Since the weather has heated up considerably many of the northerners have fled back up across the border and left us to enjoy the town with vacationing Mexicans. A few of my horse owner friends left explicit instructions to spoil their babies like I do my little Paris-Hilton-Bella, Princess of the barn. I love them all (except one big red gelding who must have been abused because of his attitude) and it's easy to want to spend extra time on each one. Yesterday I got Pony out to brush and curry and then applied the bright pink Swat to her belly sore. I also took her around to the hose area and sprayed off all the unwanted pee splatter from her back legs. Next I got out Billie to brush off and have a little chat with. Poor guy. He has really missed his man and yet is too proud to show it very much. I did catch him standing in the corner looking at the wall. He is a handsome paint who thinks he is in charge of the mares...which I guess most of those geldings think. After that the barn owner came out and said we should just put all the horses out into the desert for an hour so they could roll the flies off and chew on a few bushes. They were all thrilled for the freedom and the babies kicked up, caused havoc, and acted like it was a jail break.

About a week ago, little Miss Bella was out with her mother and sisters in the desert. Mom and the girls all came home in a few hours without Bella. Luckily Joe had seen her hanging around McCoy, a big black quarter horse gelding who roams the desert most of the time within a mile radius of his owners' home. Diane knew where McCoy hangs out on hot days and so went out looking for Bella. There she was standing over him as he lay under a tree (smoking a cigerette no doubt.) Diane had taken a rope along and easily put it over her head and started dragging her back home. Bella called back to McCoy the whole way home. When I showed up that evening Bella was staring longingly out the gate at McCoy who was waiting for her. She had that I-love-Shaun-Cassidy look on her face that my daughter used to get when looking at her poster-filled room. Poor little girl. Next heat cycle she's grounded.

Today is Sonora's first birthday. I'm going to go and try hard to get a good picture of her. She just doesn't photograph as cute as she is. I'll share if I get any good ones.