Had to do the evening chores early yesterday when the black clouds rolled in. Rained off and all all afternoon and looks like most of the night, but the big boomers missed us. So far today looks like a replay of yesterday, all overcast and soggy.
I remember Claire, when she lived here, laughing at her PNW friends who thought they might want to visit in the winter because it’s the desert, right? Can’t get really cold. Uh huh. And it never gets really wet, either – except that when it does, it doesn’t kid around about it.
The short list of things I don’t like about the desert is that it has weather.
Also, I’ve got a new big issue. Neighbor L is mad at me. I practiced with my .44 yesterday morning without calling her first, and she says I spooked her and D’s horses while they were riding – at their gate, which is the better part of a mile away with a hill in between. I don’t understand how they could have even heard it, but this is a new wrinkle. They’ve got horses now and they do like to ride them. Maybe I need to move my pistol target out of my yard to someplace on the other side of a lot more dirt.
Horses can be spooked by almost anything if they are not trained to ignore MOST things… but any horse can suddenly spook at the damnedest thing anyway once in a while. A scrap of paper blowing against them can do it, or an imaginary unicorn fart… which is why horsemanship requires as much or more situational awareness as anything else. The riders may well have heard the shots, but didn’t notice the piece of paper blowing by. I seriously doubt the horses were disturbed by your target practice that far away. Horses here continue to graze without batting an eye in a fierce electric storm! Anyway, it’s a handy excuse if the people don’t recognize their own need for awareness and maintaining control of the animals. Too many people like to ride laid back and clueless. I’ve seen the broken bones (and one neck) that was the result. Now, I don’t know your neighbors, so this might not apply, but still…
I shoot in the gully behind my home, where I have a 100-yard range. On the other side of the gully is a house, with new neighbors recently. I got a call from her that the shooting bothered her. I said I was sorry about that, and suggested I call her before shooting to make sure she was away from her house, maybe at work, before I would start. She thought that would be OK. Well, funny thing, when I finally called her the next time I wanted to shoot, she said she was home but told me not to worry about it any more, just go ahead!
I guess if you try to accommodate with people, they will also in turn. Funny how that works…
“Neighbor L is mad at me.”
I suggest a visit, fresh baked goods in hand.
I have to agree with Mama Liberty on this one. The horses will get used to the noise, once they hear it more often. You are quite a distance from her. My horses got over it, although the sharper report of a 22 would make them anxious; but our range was only about 150 yds away from the barn, also. The riders need to relax and focus on having the horse pay attention to them.