Bits and Pieces

Well, having taken a mini-vacation from pet-sitting, I'm back at it again.  Sunday I took a client to the airport in Denver - well, actually, she picked me up in her car, and drove there, then bailed to catch her plane.  I moved to the driver's seat and began driving back to Boulder; I was fifteen miles away from the airport when my cell phone rang.  The person I had just left was panicking because she had left her wallet, with her identification, credit cards, and cash in the car.  She told me it was in the center console - but I found it in the door pocket.  I drove it back to her, and handed her wallet over.  I had gone back toward Boulder another eight miles when the cell rang again - she had left her medication in the car.  So I returned again to Denver International Airport....  Then I was able to drive back to her house and park the car.
   Earlier this week, while taking care of the house and pets of the above client, I took over my paints, brushes and epoxy varnish and several items that will be up on balcony outside my apartment as decorations.  I re-painted several items and did touch-ups on a couple; then gave everything several coatings of glossy varnish to protect the paint, wood and metal.  I'll be putting them in place later today - two geckos, a butterfly and a fish already have their spots.  I need to decide what to do with the owl with out-spread wings - inside, outside, or where?
    I'll be taking care of Lola, Cooper and Tipsi at the end of this month; then I have two days at home before going to Roxie and Finney's. 
 
   The way the original rumor about two two pony carcasses seen during the Spring round-up led me to believe that a mare and foal were found dead together.  The person who reported it has since clarified the information - a dark colored foal was found dead in one area, and a dark colored adult was seen in another area.  All three of Chief's bay mares came in for the round-up, but one of them foaled on 11 April; none had a foal with her, so it is assumed that is the dead foal.  However, several older mares and one stallion were not gathered in, so until the micro-chip is found and removed from the adult carcass, identification of that individual is unsure.
   The stallion that was not found is chestnut Phantom Mist (aka Fabio) - but he is well known for eluding the round-up men, sometimes for years at a time.  Right now, it's just a wait-and-see period.

   In doing my family tree research I found a distant cousin named Charles Carnahan; we're blood related through his mother.  He was born in 1887 in Indiana; his father was a jeweller.  In the 1900 Census, I cannot find the father; the mother and maternal grandmother are living together; the son, Charles, is boarding with a family (while attending school), in the same town where his mother and grandmother are living.  In the 1910 Census, all four - father, mother, son, and grandmother - are living in the grandmother's house (she has an independent income).  The father is employed as a jeweller; the mother is keeping house; and the son is, at age 23, employed as a mail courier for the railroad.
   The son's World War I Draft Registration was late, and states that he is housed in the US Detention Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  It also states that he has spent 1 year in the US Army infantry; and that he is short, slender, and has dark hair and blue eyes.  Charles is not found in the 1920 or 1930 US Census - he might have been missed, his name may have been mangled by the census-takers, or he might have been using an alias.  I make that statement because in the 1940 US Census, Charles is an inmate in the Colorado State Penitentiary.  The 1940 Census also lists where the person lived in April 1935, and Charles says he was in Denver, Colorado.
   The World War II Draft Registration card has been filled out by one of the wardens at the Colorado State Penitentiary, and says that Charles' permanent address is 1405 17th Street in Denver; and that a Mrs. Mary A. Casey will always know how to contact him.  Mrs. Casey also lives at the 17th Street address.  At that point in time, Charles was 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed 170 pounds, had gray hair and blue eyes and a scar on his thumb.
   Charles died while in prison on 12 January 1948.  His inmate number shows that he was processed in mid-1938...  Being a nosy person, I want to know what he did to go to the state pen - and I'd also love to know what he did to be in Leavenworth in 1917/18.... 
   I have to admit that sometimes my nosiness leads me to odd places!

Chincoteague Pony Spring Round-Up Report

Well, I actually haven't heard much from most of my friends who were at the Spring Round-Up of the Chincoteague ponies on Assateague this weekend.  CLG Wild Star, a 2016 buy back filly purchased for $11,000, was not found or brought in.  She hasn't been seen for over 6 weeks, and is currently presumed dead.  On 11 April, Captain Dan and his boat tour saw a bay mare in Chief's herd that had a foal.  Neither was brought in with Chief's band on Saturday, and rumors are that a couple of the Saltwater Cowboys saw the bodies of a dark mare and foal on the north end.  None of this is a certainty.  DSC Photography has the foal listed as belonging to one of three mares - Two Teagues Taco, PonyLadies Sweet Surprise (Lady), or Bling Bling - the three bay mares in Chief's herd.
   There are quite a few photos of Ken's herd,  two photos of Ace, several of Prince and his ladies, but I have yet to see Chief or his mares, Ace's ladies, Hoppy's ladies, Rainbow Warrior and his girls, Ajax and his harem, or Phantom Mist and his ladies....  I don't know if the photographers were busy elsewhere, or if the ponies weren't that photogenic this weekend....  There are huge numbers of pictures of Riptide, and, yes, he is handsome.  However, I'd like to see photos of the other ponies, as well.
   There have been several comments on the looks of the mares - the stallions all look great, but most of the mares are too thin, even the ones that are not yet breeding.  Hopefully the worming they all received will work wonders, as well as the advent of spring grasses.  The only pony I am truly worried about is Bay Girl, at age 19 she isn't in any way the youngest of the mares, but she looked almost skeletal when brought in with Riptide...
   I'll update as facts become available.

Assorted Photos

Tim Tebow, jogging bases after hitting 3-run homer

Steve Spurrier will be coaching again

2011 Spring Round-up of Chincoteague ponies - photo by Bonnie Gruenberg

The Thinker - an olive tree in Puglia, Italy

On Churchill Downs' opening day, 17 May 1875, Oliver Lewis, a 19-year-old 

African-American native Kentuckian, rode Aristides, a chestnut colt trained

by a former slave, to a record-setting victory in the first Kentucky Derby.

