I'm a skittle

These two videos make me giggle helplessly every time. Yes, I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old.

I had an awesome lesson on Willow yesterday. We have another tomorrow, and then it's off to D.C.!

Upper Trestle Falls

Last weekend a friend and I hiked to Upper Trestle Falls. To get to it, you have to hike about a mile and a half up the side of a mountain. (The next day, my buns let me know they are not made of steel.) I would have gone three times as far to see these falls, though. They are just gorgeous. Completely secluded, and something about the deep canyon setting made everything feel prehistoric. I kept expecting a brontosaurus to wander by. The first photo (i.e., the good one) was taken by my friend, who had a nice digital SLR and a tripod. The other two are the result of my mediocre point and shoot. As you can see, the trail actually takes you behind the upper part of the falls. Neato!

Thursday's lesson got shifted to this coming Sunday, and then we also have a lesson on Tuesday. Willow's going to think she's at boot camp. (But then I'm off to D.C. for a week, so I think she'll live.) Tonight I believe I got an on-demand flying change. I had thrown in a few attempts randomly during the ride, and got the usual step or two of trot before the change. On my final try, she gave a huge lunge, and by the time I got myself back upright I realized she was on the new lead. And I don't think I felt any trot. In any case, I praised her up and down for the effort and called it a night.

Tomorrow I'm scribing at a local schooling show. Four hours of intro- and training-level tests, here I come!

Ireland watch begins

My friend Lynda and I have decided we're going to visit Ireland next spring. She's been there before; I have not. In 1990 and 1994 I spent a few weeks in Nancy, France, and while there also made short trips to Berlin the first time around and London the second time. My passport has long since expired, so I wrote away to Nebraska and requested my birth certificate, and Lynda and I trooped over to a photography store and had our passport photos taken. All that's left is for me to go to the post office and turn in the application. I needed to renew my passport anyway, because I may be going to Vancouver in February for the Winter Olympics.

Lynda and I are going to sit down in front of the internet tomorrow and start narrowing down where we want to go. We're planning on ten days and two separate locations. Most likely coastal. We're looking at smaller towns, and I'm interested in horseback riding on the beach at least once. Ireland is quite horsey. It's all very exciting.

I had a super lesson on Willow tonight. She's starting to understand how to keep her weight shifted back without constant reminders. I can't tell you how much my triceps appreciate it when she stops leaning and pulling. Trainer Leslie said we're just about ready to stop focusing so much on the basics and start adding the movements to move us up the levels. Hooray! June is a lesson-packed month: I have another one in a week and then another the following Tuesday. Then I'm off to DC for a week for a conference.

Dog on the roof, aloof

The two little dogs owned by my neighbors across the street have taken to running around on the roof over the porch; they slip out through an open second-story window. Here's the little dachsund-corgi mix.

My mother has been visiting for the past ten days, so Willow's vacation has continued. I made it out to ride last Sunday, and I groomed and hand-grazed her Wednesday. She'll be going back to work starting this evening. The chiropractor said she was a little wonky in her C2 and C3 and adjusted her, so now we should be back in business. The chiro also said she's tight in her base-of-the-neck muscles, so we're going to get more intensive with the carrot stretches, and I'm looking around for a massage therapist.

Mom and I visited Salt Creek Falls yesterday. It's the second-highest waterfall in Oregon -- 286 feet! I had the railing on the observation platform in a death grip. Here's the picture I took with my cell phone:

And here's a much better photo I found on Flickr.