Thursday, March 11, 2021

Horses and Oak Trees

 Cold outside and guess what?  This is the night that Yuma has to go out at 4:45.  What does he do?  Instead of hurrying, he decides to smell every bush around first and then do his business.  Oh well!  Anything to make Yuma happy😠

Woke back up at my normal 8 o'clock and it says 32 degrees out there.  That's cold!  Did a little reading, writing and texting and got up at 9 o'clock to a nice sunny morning with just a breeze and a chilly 48 degrees.   

Another walk with Yuma and as you can tell he loves running these trails through the grass.  But he always stops and waits for the old man.



It was nice at 10:30 while eating breakfast.  The  riders started exercising their horses around that time.  I have several friends that are avid horse lovers.  My wife, Dolly and our friend Ellen who faithfully follows my blog and Nancy, Kissack Adventures a fellow blogger.  I'm sure there are many more.  As for me, I like to see horses but I don't know the difference between a horse and a mule.😀




Four ATVs were coming up the road so these riders moved to the side of the road, but the horses were still spooked by their noise even though they were going slowly.

I wonder if there is a reason that many have dogs with them.  Maybe someone out there knows!  As the day progressed many more horse trailers poured into the area where they are all corralled.

Yuma got tired of being around the house, so we drove the Jeep all the way to the end of Oak Canyon Road until it came to a fence with a gate only large enough for horses to ride through.  I would say there are only about 8-10 oak trees left in the canyon.
I sent my son Steve pictures of the bark and leaves of these oaks and he believes they are Emory Oak trees.

They do stand out.
It was after 4 o'clock when we got back home and guess who was waiting on a bush for me?  Had to quickly stop the Jeep and shoot before it left.  Not one to stick around in one place for long😀  Not a great shot like the bird pictures on Al's blog Travel With The Bayfield Bunch:)  But the best I could do on the fly.

Vermilion Flycatcher I believe!

It's 6:30 and my day is done.  The winds were strong all day and now it is getting downright cold as it clouds up.  Luckily, the winds die in the evening.  Poor horses and riders are in for a windy and cool weekend 😢  Time for dinner and a little TV before bedtime.

Thanks for stopping by.

16 comments:

  1. ILOVE all the beautiful horse pictures! There really are a lot of horse trailers and rigs there for the endurance ride. Yuma certainly enjoys the grasslands - even in the chilly weather. Good to see you got a picture of your elusive flycatcher friend. It's very pretty. I'm sure Steve is right about the oak trees. He does know his trees. Hope the weekend isn't as bad as forecast.

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    1. Thanks Dolly. Be more tomorrow unless they are fareweather riders😁 couldn't believe the bird landed on a bush close to the Jeep. Nice guy! Glad Steve helped figure out what type of Oaks they are.

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  2. Rawn, Check yesterday's comments. Left you a way to contact me for a get together.
    Doug

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  3. Oh the vermilion flycatcher is beautiful!! Yuma and I would get along good - getting up so early!! LOL! That was quite a few horses gathering. were they just there for the day or camping in the area as well? They are sure beautiful.

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    1. Glad I finally got the red bird's picture. Quite flighty little fly catcher. This is a competition club and every year around this time they meet here for a distance competition. Third time I've been here when the event occurs. Fun watching them pass by on their journey. They come in all week and then leave after the event late Sunday.

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  4. I'm not much of a horse person, but I'm sure it'll be fun to watch the main event. What a crowd it draws.
    Beautiful sunny day for you, some more badly needed rain on this side of the river.

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    1. Me neither Jeff, but I do like watching them. Yes, we do need rain but probably won't be any here.

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  5. I think they all have dogs with them for the same reason you do. If you have horses you usually live on a place that there's room for dogs too and most horse type people love dogs too.

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    1. Simple answer Bob. The dogs do love to run along and they're so well disciplined.

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  6. The oak trees look beautiful. How nice of the bird to sit close enough and long enough for you to get the picture. Must be fun to sit and watch all the horsed go by. Hope to get out of here tomorrow we have had rain since this afternoon.

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    1. Thanks Deb. I'm glad all the horses go by my place. Hope it's not too muddy to get to the road. Hopefully see you two this afternoon.

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  7. Wow that flycatcher!! I haven't seen one in person yet!! It appears most of the horses are Arabians, which usually means an endurance ride. Sometimes they have one person running and one riding. After so many miles, they change places. Other times it's just the rider and the horse going 50-100 miles. As for the dogs, just pets I imagine. Like me, they have to take them along for lack of someone else to feed them. Great pictures!!

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    1. Hopefully you'll see one while you're here. The name of the competition is Old Pueblo Endurance Rides.

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  8. I'm hoping Yuma has his Snake Bite Vaccine. As the temps increase they'll start coming out and can easily hide in the long grass.
    Seeing horses just walking around is very calming.
    Be Safe and Enjoy nature.

    It's about time.

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    1. Thanks Rick. I'm enjoying watching the horses come and go.

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  9. Gosh I can't believe all the horses and trailers! It's going to be a fun weekend for sure! Nice that you time it to be there every year and watch! I love Yuma's expressions!

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