Winter Redux
Mar. 19th, 2006 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseHere we go again: a delayed delivery from January (those delivery services. Itellya):
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1152 AM MST SUN MAR 19 2006
...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET..
.AN UPPER LOW WHICH IS CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE DESERT
SOUTHWEST IS PRODUCING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS ACROSS
EASTERN PIMA AND SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTIES. VERY COLD AIR ALOFT IS
RESULTING IN LOWERING OF SNOW LEVELS THEREFORE A SNOW ADVISORY HAS
BEEN ISSUED FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 3000 FEET.
AZZ029-033-200300-
/O.NEW.KTWC.SN.Y.0003.060319T1900Z-060320T0700Z/
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY-TUCSON METRO/MARANA/GREEN VALLEY-
1152 AM MST SUN MAR 19 2006
...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET..
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A SNOW ADVISORY..
WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET.
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS ACROSS EASTERN PIMA COUNTY AND
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOW ABOVE 3000
FEET FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. SEVERAL
REPORTS HAVE COME IN FROM TRAINED SPOTTERS IN THE CATALINA
FOOTHILLS OF SNOW FALLING ABOVE 3000 FEET. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2
INCHES ABOVE 3000 FEET CAN BE EXPECTED BETWEEN NOW AND MIDNIGHT
WITH 2 TO 5 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET.
THE RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW ACROSS PIMA AND SOUTHEAST PINAL
COUNTIES WILL BE INTERMITTENT WITH SOME BREAKS IN THE ACTIVITY
BETWEEN NOW AND MIDNIGHT.
A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND
LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL TELEVISION OR RADIO
STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE PROVIDER FOR LATER
STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.
That's us. We're at 3300 feet. It started over 50F this morning--I had blanketed horses overnight just in case, and found Tia with one strap unfastened, trying to figure out how to get her blanket off over her head. By the time Teacher arrived for lessons, the slate-colored wall to the west was moving in rather distinctly, and the mountains and the Tucson valley were socked in. We had a lesson even so, and a very good one, too.
There was only time for Capria. She had a very stiff longe last Tuesday, after nearly a month off, but when I tried again on Thursday, she's shaken the rust off and was moving beautifully. Friday I did a road ride, which was nice and quiet until we headed home--then we were in Red-Hot Chili Pepper mode. Lots of dancing and jigging and zipping along sideways (Not Fun on a single-lane road with barbed wire on either side). Applied new&improved aids, especially seat, and managed to avoid Airs and eventually slow her down. And that was good, if rather lively.
Yesterday the wind was of blow-us-to-Oz proportions, so getting them fed without getting sandblasted was the best I could do. This morning she was quite happy to come out and get her saddle. Started off sticky--my midsection was too floppy and I was getting in her way. Teacher said "think about the lift of the stride, not the drop," and "sit up straight and dignified," and things improved. Then today's lesson turned toward Straightness. I have a habit, from years of trying to lipread instructors on the fly, of turning to look over my shoulder when I ride, and this has become rather persistent when I ride figures. Today I had to look in the direction of travel No Matter What. And keep the withers up and the horse in front of my leg. (The horizontal posting of trot that I have to use with Pandora was a key element here. Vertical posting makes horse drop her back and drag her hindlegs. Post lower and closer to saddle and she has to work harder, raise back, get hindlegs under her. And that means she's more balanced and forward.)
And lo and behold, if I didn't forget, Capria was absolutely perfectly straight and had absolutely no physical problems. At all. Nor did she rush or fuss as she usually does. "Her problems are in her head," Teacher said. Well, that and her idiot rider. And previously, in her tack as well, but we've solved that one.
