Concern

So in my last post, I mentioned that we went to a local rodeo. It's no pumpkin bumpkin type rodeo but it's nothing so amazing that it has national publicity. It's a local rodeo with local people on the circuit.

So I was shocked when a friend said she watched someone inject a horse with something. I have no idea what nor do I want to know. But come on, this is not nationals, the money isn't that big to risk your horse. It doesn't warrant doping your horse up. Shame on you for drugging your horse. I did see the same person rub some type of cream on the horse's hock.

The second day, those people were gone but they'd left their trash laying on the ground. The cream AND the needle! SERIOUSLY?? You left that for someone else to pick up? I wasn't thinking, I was in such shock. But I should have picked up the needle and had my vet figure out what was in the needle that this person injected into her horse.

If you have to go so far as to dope up your horse and inject something "to make him run faster", then it's time to retire the horse and look for a new project. The more I think about it, the more angry I get. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not around the racing circuit, I'd probably go ballistic.

Mosquitoes

Well, the week was fairly quiet but the weekend...crazy busy. Unfortunately crazy busy but not with the Sanctuary. Friday and Saturday night I performed with my drill team, Dakota Thunder. We performed in the rain Saturday night. Luckily we didn't have serious weather but it still made riding interesting. So with being gone two afternoons and evenings, I didn't get anything accomplished Friday or Saturday.

While everyone else slept yesterday, I went and hand sprayed thistles in the pasture. We didn't get a chance to spray this spring. The days kept getting away from us so we opted to skip spraying. But the thistles are getting bad so I thought I would go out and spray.

The mosquitoes are B.A.D. They aren't just bad, they are horrific. They can carry a body away if you aren't fully protected. And even when you are fully protected, they still carry you around the yard. It's terrible. We didn't have any mosquitoes two weeks ago. But with all the bad weather and now standing water, the mosquitoes are coming out in masses.

Luckily while I was spraying, I didn't get eaten alive (but that was during the middle of the day) and there was a breeze. I know, I know. You aren't supposed to spray when there's a breeze but I was only hand spraying and there's enough thistles that if there's any drift, it would just hit the next thistle.

After an hour of spraying, I had to call it quits (I emptied the bottle but didn't want to do round two). I am so out of shape. Normally, I would be able to do a lot more but I just couldn't. The horses had wandered up to the barn so I grabbed Chaos thinking I would ride. I had about five minutes on him before we were both irritated and annoyed. The flies and mosquitoes started to eat Chaos alive and he wasn't thrilled with just walking around the yard. So I called it quits on that as well. I was disappointed to not be able to ride more. I've had a few other opportunities to ride but the mosquitoes are so bad that it makes it impossible to do anything but hunker down and wait for the first frost. :-(

In the evening, I decided that I would help reduce the mosquito population or at least their homes. I normally leave the ponies out on the lawn so I don't want to mow. But some of the spots that the mosquitoes were really bad are also the spots that no horse normally eats. I guess it's bad grass. So I put the lawnmower to work and we tackled some of the weeds. Of course, in my negligence, I missed that there was a block that we'd used for the stock trailer and I ran it over. (We run everything over with the lawnmower). Luckily it didn't do any damage and I kept going. I was able to get all the bad spots where no horse would normally eat.

Later this week I'll move the ponies around and see if we can't get them better lawn pasture and I can  mow down the weeds in the lawn pasture where they are at right now.  The goal is to de-redneck the place. It's been four years of no repairs and no major work on the place so everything is looking tough. So my goal is to start making the place look better. It'll take more than just a few hours here and there but at least it's a start. I should have been working in the hay barn and hay shed to get things ready in there but I didn't.

I did have the farrier come out Saturday morning to trim up King. We'd talked about putting shoes on but opted out. We don't ride King all that much and we are dealing with mud. So I am thinking of sucking it up and buying a pair of Easy Boots. I bought two pairs a few years ago but they were the wrong size. Apparently King's feet have gotten bigger. The farrier said he'll never shrink the size of his feet so I want to start looking at other shoeing options. King did ok for the farrier but the mosquitoes came out.

