled at the trot poles, merely cantered over the 18" cavaletti, and didn't hesitate ONCE at our three XC jumps - two of which we'd never attempted before.

IN MY OWN BARN EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I wasn't even going to attempt the two new jumps on this evening, but he was being The Very Best and the ground conditions were primo, so I decided to add them in. I gave him lots of verbal encouragement and kept my leg on during our approach to help guarantee he knew without a doubt that we would be going over the stacked skinny logs and the wood pile. Much to my pleasure, Grif sailed beautifully over both! Such a good boy.

Unfortunately, by the end of barn chores post-ride, my back - which had been feeling increasingly tight after a very labor-intensive day - was not in a good place. I took NSAIDS, soaked in warm water, iced, had Dave massage it, etc., to no avail. By the following day, I was worse and the day after that I was no better. But fortunately, I was able to get to the doctor for some Rx meds to help relax my muscles to see if I gain some relief. Today, I see the acupuncturist. I'm genuinely hoping that between the Rx and the acupuncture, I find some relief and relaxation of those angry muscles. Being such an active person with a back strain is not fun!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Tomorrow morning, I'm finally (after a 2-month phone-tag) getting my hay tested! This is the last puzzle piece before I can start dialing in my horses' diets and supplements. I'm really excited to dive into it all.

Following the hay testing, I'll be (if my back allows) heading to Cape May for my annual raptor banding girls trip. Eeee! I haven't seen Mandy in a year and am very excited to spend several days with her. I'll be sure to put together a photo-heavy raptor post when I return for those of you who love them.

So...yeah! I'm working on getting back to a semi-regular blogging schedule - both writing and reading. It's a bit odd to come up with something beyond barn posts again, but I am eager to get to it! With luck, I'll find time to write about a backlog of things like seeing the horse chiro, the Mary Wanless and Janet Foy clinics, the blogger camping trip to Assateague, and more.

Stay tuned!

The Magic of the West Virginia Highlands

Alternate titles: Recognizing Childhood Dreams; Griffin and Q Drive Cattle; The West Virginia Tundra

A new girlfriend, Emma, asked a week or so ago if I'd be interested in riding the horses in the Sinks of Gandy in the near future. Her family owns quite a bit of land up there, and she'd always dreamed of traversing it on horseback. Familiar with the area because my family has held a lease nearby her family's land for decades and I have visited the area she wanted to ride for various conservation efforts as a part of my current and past jobs, I didn't have to think about my response, "YES!"

Heading in through private property inholdings past lots of gorgeous red spruce

The Sinks aren't far from Canaan Valley where I live. The area harbors a lot of similar climate to Canaan and has always been a favorite place of mine as a result. Something about these high elevation areas with red spruce forests and completely bizarre plant life compared to what you'd expect at this latitude just makes my soul happy. Both Canaan and the Sinks area a sanctuary for plant life more akin to what one may find in the tundra and the Arctic Circle, not the temperate Appalachian forests found between 38-39°N latitude!

Where the forest ends and the open pastureland begins

Part of the land Emma's family owns is one of the most unique ecotypes in the world. So unique that only a handful of places like it exist anywhere on the planet. Balsam fir and red spruce litter the landscape surrounding a high elevation swamp that harbors plant life known to the Arctic circle. Karst (limestone) outcroppings litter the hillsides of the knobs, and the headwaters of several rivers begin right on the property! 

One of the old homes and rocky karst outcroppings

In the 1800s when the economy was booming with the timber industry, the area was extensively clear cut and used to graze cattle. Trains carried the timber away, dropped the cattle off, and then picked them up before the harsh winter weather settled in. Emma's great-great-something grandfather was known as the cattle king thanks to the thousands of head of cattle he ran over these lands. With the advent of the automobile, the steel industry, and the coal industry, the booming timber and associated train industries died away from this area by the 1920s allowing the land to rehab and forests to regrow around much of it.

Beautiful clear skies!

Today, cattle grazing is a still key component to keeping the environment intact. The sensitive swamp has been fenced off to exclude them from that area, but a small herd still grazes the surrounding area through the summer months.

Finally on her family's property

Emma and I opted to park the trailer out on the main USFS road and ride into the property. It gave us more mileage and helped guarantee I wouldn't booger the trailer trying to turn it around in an area I'm not as intimately familiar with.