It was quite a pleasant lesson, and neither of us wanted to stop. Capria can be a very frustrating ride: she's so sensitive, and while she cuts others miles of slack, she doesn't let me get away with One Single Thing. Which is why she's such an amazing teacher, but there have been times when I've had a very, very hard time keeping my patience, and it's been an ongoing battle not to get into a cycle of her tense-me tense-her tenser-me lock up solid-her rush-me grab-her rush faster-us hit orbital velocity. There are also conformation issues--she has a very long back and likes to go hollow; and she's had a lot of injuries to the right hock, so she's not happy about using that leg at all. But lately as I've learned to ride better, she's become easier and easier. And today was just lovely.
By the time we finished with a very nice 20m trot circle to diagonal to new circle, the drizzle was getting more serious. Teacher helped me blanket horses, bless her, and went on to see if her next lesson (back over on her side of town) would be rained out; meanwhile the storm set in solid here.
Keed and Gaudia are doing well, Teacher said. Of cuss keed pulled a shoe Wednesday and the shoer can't get there until tomorrow, so he's Boooooooored, so he took down three strands of hot wire and forced Teacher to spend yesterday redesigning fence, but she was warned about that. Keed, when bored, becomes creatively destructive. Gaudia still wants to commit ponycide; she just hates that pony. But again, horses do things like that--here, it's Capria and Pooka and god help us all if they ever get into the same space; matter and antimatter have nothing on them--and otherwise she's settled in, so they persevere.
And now I have an afternoon to, like, whattaconcept, write. Tucked up with my down throw and assorted cats and dogs, with the nasty weather outside. Decadence!
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1152 AM MST SUN MAR 19 2006
...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET..
.AN UPPER LOW WHICH IS CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE DESERT
SOUTHWEST IS PRODUCING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS ACROSS
EASTERN PIMA AND SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTIES. VERY COLD AIR ALOFT IS
RESULTING IN LOWERING OF SNOW LEVELS THEREFORE A SNOW ADVISORY HAS
BEEN ISSUED FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 3000 FEET.
AZZ029-033-200300-
/O.NEW.KTWC.SN.Y.0003.060319T1900Z-060320T0700Z/
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY-TUCSON METRO/MARANA/GREEN VALLEY-
1152 AM MST SUN MAR 19 2006
...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET..
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A SNOW ADVISORY..
WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT ABOVE 3000 FEET.
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS ACROSS EASTERN PIMA COUNTY AND
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOW ABOVE 3000
FEET FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. SEVERAL
REPORTS HAVE COME IN FROM TRAINED SPOTTERS IN THE CATALINA
FOOTHILLS OF SNOW FALLING ABOVE 3000 FEET. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2
INCHES ABOVE 3000 FEET CAN BE EXPECTED BETWEEN NOW AND MIDNIGHT
WITH 2 TO 5 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET.
THE RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW ACROSS PIMA AND SOUTHEAST PINAL
COUNTIES WILL BE INTERMITTENT WITH SOME BREAKS IN THE ACTIVITY
BETWEEN NOW AND MIDNIGHT.
A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND
LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL TELEVISION OR RADIO
STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE PROVIDER FOR LATER
STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.
That's us. We're at 3300 feet. It started over 50F this morning--I had blanketed horses overnight just in case, and found Tia with one strap unfastened, trying to figure out how to get her blanket off over her head. By the time Teacher arrived for lessons, the slate-colored wall to the west was moving in rather distinctly, and the mountains and the Tucson valley were socked in. We had a lesson even so, and a very good one, too.
There was only time for Capria. She had a very stiff longe last Tuesday, after nearly a month off, but when I tried again on Thursday, she's shaken the rust off and was moving beautifully. Friday I did a road ride, which was nice and quiet until we headed home--then we were in Red-Hot Chili Pepper mode. Lots of dancing and jigging and zipping along sideways (Not Fun on a single-lane road with barbed wire on either side). Applied new&improved aids, especially seat, and managed to avoid Airs and eventually slow her down. And that was good, if rather lively.