I know the bugs are bad in other places but we went to two different parks on Sunday and there were no bugs. So I am wondering if part of our problem is that we dont' spray for bugs and we have a few breeding grounds for mosquitoes. This week I am going to go to SAMs and pick up a big jug of vegetable oil and put it in the creek that has standing water. The water doesn't really drain out of the pasture, it typically seeps back in. So to reduce the number of mosquitoes, I think I'll add some vegetable oil (at least that's what someone said would help and I'm willing to try anything at this point).

So where's to hoping that we can get rid of some of these awful mosquitoes that don't carry you away even when there's a stiff wind. I'm hoping to keep plugging along on getting things done around the place. We could always use more help. We still have a bunch of work that needs to be done to repair the damage on the barn and leanto (i.e., put the roof back on the leanto). The horses wont' go in the leanto now, now that the roof isn't there. So if you're bored, we could sure use your help!

Mommy Timeout

Last night was such a beautiful night. The bugs weren't out when I went out to do chores. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity because I'd put myself into Mommy Timeout. With all the crazy commotion, bad weather, and hectic schedule, I knew that if I didn't take a Timeout, that the rest of the week would go down hill.

So instead, I put myself in Mommy Timeout and ended up staying there the rest of the night. But after getting eight hours of somewhat interrupted sleep, I feel better and am ready to start working on the Sanctuary again. We are so far behind and with the tornado, we are even more behind.

I desperately need to get the ponies out on grass but haven't had time to set up the corral panels. I may succumb to putting up electric fence and just turning it off when my son comes out to play. I'm not sure what the hay situation is going to be like but I don't want to risk having to go in search of more hay later this year. I'd rather not be feeding hay all summer.

It's already the end of June! I've lost an entire month already! Luckily July is looking to be a little slower so maybe I can get caught up (well, not caught up but at least get started on a few projects), and feel better about not being SO FAR behind. As long as I don't have to be in too many more Mommy Timeouts, we should be starting to gear back up and get a few things done around the Sanctuary. Anyone want to help?

Happy Birthday Mayhem!

Hard to believe that Mayhem is one year older today! I remember when she was this big!

 

And now she's a grown up girl! When we picked her up, she was only three months old and the previous owner picked her up and put her on the trailer. Unfortunately Mayhem has been on the back burner since bringing her home but we've worked with her here and there. What little we have done with her, she understands and does flawlessly. This little girl always surprises me.

Born a wrong color, with an umbilical hernia (which unfortunately has not yet been repaired due to other circumstances), and now to discover she has a heart murmur. This little girl has had a few knocks against her and yet she has a bright outlook on life and is always the happy go lucky girl. Hope you enjoy your birthday. You are officially four years old! Where did the time go?

NOAA - Humboldt Tornado Report

Here's a bit more reading info on the tornado that barely missed the Sanctuary. On the second map, the dot with 10:48 (when we lost power) is when the tornado hit the neighbor's house (.5 miles from the Sanctuary). Just prior to that time (around 10:30 or 10:45ish) Mike and I were trying to shut the screen door. Goes to show how close we were to that twister.
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=fsd&storyid=102925&source=0
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National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

June 17th Humboldt Tornado Preliminary Rating EF-2

...Preliminary NWS Damage Survey for Humboldt, South Dakota Tornado...

Overview...

A brief tornado developed late Tuesday evening, June 17, 2014, southeast of Humboldt, South Dakota and traveled to the northwest.  The tornado was on the ground for 18 minutes and affected two family residences along its route with one 
family at home during the tornado.  The family was in bed as the storm approached and received a call from their daughter
informing them of the tornado and the warning that was issued for their location.  They immediately went to the basement
for shelter and a few minutes later the tornado struck their home.  They received no injuries and today credit their 
daughter and the warning for their safety.

