Pony Gods

You would think by now that I would have it together. But...I don't.

In the past two weeks, I have been home seven days (and not all consecutive). So it makes planning a few fundraisers a bit tricky.

Way back in April, we bought tickets to "Day out with Thomas"...that's Thomas the Tank Engine for those that don't have kids. The adventure took place near Ames, Iowa and that meant a car ride and a weekend trip into Iowa. We did more than just the "Thomas" thing to make the trip worthwhile (including a steam engine tractor event, the Madison County Museum, and a couple  of the covered bridges of Madison County). We pushed our limits on that trip and didn't get home until late...and then had to go right into the paying job the next day.

But what did we do the following weekend, head to the Black Hills for our final family vacation before winter sets in and we are snow bound. This trip has been on the books since about April as well but I didn't really put two and two together until we were only a few days away from both vacations. It's been a whirlwind adventure and nice to get away and see some of the sights (and colors of fall). We pushed our limits on this trip as well but luckily today is the "work from home" day so I'm not as stressed. Usually after coming back from the Black Hills, I'm re-energized but I haven't been for the past couple of years (thanks to kids).

You'd think that I would either schedule a fundraiser BEFORE or a month AFTER these busy vacations but nope, not me. Now the next two weekends see me scrambling to get fundraisers going to help offset the cost of hay. I need to do some research on grants but cant' seem to find the time. By the time I'm done with the paying job, caring for the kids, getting them to bed, and then doing chores (in the dark), I'm beat. And with the sun setting at 7pm (and going up at 7am), I don't see much daylight any more.

Oh the vacations were worth it. I wish I could be on vacation permanently or better yet, run the Sanctuary as a full time job rather than on the side, trying to run it as a full time job but finding very little time to get the bare minimum done, let alone everything else.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to live in chaos for the rest of my life. And with that chaos comes disrepair. So if you happen to stop out, don't expect pristine conditions (not that anyone does) and possibly expect things falling apart (but hopefully no loose horses). 

And I have to tell a story, and I'm sad to even admit it. I moved the ponies over to a different spot so that we could go to the Hills (and they would be on "auto-pilot" so I wouldn't have to ask anyone to feed them). I had to move corral panels last week. I'd had the ponies there before so it wasn't a big deal. I prefer to move ponies a day or two ahead of time to work out the kinks. It's a good thing because Skippy was standing on the other side of the fence. I apparently didn't secure the corral panel well enough. I don't want anyone looking after the place to have such a surprise as a loose horse.

I fixed the corral panel and put Skippy back in. I went to check a few other water tanks and other such things and was walking through where the ponies were. Only to discover my HUGE mistake. A horror of all horrors. And yet, I was totally amazed. Apparently the ponies hadn't gotten to walking around the entire "pasture" or they would have had the time of their lives. When  I'd moved the ponies to a different part of the lawn, I'd had to use all the corral panels. Well, when I was putting the corral panels up for this past weekend, I apparently FORGOT to put up two corral panels in a small section of the "pasture". The ponies could have, at any time over 24 hours, walked out and run all amuck to never let me catch them again. But they never even noticed. I tried to be sneaky and get the corral panels up in the open spot of the "pasture" without them noticing. They didn't even care. I think the Pony Gods were looking out for me.

So, here's two the next few days of me scrambling around trying to get things back in order after being gone and getting things ready for the two upcoming fundraisers!

Fall colors in the Black Hills (sorry for the glare, I didn't roll down the window)