Yesterday the wind was of blow-us-to-Oz proportions, so getting them fed without getting sandblasted was the best I could do. This morning she was quite happy to come out and get her saddle. Started off sticky--my midsection was too floppy and I was getting in her way. Teacher said "think about the lift of the stride, not the drop," and "sit up straight and dignified," and things improved. Then today's lesson turned toward Straightness. I have a habit, from years of trying to lipread instructors on the fly, of turning to look over my shoulder when I ride, and this has become rather persistent when I ride figures. Today I had to look in the direction of travel No Matter What. And keep the withers up and the horse in front of my leg. (The horizontal posting of trot that I have to use with Pandora was a key element here. Vertical posting makes horse drop her back and drag her hindlegs. Post lower and closer to saddle and she has to work harder, raise back, get hindlegs under her. And that means she's more balanced and forward.)
And lo and behold, if I didn't forget, Capria was absolutely perfectly straight and had absolutely no physical problems. At all. Nor did she rush or fuss as she usually does. "Her problems are in her head," Teacher said. Well, that and her idiot rider. And previously, in her tack as well, but we've solved that one.
It was quite a pleasant lesson, and neither of us wanted to stop. Capria can be a very frustrating ride: she's so sensitive, and while she cuts others miles of slack, she doesn't let me get away with One Single Thing. Which is why she's such an amazing teacher, but there have been times when I've had a very, very hard time keeping my patience, and it's been an ongoing battle not to get into a cycle of her tense-me tense-her tenser-me lock up solid-her rush-me grab-her rush faster-us hit orbital velocity. There are also conformation issues--she has a very long back and likes to go hollow; and she's had a lot of injuries to the right hock, so she's not happy about using that leg at all. But lately as I've learned to ride better, she's become easier and easier. And today was just lovely.
By the time we finished with a very nice 20m trot circle to diagonal to new circle, the drizzle was getting more serious. Teacher helped me blanket horses, bless her, and went on to see if her next lesson (back over on her side of town) would be rained out; meanwhile the storm set in solid here.
Keed and Gaudia are doing well, Teacher said. Of cuss keed pulled a shoe Wednesday and the shoer can't get there until tomorrow, so he's Boooooooored, so he took down three strands of hot wire and forced Teacher to spend yesterday redesigning fence, but she was warned about that. Keed, when bored, becomes creatively destructive. Gaudia still wants to commit ponycide; she just hates that pony. But again, horses do things like that--here, it's Capria and Pooka and god help us all if they ever get into the same space; matter and antimatter have nothing on them--and otherwise she's settled in, so they persevere.
And now I have an afternoon to, like, whattaconcept, write. Tucked up with my down throw and assorted cats and dogs, with the nasty weather outside. Decadence!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:45 pm (UTC)Sigh.
But then I'd have had to shovel it. That was what drove me out in the end--plus fibro and getting too stiff to ride. I'm almost never that stiff here.
All in all, I think I picked the right place to live. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:42 pm (UTC)It's clearing here, but there are more waves of storm behind this one. Supposedly we'll be done by tomorrow.
I lost a few leaves off the grapefruit tree last week, but the blossoms and the ripe fruit are in good shape. The ocotillo flowers didn't get frost-killed at all; they should bloom soon.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:44 pm (UTC)That'll be a lovely surprise for the former neighbor from high school in La Jolla to come homw to. This winter in Prescott is his first ever away from the California coast. And they've been in Monterey and Big Sur this weekend on a small trip anyway.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 03:42 pm (UTC)We haven't had any to speak of yet, but the east end of the mesa has. We're over at the west end, just far enough from the mountain to miss anything that comes off it.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 03:03 pm (UTC)Hope you and the herd stay warm!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 03:41 pm (UTC)Where in GV are you staying?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 04:22 pm (UTC)KB is supposed to call sometime this evening and let me know which of the two apartments he wound up taking. Both sounded good. I believe they're in one of the golfing resorts (think it's just called GV Resort Homes or somesuch) that cater to the retiree crowd. So, not exactly exciting, but clean, quiet, and reasonably priced.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 05:06 pm (UTC)The mental picture of Tia and her blanket give me a big grin.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 06:54 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 09:39 pm (UTC)