Glow little glow worm, glitter... glitter....

Ready to head to the show 7am....

Obari... Flash... Sera

 A and Flash...

 Rex and Obari....

Flash with glitter....

 Me and Sera Sue... who knew those screamin' green breeches would come in handy?  I left my skull helmet cover on... figured if there was ever a time for it... it was now....

 Rex and Obari glittered up....

 Me and Sera Sue... 

I got home at 7:30 that night... it was a really fun day... HOT with 99 degrees and full sun.  By the end of the day I was over the sweat, dirt, sweat, grime, sweat, heat, sweat, sun, sweat dust, sweat and... did I mention sweat?

A shower never felt so good.

Next day tho' glitter kept turning up.... on my desk... in my hair... on the back of my neck....on my arms... on my clothes...  I went to the restroom and there was even some damn glitter in my underwear!  Good grief.

Glitter?

I'm in a little fun-show thingy tomorrow.  A team thingy...

A. from Rex's barn wanted to go, she talked Rex and myself into going.  We each ride 2 tests, the team's scores are added together and averaged for an overall score.  It's a fun event - doesn't count toward anything.  Hopefully it'll be a fun day hanging out with our horses....    in full sun....  95 degrees.... 8am - 5pm.

Ow.

They wanted us to come up with team names, colors, costumes.

We are bright green because where else would my screamin' bright green breeches come in handy?

Team name?  The Lucky Charms.  (my idea thanks to having been raised on sugary cereals of the 70s like Trix, Count Chocula, Cookie Crunch, Flintones Fruity Pebbles, Cap'n Crunch, Frosted Flakes etc. etc. etc.)

And I hear there will be stenciling of shamrocks with green glitter on our horses' great big behinds.  I've never done glitter and horses before.

What if I like it?

What if I begin to glitter Sera and Rosso all the time like My Little Pony dolls? 

I wonder if there support groups for that sort of behavior?

What? there IS no magic pill??

I went to see The Groper today. 

The guy who fixes my back but does muscle pressure holds and manipulations in areas awful close to *ahem* your naughty bits. 

Well no more titilation for me... he's into acupuncture needles now and they frigging HURT! 

I was cussing up a blue streak at him.  Good thing he is young, cocky and everything bounces off him like rubber....

I talked to him about my knee - trying to divert his attention from the needles in my hip, lower back and butt.

Told 'im when I go walking it feels like it over extends sometimes and hurts on the back side of the knee...  he said my quads are needed to hold the knee and they aren't doing their job because they are weak.  He started talking about little old ladies who come to see him saying they worked out hard weeding or carrying their groceries.

Pause.  Heyyyyy.... wait a minute....

"Are you calling me a little old lady?!"

He said I was headed down that path if I didn't start working out again.... I asked him about all the walking I'm doing and he scoffed.  "It's not strength building".

Well crap.  That'll take the wind outta yer sails on a Friday afternoon.  No groping to speak of and being told I'm one step away from being a weak little old lady. 

Movie star goats....

Weird.  It was weird. 

I loaded up the 2 youngest goats - they are smaller, malleable, friendly, interested in new things.  I had grain, hay and a 5 gal bucket o' water cuz I didn't know how hot it'd be, if they needed them to do something for them and the goats would need to be plied with grain or what.... brought Toe with.

Drove 1.5 hrs up the canyon to Pingree Park - there is NO cell reception there.  I was praying the directions were good otherwise there would be no way to find them - huge National Park - tons of people camping etc.

I get to the first fork, take the right and the directions are that I should take my first right from that road.... I'm going down this single lane dirt road.... been going prolly 10-15 min and a car comes from the other way - I pull to the side to stop and let him past - he rolls down his window and says he's the rancher that owns the land they are "filming" on... says one of his sons is part of it and sort of rolls his eyes... tells me to go exactly 1.4 miles and there is a really steep road on the right where their campsite is.  

Found the campsite - let the goats out who had peed and pooped in the back of the car and lets all hear it for those rubber Subaru mats!   I took that out and drained all the pee off it... flipped it over and rubbed it around on the grass....it was gross and I heard a couple of the guys exclaim "whoa..."  due to the gross factor....

The guys introduce themselves... then we load up and move on to where they are filming....

2 guys are dressed I guess in older time clothes - one takes the goats - is asking me how to make them follow him and I'm like... uh, walk forward and pull them, they will follow you.... little goaties just going along with whomever cuz they are thinking...where ARE we? 

One guy goes up the mountain with the goats.... the other guy has a shotgun.   I'm joking "there will be no shooting of the goats right?"  crickets.   The scene is that these 2 guys stole these goats as they are making their way back home...