 
Humboldt, SD Tornado

EF Scale Rating
EF-2
Estimated Peak Wind
125 mph 
Path Length in statute miles
3.43
Maximum path width
400 yds
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
 
 
State Date
June 17, 2014
Start Time
10:44 pm CDT
Start Location
3.5 miles SSE of Humboldt, SD
 
 
End Date
June 17, 2014
End Time
11:02 pm CDT
End Location
1.5 miles SW of Humboldt, SD

Map of the Humboldt, SD tornado track

Click on map to download a kmz file tha twill display this path in Google Earth.  If you download the kmz file and import it into Google Earth, each triangle
will link to a description of the damage that was observed and may also include photos.

Track of the tornadic circulation as seen on radar

 
This image is of the track of the tornadic circulation as seen on radar.  Note that the location of the circulation on radar
does not necessarily match the track of the tornado.  In many cases, the radar signature of the tornado can be seen several 
minutes prior to the tornado developing.  Also the location of the tornado on the ground can be a few miles from the location
of the tornadic signature on radar.
The track of this tornado was more erratic than most tornadoes as its motion varied from south to west to northwest during its life.

EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph
EF1...Weak......86 to 100 mph
EF2...Strong.....111 to 135 mph
EF3...Strong.....136 to 165 mph
EF4...Violent....166 to 200 mph
EF5...Violent....Greater than 200 mph
Note:
The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the 
event and publication in the National Weather Service Storm Data.
 

Power Poles

I'm trying to place where exactly this is at. I took the picture from our local news but it's the road the Sanctuary is on. I'm just having a hard time placing the exact location. It's north but not sure exactly how far north. I think it's farther north the neighbor's that lost their house. I'll keep looking. Maybe I'll try and get an ariel map of the vicinity so you all can see the path of the tornado and see how darn close it came to hitting the Sanctuary

 

Tornado - Part 1

It’s all in the perspective.  Some might think that we have bad luck. I think we are damn lucky (excuse the language).

Tuesday night Mike ran in to town to pick up donated pallets (thanks T). He didn’t get home until about 9pm. After the last few days of storms and flooding (although we haven’t gotten any serious flooding at the Sanctuary), I was ready for bed. I was able to crawl in to bed just before 10:30pm. I’d been keeping an eye to the sky and the tv weather radar before I went to bed. The radar hadn’t shown anything but a green blob that was coming our way. I assumed it would be another thunderstorm but nothing out of the ordinary.  We’ve been pretty lucky to avoid the torrential downpours that farther east have gotten and caused so much flooding.

As I was lying in bed, I started hearing a lot more noise. I decided that maybe I better go down and check on things. The storm window was closed but the main window was open and I was hearing a wind whistle. I closed the main window and still heard a wind whistle. That’s when I knew it was bad out. Ok, sure we have old and bad windows but I’d never heard a wind whistle that bad before. And that’s when it hit. The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was absolutely insane. I was worried for the horses but knew better than to go out in that type of weather to check on them.

Then all hell broke loose. The winds whipped around the house and we heard more banging above our heads.  Then the screen door flew open and water started pouring in through the bottom of the main door (I’d accidently kicked the bottom kickplate thingy off awhile go). We knew we needed to get the screen door shut to stop the water from pouring in. I’d never seen that much water flow in before. Mike and I debated because we knew we would both get drenched. The screen door was plastered to the side of the house. Mike opened the door and was instantly drenched. He tried to get the screen door shut (it’s a lightweight door with no springs attached (I broke those too). But the winds were so strong he couldn’t close the door! I stepped out into the wind and water to help and got instantly soaked. It was like I’d stepped into the shower fully clothes. It took two of us to get the door closed. I was pulling and Mike was pushing. We did finally get the door closed. At least that stopped the water from pouring in but Mike was drenched all the way to the skin.

