Long time, no update...

September has been a busy month for me so far, with no signs of letting up! So far, we've had one 50th anniversary and two family birthdays. Also, three other friends have birthdays in September and my birthday is at the end of the month! Add that to several vet appointments for my dog (he's ok), unplanned car repairs and planning for a two week trip! I'm usually not a super busy person, but September always seems to be busier for some reason.

My in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with us a couple of weeks ago. They are great in-laws - I think I got quite lucky there! lol They are very happy and fun to be around. I scanned one of their wedding pictures because I think it looks so nice.

Today is also my hubby's birthday. I was trying to find a funny baby picture of him, but we don't have any at home. In searching all of our albums, I found this great picture of him as a teenager. They lived on a farm and had a bunch of animals. This isn't their horse, but one they boarded while the owner was out of the country for awhile. Neither he nor his sister really knew how to ride, they just jumped on and galloped all over the country side! :-) Just ignore his foot in the stirrup - not sure what he was doing there! lol. At least he isn't riding in running shoes!

He has ridden Rusty a couple of times, but he isn't super interested in riding right now - he prefers bicycles to horses. He has promised to take me on a riding vacation at some point - I'd love to go to a working ranch and ride for a few days!

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My cat and dog had to have all of their vaccinations and a check up two weeks ago. My cat is 12 and is healthy as can be! Phew. My dog, Max is a bit of a problem...he has had some minor liver issues, so we always have bloodwork taken and tasted. We also found a small lump on his leg this winter, so that was a concern. His teeth are also carefully monitored, as he has some bone loss in his jaws. He had to go in last week to have his teeth cleaned under anaethesia, so we also decided to have the lump on his leg removed. Turns out it was a benign tumour, so that is good news. He has about 10 stitches in his back leg and is recovering like a champ. It was kinda expensive to have all that work done, but I have an emergency vet fund for things like this, so it was all covered. 'Course now I have to start saving to replenish it! Hopefully we are done for vets for a while.

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I don't have any exciting riding stories to report, as I haven't been out hacking in the past two weeks due to all of the bugs! The bugs have been terrible in the past two weeks. I'm really looking forward to a couple of good frosts to start killing those suckers! Rusty is quite tolerant of bugs, but I can't stand to see his whole face totally covered in mosquitoes, horse flies and all kinds of other creatures. Yuck.

The cooler weather is coming, a few trees have started changing colour. I really love fall, even though it means that winter is just around the corner. There is something about the smell of the cool air and the nice sunny crisp days that I really enjoy. I took this picture of a tree at work just starting to change...

Most days at work find me stuck at a desk wishing I was outside doing something interesting. This past Monday was an exception - we had a delegation visiting from Mexico, so I got to follow them around and take pictures. Most people that visit are fascinated by the musical ride stables and the horses. They have a couple of horses that they use for photos and such. We had a few minutes to wait, so I had fun talking to one of the instructors about horses and riding. He has been riding and teaching for many years and actually teaches at the stable that Rusty came from two owners ago! I didn't put it together at the time, but when I looked up the stable online at home on Monday night, I found some old pictures of Rusty with his previous owner (which I'll post later)!

I also took this picture of the musical ride horses that I thought was kind of nice. Both horses are 19 and still being ridden - mostly just for ceremonial purposes, but they also use them on their beginner riding courses. Ike is in the foreground and Hector in the background.

Well that about wraps up this update! Sorry for the long post - that's what happens when you don't update regularly!