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!!