The one with the gun yells out - "Jed, they're makin' too much noise - get 'em outta here now - take 'em up the trail"  and the other guy walks across the scene leading the goats.  (of course the goats are completely silent... guess they'll have to edit in some goat noises eh?)


They are doing this over and over to get the right lighting etc.   I ask if they need me there or if I can go hiking with the dog?  They tell me to go do whatever and they'll be done in an hour or so and there is another place they want to go to shoot some other scene involving the goats....

I hike around with Toe - there was a stream so that was good for cooling and water for him... .TONS of biting flies... my ankles are chewed up and I am itching them between typing....

Got back to the cars - they weren't done and I sat in the car with the air on, windows up to avoid flies.... listened to NPR.... ate sunflower seeds.... they get back an hour later and say they shot the other scene cuz they found a good spot to do it further up....

The one guy - I think he would have been what some might call "the director" says "oh, your compensation".... he pulls out this sweaty, pathetic, crumpled $5 bill and three ones....stammers and says he has more money at the campsite.  At this point I just want to leave and get home....

I say - uh - why don't you give your Dad some good beer, he can give it to Mrs. Kravitz at work and she will give it to me.  Kid's face lights up - oh!  good beer!  oh!  ok!  That can be your compensation!

I ask them if the goats will be screamin' out their names in the night.... nothing... crickets.... alrighty then.  Figure they must be super serious about their art and immune to any sort of humor....

They hand me the goats and walk back up to where all the equipment is... goats are thinkin' - What!?  We've been in and out of that damn station wagon twice already... no way jose!   I'm left wrasslin with goats and getting them in the car... the kids finally turn around and shout down - "do you need help?"  


No shit sherlock.   I had gotten the goats in, shut the hatch door and waved the kids off....

Got home....Mrs. Kravitz calls and says WHAT?  about the compensation.  She says no way - you need $100.  I'm going to make his Dad feel so guilty and tell him that his kid screwed my best friend and get you $100.

Whatever Mrs. Kravitz - it's fine - I don't care....

Do you think this is how Joe Camp of Benji fame got started?   heh heh

Frogs!

I have a lot o' tadpoles swimmin around in my pond... I was doing some pond maintenance.... microbial additives and barley straw extract to help with the string algae... adding some water and picking out the string algae when I caught THIS!

You can still see a remnant of his little tadpole tail.....

                                                     
                                                      Do you see it?  The tail nub?

No wonder we can't find the frogs in spring when they are singing their little froggie songs... they are tiny!  Western Chorus frog haven in my yard and  I'm so happy to have these little guys in my tiny pond....    heh.  It's all about the little things right?  Even if they are little frogs!  

Movie goats?

Mrs. Kravitz e-mailed me saying one of the vets at the Vet Teaching Hospital where she works has a son who needs some goats for a film.

Guess the kid is in a film school in San Francisco... he must be home for the summer and he's making a "short western".   He was desperate to find someone with goats.

Enter me.  

It's all about promote the goat, baby.

I gave him a call and I'm gonna take 2 does up to Pingree Park in the canyon Saturday afternoon.  The kid was telling me that I could stay on set as long as I liked and he'd discussed it with the rest of the "crew" that the goat handler could be there as long as they wanted.   He said it like it was a pretty big privilege.

I didn't say anything but I was thinking more along the lines of - ummmm, how long is this gonna take so I can get home and on with my day?  

How bad can it be? 

I'll take a nice drive up the canyon (wait - 2 goats screaming, peeing and pooping in my car.... maybe not such a nice drive).   I'll bring my little dog, Toe... a book... an iPod. 

Tho a co-worker looked at me and said, "Wait.  You are taking 2 goats up into the mountains to meet a guy you don't know and have never met?"

Hmmmm.   It does sorta have the makings of a hillbilly gathering gone a little  wrong dontcha think?

Aliens....

When we take the dogs a'walkin' in the morning, the grass is so high in spots alongside the road that all we see is tall grass fronds moving around and our flexi-leashes disappearing into the tall mass o' grass.

I stood waiting while Bequia and Toe were snorflin' around in the tall grass and I thought...

Wow!  This could be a movie....

Aliens....

The dogs are in the grass, unseen, snorfling around per usual.... the grass starts moving wildly.... the flexi is zig-zagging  in the grass and all of a sudden the flexi snaps back to my hand.... empty.... no dog on the end.... just a frayed, bloody collar....

Hmph. 

I think I watched too much of the Aliens vs. Predators movie on some cable channel the other night....