Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Tack Room Project

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On a very wet, drizzly, misty, cold day last week, Cowboy H and I tackled the Tack Room Project.

I had been informed a few days prior we were getting a "roommate"; a new boarder had been assigned to our tack room. Oh crap, we'd better get our crap organized. And we'd better clean out all the crap on the floor. Honestly, our tack room was a mess. Embarrassingly messing.

I was even more embarrassed when we opened the door and saw this:

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Eeek! The roommate had landed! And poor girl could barely fit her one tack trunk in the door.

We got started right away. After all, we had this to deal with:

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And this:

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And this:

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And last but not least, this:

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Yes, we had a mouse infestation. Eeek! I think we had 3 extended families living in there, nestled all cozy up in my saddles and pads.

Really.

We caught them. Wanna see?

Sure you do.

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Actually, this was only about 1/4 of them. We gave them to Hank.

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He "played" with them, while Huey looked on.

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Please note how ridiculously wet and muddy my dog is compared to Cowboy H's. That's cuz Hank's a sissy.

Ok, moving on. Hopefully Cowboy H won't read that.

We removed everything from the tack room, piled it onto the back of my truck and swept the whole thing out.

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The mice families had literally shredded the user guide for my point-n-shoot. Good thing that camera's broken and I have this nice fancy one!

We also set a few of the sticky traps in the corner. Hopefully new girl won't walk in and find one staring at her with his dead little eyes.

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Yes, that is a big ole pile of grain on the floor. That is what came out of the hole the mice had made when I picked up the bag.

When it was nice and purty and clean, we put everything back in. And it looked like this:

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Yes, I have an English saddle. Whadda ya gonna do about it?

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As a final touch, we hung these by the door.

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Oh, you want a closer look you say?

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An even closer one?

Well, okay, I suppose.

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And with that, the Tack Room Project was completed.

And I felt much better about my life.

And then I returned home.

And that feeling quickly escaped me.

6 comments:

  1. What a mess. My locker is that way. I have had mice too. I quit keeping my carrots and apples in there and I think it is better. But I need to get in there and really scrub. My plan is to do it in the next couple weeks before I get my new saddle in there!!!

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  2. I am pretty much discussed with that mess in your tack room! I did not raise Cowboy H to be a slob...and I expected more form you little miss!!! It's a good thing you tidyed before you invite us to come ride...hint hint!

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  3. Looks great! Hopefully having a roomie will help you guys keep everything organized. Hey, let's see you ride in that English saddle! :) I did for the first time last summer, in nearly 13 years. It was a blast, I was giggling the whole time! Can't wait to do it again!

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  4. I'm curious, which one of you dealt with the mice? I can handle mice, but if it was snakes, I'd be outta there! Don't let the Desert Rose fool you, she's got time to clean her tack room, after all, she doesn't have to clean her house!

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  5. I love you! You make me look tidy! And I have an english saddle, but that's because I'm english. And we have five cats, so we are desperate for some mice, there just aren't enough to go round. Lovely blog, by the way.

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  6. Now you're inspiring me to go clean out my tack room. I've seen mice poo in there, too. bah! Send Hank here to help me with those mice, k?
    lol!

    Your after photos show how hard you worked. You did good!


    ~Lisa

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