The previous, previous owners had attached window shades over the kitchen windows. Right after we got the door shut, the shade started rattling (we’d pushed them back up to get more light in the kitchen when we moved in but never bothered to take them off…I have no idea why we didn’t just take them down). The shade was rattling and banging against the house and then came crashing down. Luckily it caught and didn’t crash into the window.

Right about that time we lost power and the baby monitor started beeping. We ran upstairs to shut them off and our son woke up. All this time I’d been debating on waking him and going into the basement. But Mike didn’t seem concerned and didn’t mention anything to me.  The beeping woke the Bear up and that’s when water started pouring into the house.

The original owners added on a porch that through the years has been remodeled and turned into an addition (it’s the same “porch” that we’ve remodeled a few years back). Water was pouring in from the ceiling and from the French doors. I had no idea how long it was going to last. Mike hung on to the Bear while I grabbed anything that would soak up the water.

And not long after that, the rain and wind let up. We had no idea at the time the extent of the damage or what was going on. My mom had called to see if we were ok and to tell us that there had been a TORNDAO in the area!

About an hour later, the electric company was at the end of our driveway with two boom trucks. I wanted to go out and check the horses earlier but was worried that the bad weather was still in the area. It’s not like I want to be outside when there’s a tornado in the vicinity. So I not so patiently waited until I thought the weather had cleared enough. When the electric company left our driveway (figured they were working on powerlines near us), that I better go out, check the horses, and check the damage.

Everything looks worse in the dark. All I had was an itty bitty flashlight. I checked the horses first and they all appeared to be unscathed from the ordeal. Not a scratch on them! But the barn didn’t come out looking as good. Two pieces of tin were ripped up and are now flapping in the wind. There’s three other sheets of tin that are half way ripped up. We need to get them all secured before we have another high wind. I don’t want the tin to fly off and hurt the horses.

The windmill that I’ve been complaining about is gone. Well, the stand is still there but the actual moveable part is gone. It took out our yard light so I searched around for the yard light to get rid of any glass. I only saw the outer casing of the light. And even that, I only found half of the outer casing. I double-checked the horses and still didn’t see any scratches on them.

Then I noticed that the leanto that we built a few years ago, didn’t have a roof on it any more. That would explain why Brego was standing so close to me. I expect he was in the leanto when the tornado winds took the roof. Brego and Ivan usually stand in that leanto. In fact, all of the horses were standing on the concrete inbetween all the buildings. I’d locked them in the drylot not knowing that the weather would turn so unpredictable.

I then checked on the mares to make sure they were ok. They seemed ok and didn’t have any damage in their pen. I trudged on over to the ponies and the only damage was the gate is barely hanging on. It was barely upright before so I figured a strong gust of wind would probably take it down anyway. The wind also pushed the water tote off the pallets.

Back at the garage, the spare water tank had blown all the way to the fence line. It was empty and needed a new water plug (but still had a functional automatic waterer attached). Guess we’ll be buying a new automatic waterer. Mike had been working on the auger so that we could start digging holes. The wind was so strong that the auger had rolled until it hit grass. The cement in front of the old garage was flooded up to my ankles in water. I have no idea how much water we actually got.

I also looked at the house but couldn’t see much damage (until the next morning).  We did get power on about two hours after it went out.  I’d only made a brief assessment of the damage and headed back in. When I went out, I knew there was supposed to be more storms coming and the lightening was lighting up the sky. I didn’t really want to be outside knowing that the skies could open up and cause more severe weather. So I trudged back in. About 1:30am the power was restored and by 2am we all crashed for the night (or morning depending on how you look at it). I sent my alarm for 5:30am so that I could assess the damage in the light. I’d wanted to check the weather online before heading to bed but our internet was knocked out (and is still knocked out. I wasn’t too surprised with losing internet though).

And that’s where I’ll leave off for now. At that time, I thought we’d only dealt with straight line winds or maybe a micro burst. I hadn’t seen the weather and only knew that there’d been a tornado in the area because my mother called. I still didn’t think that what we had was caused by a tornado.