Phase Two: Emily's Leap

Yesterday was officially moving day. For the first time in my life, I rented a moving truck, and with the help of friends, some new and some old, we loaded up all my belongings in Kelseyville to transport them to Ukiah.  Marta and Tere, friends from school, came to help Jay and I with the loading up.   Jay wanted a strong guy to help with the big stuff, so I hired a young man in Kelseyville. Afterwards, Jay said that Marta and Tere could have done it all, he was that impressed by their ability to tackle anything. 

Once we arrived in Ukiah, we were met by Jason (friend of Jay's) and Jay's brother, Dave.  I am still in awe of the job the three of them did on fitting my belongings into the storage unit.   It was a feat of mastery.   It pays to know people who are masters at Tetris, Jenga, and prior employees of UPS.  "Have boxes and containers?   We can fit them into a space!"     If I need anything, it will be nigh impossible to get it out of there, but that means I will be less inclined to go in search of something!

Now we are working on settling me in to my new home.   Who is we?   Me and Jay.  Where is my new home?  Jay's house.  I know, if you spoke to me any time within the last 3 months, you probably heard me say something like, "Jay asked me to move in with him, but I think it's best to get my own place for now."  How this has evolved is an example for me of the universe having other plans while I struggle on with my stubborn insistence that I know what is best.  As I have navigated this move to Ukiah, Jay repeated his invitation, more than 3 times.  I finally accepted, and am very very glad I did.  It feels like exactly the right thing to do.    To top it off, yesterday, the day we moved my belongings, was the day we first met, a year ago  I know, Awwww.    

In other news, the horses are settling in very well.  They've had a few adventures and a few bumps in the road, but I think this is a good place for them.     Ber got too big for his britches and nearly pushed the fence over when a maintenance person forgot to turn the electricity back on, thus turning off the electric fence.   Now Ber is wearing a big hoof mark on his haunch, and the way he jumps out of Gio's way whenever she flicks an ear at him, I'd say she is the one who landed the hoof.    It's best if she rules him as only a lead mare can rule him. Makes it a lot easier on everyone. Today, Jay and I watched as Ber asked, repeatedly, for permission to roll in the rolling spot. Gio denied him several times, and then finally looked away as he rolled, and then stepped in when she felt he'd rolled long enough.

One of my favorite parts about moving to Ukiah is getting to ride my bike every day. I ride out to the horses (12 mile round trip) every day, and I ride everywhere I can.   Dream come true!  Since I'm still not running, I am grateful to be able to work on some endurance type of sport.   

Still working on the job equation.   More on that piece of the puzzle next week.  And now I am diving in to the unpacking/organizing. Our goal is the bedroom and kitchen.     We've got all day.....

Add caption

Leaping to Ukiah: Phase One

Gio's final tour of the arena...

  

Ber's final survey of the walnut orchard.

Last view of Konocti from M-Square Farms

June is the month of leaving Lake County and moving to Ukiah.  Phase one of the move involved Ber and Gio's relocation to Twinings Pastures, which is a little slice of horse heaven.  We took one last look around M-Square Farms, which has been very good to us (see above) and traveled to Ukiah this morning (see below).  Ber and Gio settled in quickly, Ber more calmly than Gio.  I am looking forward to introducing them to their transition pasture tomorrow.

Twinings Pastures, view of Red Barn. Look close, that's Ber and Gio!

View of where we'll soon be riding!

I have approached this whole transition a bit backwards. Originally, I planned to stay in Kelseyville until I had a job in the Ukiah area.  However, I was searching for a place for the horses since April. When I found Twinings Pastures, I didn't want to lose the opportunity for Ber and Gio, so I leaped.  Interestingly, Twinings was recommended to me 3 times before I finally went to see it.  I was concerned about the fencing but found it to be excellent when I visited. Lesson one in all of this:  when something is recommended, check it out! 

Ber and Gio in their transition pen this late afternoon. They heard my truck and looked.

Ber in transition pen, looking quite content. He figured out the auto water thing...

Gio, on high alert, listening, watching, watching, watching.  She has not figured out auto water yet....

So, now that the horses are moved, my time in Kelseyville and Lake County has come to an end. Do I have a job yet?  No.  But I will. I have enough money stashed to live for 3 months, which gives me time to continue my job search. My goal is to find a part-time job that pays enough to support myself, while I work on promoting the book, Building a Culture of Hope, and working on other writing (Horse Traveler and more academic articles).  Who knows how things will turn out!

Do I have a place to live?  Yes, I'm in the process of moving right now, though it didn't quite evolve the way I expected.   After selecting Ber and Gio's new home, I found a sweet little mother-in-law cottage surrounded by organic grape vinyards, just around the corner from the pasture!    It was reasonable, the people were great (they pray a lot, and said I'd come up in their prayers several times, and they felt like I would be a good tenant), and I was quite enthused.  the idea of walking around the corner to see the horses was a dream.  However, I needed a job in order to secure the property, and a job is not falling in to place the way I expected.   I've struck out every time I've interviewed (3 times so far) and failed to secure an interview on many more occasions.  Realizing that the 3 thing is serious, I considered that the universe had other plans for me. More on that, next post!!