**Patio Garden 01**

Ok, so in my off time from the stables I have convinced my parents to set me up with a small patio garden.  And since they are awesome, they didn't take much convincing at all.  In fact, I think I just spoke the words, "Do you think I could have a basil cutting?" while visiting and they whisked me off to Mesquite Valley Growers in an instant.  

They bought me 3 Cilantro plants, 2 Sweet Basil, and 1 beautiful Gardenia.  

That was 5 weeks ago.  Just today, the last of my Cilantro has finally dried up but not before giving me some amazing harvests...I made delicious salsa mmmm
I let them all bolt but I'm not sure they ever made it to the seed production stage. They definitely flowered but the heat kicked up and they soon shriveled.

My basil is still doing well but has what I believe to be spider mites on their leaves. No biggie though. I bought some biodegradable liquid soap and mixed it with water to create a solution you spray on the leaves.  

The gardenia is also thriving. I watch carefully for yellowing leaves with green veins as a sign that I need to increase the acidity of the soil.  I add vinegar to the water once a week if necessary and also put used coffee grinds on top of the soil.  

I also have a succulent which has been hanging around for a few months before I started my "garden".  He simply loves the sun but requires more frequent watering during this heat. 

It's hot but bearable.

I think this is the first year I actually don't mind the summer heat yet.  

Granted it has only been in the low 100's so maybe I will change my tune this week when we hit 110...but for now, I don't mind.  

Diamond has been doing quite well lately.  He is in good spirits when I let him walk around the arena on his own.  He never stays in one place for very long but when he has decided he is done with the heat (usually an hour or so passes) 

he comes to the gate and waits for me.  

Every morning we continue to mist off before going back to his stall.  I can tell he hates being wet but it eases my mind knowing I am doing what I can to keep him cool.  I also take that time to soak his feet and put coconut oil on them as well.  

How I wish I could have my own horse property...I would set up a special slow feeder on a small island as it were, surrounded by a pond that was just deep enough for Diamond to soak his own feet.  I'd put just a small flake in there..enough for him to take 30 mins or so to eat.  The trouble would be keeping it free of mosquito larva in the summer.  Perhaps I could just fill it and empty it daily.  

This all occurred to me while browsing Pinterest, as I often do, and I saw this pin!

Summer Sores are healed

With summer sores behind us, I feel like the rest of the season will be smooth sailing.

We have a new routine for the mornings that includes getting cooled down on the "mist" setting with the fancy hose nozzle before returning to his stall.  It's now lingering around 100 degrees here so I'm sure the extra daily cool down helps a little.

Depending on the bale, I now leave the grate off his slow feeder box.  I worry about the shorter cuts of grass making it difficult to pull through the grate holes, so for my peace of mind he has free access today.

After abandoning his salt lick for many weeks he has finally started using it again! Yay!

His hooves are looking nice (using the coconut oil) and are easy to pick out still; after his last farrier visit in April.  He is coming due again on Wednesday.

Today we played around with the green pool noodle.  He was very eager to show he wasn't afraid of it, even though he still was lol  But with every attempt he made to sniff it or step on it I gave him a treat and reassurance.  He really seems to enjoy training and earning treats.  I'll have to look up some more tricks to teach him...