At that time, and until 1896, the Kentucky Derby distance was 1 and 1//2 miles.

The fastest Kentucky Derby ever run was in 1973, when thegreat

Secretariat covered the 1 and 1/4 miles in 1:59.4.

The slowest 1 and 1/4 mile Derby was won by Stone Street in

1908; he took 2:15.2.

April 13 & 14 = Chincoteague Pony Spring Round-Up

This next Friday and Saturday are the days appointed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company for the 2018 Spring Round-Up.  The ponies "run wild" on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge almost year round, with the exception of the Fall and Spring Round-ups, and Pony Penning week in July.  The two "compartments" the ponies are kept in, north and south, on separate days.  The south area is much smaller, and has fewer herds to gather; they are usually taken in on Friday.  The north area is taken care of on Saturday.
   The two-day round-ups, normally in April and October, are done for the health of the ponies.  Noses are counted, and those missing are searched for.  Each equine's general health is assessed by the CVFC veterinarian, who is on-call for the ponies every day and every minute of the year.  Needed vaccines are administered, teeth are floated (if needed), and hooves are trimmed (also, if needed).
   This year, there are - at this point in time - five new foals known for the CVFC ponies.Ken has sired two chestnuts with Kimmee Sue and Dreamer's Gift; Hoppy has a bay with Doc Amrien; Prince has a palomino pinto with Catwalk Chaos; and Legacy has a buckskin pinto with Shy Anne (aka Half'n'Half).  CLG Wild Star has not been seen recently, and it is hoped she'll be found during this round-up.
   Usually on Saturday morning, the previous summer's Buy Back foals are re-released back onto Assateague.  This year, several older Chincoteague ponies, who were donated to the CVFC for breeding purposes, as well as a couple of youngsters, will also be turned free. 
   The week of Pony Penning will happen July 21 through 27 on both islands.  The ponies will make their annual swim from Assateague to Chincoteague on Wednesday, 25 July.  The Pony Auction will take place on Thursday, 26 July.  The return swim to Assateague will be on Friday.

    Meanwhile, on the Maryland end of Assateague, four pony deaths have been confirmed - AR Arianna, Dee's Heart, Llama Boy, and N6EL (Noel).  And Mrs. Mackey gave birth on 4 April - a beautiful little chestnut; the sire is probably Joy, but might be Yankee. New baby photo by Allen Sklar:

Spring Pony Round-Up - April 7 & 8

The world famous Chincoteague ponies will have one of their three annual round-ups this Friday and Saturday.  The ponies, made famous in Marguerite Henry's book, Misty of Chincoteague, which 20th Century Fox made into a movie in 1960 (released in 1961) titled "Misty,"  live year round on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the barrier island of Assateague, in the state of Virginia.
   The island of Assateague is 33 miles long, and is located in both the state of Maryland and the state of Virginia.  All of Assateague Island is a designated National Seashore - and ponies roam free in both states on the island.  The ponies in Maryland, on the northern end of the island, are completely feral and receive no medical care - other than the females receiving contraception darts each year, to prevent over-breeding, which would lead to over-grazing, which would lead to a starvation death.
   The ponies on the southern end of Assateague are another story.  They are actually owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, they receive veterinarian care, are fed hay in snow storms, have firemen chop away ice at water holes when they freeze over during the winter, and are rounded up for care three times a year.  Other than the week of Pony Penning, which occurs during the last Wednesday and Thursday in July, the ponies have free range in the north and south compartments of the Virginia section of Assateague.
   Each pony is checked by veteran horsemen and a licensed local veterinarian (and his technicians), they receive their annual shots and have their blood taken to test for diseases.  Hoofs are trimmed, if needed, teeth are floated (filed) if needed.  Every single known pony will be checked out, and looked for, if missing.
   So far, as of 9 p.m. Mountain Time tonight, April 5, there are four new 2017 foals in the herds.  All four are sired by Tornado's Legacy, a buckskin pinto stallion.  There are three fillies and one colt.  Suede, a first-time mother in Riptide's herd, produced a handsome sorrel colt, allowed him to nurse and then abandoned him.  The CVFC had a mini-round-up, got the mare and foal back together, and trailered them to a farm for bonding and better growth.  The colt passed away after 4 days, even though he was nursing and looked well.
    The northern herds on the Virginia end of Assateague will be rounded up, examined, vaccinated and released on Friday, 7 April.  The southern herds will be rounded up and processed on Saturday, April 8th.  On Saturday, also, the nearly yearlings who spent the winter at the Chincoteague Carnival Grounds will be checked over and then released onto Assateague until the summer round-up and swim.
   This year, the Annual Pony Swim and Auction will take place on July 26 and 28. The Saltwater Cowboys will begin rounding-up the ponies on Saturday, July 22.  They will all be checked and vetted.  On Wednesday, the combined herds will swim the Assateague Channel (at slack tide) from Assateague to Chincoteague.  Thursday morning, the foals will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.  A few foals will be designated "Buy Backs", and they will be announced before the bidding begins.  A Buy Back foal can be purchased by anyone - but they leave the foal in perpetual care of the CFVC  for breeding purposes.  If you purchase a Buy Back, you receive your bill of sale, you get to name the foal, and you get to have your photo taken with the foal.  That's it - other than being able to visit the baby as it grows through the years, at Round-ups, and seeing what babies it produces as an adult.  If you purchase a non-Buy Back foal, you must make arrangements to have it trailered to your home - you can't put the baby into the back of a pick-up truck, or an SUV.  It must travel in a stock or horse trailer.....     But that's several months in the future at the moment.