The headwaters of the Gandy come out of the hillside behind Emma & Q

Following the initial keyed gate to the property, we had to pass through many gates on our way to her family's property. Multiple private properties exist on the road, all surrounded by the national forest. After 5 or so gates, we were finally on her property!

Climbing up to enjoy gorgeous vistas

I immediately demonstrated to Griffin, who hasn't had close encounters with cattle before, that the cows would run from him with little effort on his part. We would walk/trot toward them and as soon as they turned tail away from us, I'd stop and turn Grif back around. He understood and released the little bit of tension he was holding onto from initially seeing the cows. Q watched bemusedly the whole time.

All smiles in our happy place. Aside: the cattle behind us would be the first we would drive later!

Emma wanted to climb up both knobs on the property to enjoy the views. I was game for absolutely anything, completely overjoyed to have the opportunity to ride in the area at all!

Looking toward Blister Swamp with the Gandy headwaters (yes, that tiny trickle) below us

We marched up Big Momma and did a circuit around the top, enjoying the views in every direction. Emma shared stories of her family and childhood the whole way while I ate up both the history and the scenery.

Haystack behind, homestead below, Blister Swamp just out of frame to the right

As we completed our circuit, looking toward Haystack, the second knob we would climb and ride around, I took the opportunity to leg Griffin into a hand gallop across the wide open space at the top of the knob. Emma and Q followed close behind.

Enjoying the views...and the cows

Both of us giggled at the complete joy of running on horseback with 360° views of our most favorite area in all the world. I even dropped my reins and spread my arms wide for a few strides, smiling and laughing at the amazingness of the moment. As Emma and I both noted, "This definitely doesn't suck!"

WV Highland vista <3
The rock outcroppings in every photo are karst, or limestone, which is indicative of caves! Many caves litter this area and county.

As we descended back down, we observed Emma's parents and family friend had arrived to sort the cattle for travel back to their lower winter pastures.

And again

Emma called out to her mom to see if they'd like us to move the closest group of yearlings toward the gate. She answered in the affirmative. Emma told me to head low and push them toward the gate while she stayed high to prevent them from breaking.

Ahhhh such a happy place!

Neither I nor the horses have ever driven cattle! Emma has done it on foot for years though, and I've read enough books, seen enough movies and documentaries, and been around enough livestock to have a pretty good idea of how to accomplish it all. Honestly, much of it is similar to the liberty work I've done with the horses on the ground so far as body language cues go!

And so Emma on Q and I on Griffin set to driving cattle for the next 45 minutes or so!

Really cool karst boulders on the opposite hillside - biggest I've ever seen!

First, we drove the yearlings through the gate into the smaller field where they would be sorted and loaded onto the trailers. Next we helped keep the larger herd from breaking away as we pushed them through the opposite gate. Then Emma sent me back up Big Momma to turn a stray cow down the mountain while she went to try to usher in an old cow who hadn't come in with the main herd.

Happy hearts

From there, I headed back out toward the main field to help encourage another old cow who had a limp before helping Emma escort one final big girl out of the field and into the sorting area.

IT WAS SO COOL.

Calm down, Q. Calm down.

Nothing crazy, no running or crazy breaks from the herd, but totally satisfying to get to truly WORK cattle from horseback. With the two men on 4-wheelers, her mom on foot, and us on horseback, the large majority of the herd was where they needed to be in no time at all. 

I so wish I had more photos! But I had to stay ON it.

I finally thought to look at my watch once we'd finished with the cattle and realized we had better start heading to the trailer if we wanted to be on the road before dark! Daylight wasting time is the worst.

So Emma bid her family farewell and we struck off.

See the cow? We drove her down off the knob shortly after this.

The cherry on the cake for the day was getting to see my first WV golden eagle as we left. The species has overwintered in the WV highlands for years now (they travel down from Quebec), and we have reason to believe some may even be persisting through the summers, breeding and nesting. I have seen ample trail cam footage from the State wildlife agency, but had yet to witness a GOEA of my own in WV. It was SO cool to finally check that off my list!

Long shadows, golden light, and spruce forests

I'm looking forward to a spring trip with Emma to continue exploring and enjoying the area with the horses. The early-winter landscape was gorgeous, but the late-spring landscape will display an entirely different facet of beauty Emma and I are both keen to appreciate from horseback.

My loves

The whole day was absolutely magical and I'm so grateful to Emma (and her family!) for the experience. Both of us agreed that our souls were happier and our mental health in a much better place than it had been at the start of the day. Something about horses and time in the mountains is so very healing and fulfilling.