It's YOU!!

Walking back from the beach with a fish for today's breakfast, saw this little guy and did the horse head-throw and low nicker at him. Just to be polite.  He walked toward me, interested, but was on a tie-down, and so I waved and walked the block home.

While filleting the fish, I saw him in the yard outside.  Had he followed me?  I once walked all through town, not knowing the art gallery's long-haired Chihuahua was dogging my heels before the owner showed up in her car. I didn't want him to get down the road to Highway 101 and the inevitable miniature horse/logging truck pileup.

He transformed, throwing up his head, tossing his heavy mane, and raising his tail into a black waterfall.  He pranced at me with great joy, flinging his tiny black hooves in the air.  Only when he got close, did he stop, and the look in his eyes said, "Oh.  You're not HER."

Once I coaxed him close enough to grab his halter, he tried to dance and side-kick at me, but please, I'm almost bigger than he is. I called Dan the not-horse-person to come out, and he held Mr. Prancypants while I went down and got the horse's owner to come take him home.

Went and got his owner. His name is Stewy.  He definitely has Pomeranian syndrome; he thinks he is an Arab stallion.

Horses must recognize by sight. By his reaction, he's really missing somebody he loves, who looked like me. :{

This is the second miniature horse I've rescued. Last time, a neighbor's big malamute, Chewy, headed him off at the bridge before he could gallop to the highway.

Animals work better if we treat them like people.

Poor Red

Leo and Fearless helping Red.  Actually, drinking her water.

From now on, I take a flashlight into the coop. 

Last night, I thought Red was just sulking in a corner.  Turned out, she'd had her leg stuck in a side of the nesting box and was stuck there all night!

She's in the house, now, warming up, letting some circulation get back into her leg, and drinking from a syringe once in a while.  Priority today is fixing the nesting box.

More: I should have posted this a long time ago, but no sooner had Red healed, but she was attacked by the neighbor's uncontrolled Husky. I thought she would die, but with the help of some antibiotics and cat pain-killers I keep in the house she healed, and went to Dryad's Rest for retirement.

Here's the horrible dog-bite wound, already closed:

Here's Red, back on her feet in the cage. She went back to laying eggs and is enjoying herself with Black and Inky on a lovely farm.

Accidental Chocolate Sorbet

Totally accidental, totally delicious.  This is a recipe for Real Cooks, who measure everything by eye and stuff anyway.

Make a bunch of spaghetti. Keep re-using the water for about 3 batches (don't worry, you'll eat it in the next couple of days, anyway), until you have thick pasta water.

Stir in cocoa powder and cinnamon and sugar.

Freeze.

AMAZING!  Smooth, the tiniest ice crystals, rich. 

Beautiful porcelain insulator

Close side view.  Note thickness of copper wire.

Side view, with thick copper wire.

View from the base.  Partly glazed.

Found this on the beach last week. Wondering if it was tsunami debris.  Yes, I know it wouldn't float, but you never know what's connected to what, especially with the line of thick copper wire.


But --

Got this answer from Bill Meier, at a neat insulator collection site.  Check it out.  It's pretty cool!

Bill:

Top view

"You have a typical porcelain insulator, produces in the millions or more likely billions. I wouldn't expect it the least bit uncommon to find one at the bench. They are all over everywhere!

Since there are so many around, I find it very unlikely it came from far away... I'd saw from a utility pole probably within a few hundred yards away! Used for low voltage electric power.

Regardless, given the weight it would sink and it doesn't have a lot of surface area to "push" it and I would find it extremely unlikely to have come from Fukushima. A piece of wood perhaps... Consider it like a rock in the water... could that travel thousands of miles?

Given I'm sure there are thousands within a mile where you found it also makes all the less likely, even of the physics supported the theory of the transportation of it." 

There are some pebbles from the beach lodged in the spaces underneath, but I decided not to start poking at them.  Better they remain in place than that I chip the glaze.

Thanks, Bill!