I am back!

Hey guys, I am back. Sorry, but last week was insane.

I had a board meeting for a horse show that I volunteer for. It was bad news all the way around. We are down in volunteers and donations. This show supports the local Special Olympics so it is heart breaking. I guess it means I just need to work harder. If you would like to make a donation please email me.

Then my great-aunt passed away suddenly. I had to work and her funeral was out of town so I didn't get to attend. I just sent up prayers for her family.

Then a police officer we know was shot twice. He is okay, but can you say stressful week?!

The weekend was a little better. Hubs went on a church retreat and while he was gone, I played.

Saturday I taught a riding lesson or two. Then I groomed one of older western horses. He got clipped (when we shave their whiskers) and bathed and then we went for a walk through the grass so he could graze and dry in the sun.

Around 2 pm board members for the horse club began showing up and it was show time. I threw on a western saddle (I typically ride English) and we did a quick demo on a new equestrian sport known as Western Dressage. It felt good to go back to my western riding roots. Toby was excellent and loved showing off. It was tons of fun and I really hope this sport takes off.

After that I rushed off to mom's and we went to a "It works" party.  The party was a blast, we wrapped our bodies grabbed some  water and chatted and looked at the different products while we waited. Then we got our results. I lost 1/2 an inch and can't wait to see how much more I lose in the next 72 hours. Mom lost an inch! She is blessed with a hot bod anyways.

Sunday, I had went to mom's to visit the horses and hangout on the sun porch with the fam. It was cold so we stayed huddled under quilts but it was cozy. Mom and dad adopted a beagle/bassett mix that was severely abused and for the first time in 3 months he let me touch him without being afraid of me. He even let me hold him. That was a huge breakthrough for the little guy.

 

It was a perfect weekend of horses, puppies and family.

That time I found a rattlesnake at work.

Let's all travel back to Monday... 

I am sitting at my desk when mom comes in with her new rescue dog that is still terrified of everyone. About an hour later someone leaves the door open and he gets out in to the back yard. 

How the heck do you catch a dog that doesn't trust you and isn't driven by food? 

A lot of coaxing and chasing. 

Somehow in the chaos, my dads dog comes to the back along with my cousins 4 month old puppy. CHAOS. 

Haley (dad's dog) and Remi (the scared little basset/beagle)

Don't they look cute. They aren't. Not when you are chasing them around 400 cars.

Any who... at one point we are along the back fence. We go to the left and hit the end. They go around the front of the cars to the right and I chase them back. The we go left again. We are running in a tiny lane about 12 inches wide between the back of the cars and the fence. 

About the 3rd back-and-forth I heard leaves rustling and a distinct rattle. I look down and about 6 inches from my feet I saw what looked like a black snake. Then I noticed the rustling sound was his freaking TAIL!

And he was standing a foot off the ground. 

This picture freaks me out. 

I froze. It felt like 5 minutes, but it was more like 30 seconds. It clicked that I was looking at a Timber Rattler. A dark, pre-shed, post-winter timber rattler. I ran backwards fast and saw mom and dad running towards where the snake was. I knew I had already made it angry. I started screaming "rattle snake, rattle snake, rattle snake!" at the top of my lungs.

We got away from it and I stood shaking in the middle of the yard. Then I noticed the dogs were still running along the fence. Past the snake. Over and over again. 

I started screaming their names, begging them to come. Four years ago my sister's 4 pound mini dachsund was bitten by a Copperhead. She almost died but my sister rushed her to the puppy ER and hubs and I kept her the following week for all the fun creams and pills. 

I just knew that one of these three were going to be the next victim. Somehow all of my screaming scared the snake and it got away when I was focused on getting away so the dogs were okay. After 45 minutes we wrangled all the brats, but I am still shaken up. 

Who thinks they are going to find a RATTLE SNAKE at work? 

Not me. I was grouchy and touchy for the rest of the day. And cleaning the barn? I jumped every time my horse moved. I am typically okay with snakes. I worked at a zoo! But, it's different when a rattle snake decides he hates you.