The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

You know, I realize my attitude to this may seem foolish. But I love riding, and I love riding by myself. Theraputic. I'd probably go bonkers if I didn't do it, and if something would happen to me, well, I died happy, doing what I love. What more can you ask for. And chances are you could get killed quicker going to the mall in the evening then I could riding in my woods. I do everything I can to stay safe without carrying. I am very familiar with the trails. When I am by myself someone in my family always knows when to expect me back by, and they know the general area I will be in.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

I would never advise against the idea of carrying, but it is something of a pandora's box of new problems if you do.

Honestly, in the woods I consider my gun to be a signal device first, and second, a way to end suffering if a horse is really really hurt. Not that I am sure I could do it. It would destroy me to shoot my horse.

But I have felt more confident with it than without it when I have been approached at the trailer, or at a lunch spot resting, and people have walked biked or driven up on us. Especially because many times with my shoulder holster in warm weather it is not concealed. Guys either flirt with me or give me a wide berth, but they do try to stay on my good side. ;~D

[JenB]

Well, let me tell you, Dad did not do this to me! He is quitting because he no longer has programmers. And he has a lead on something that should work out very very nicely for me, as long as it does work - oart time, but paying me the same as I get now.

On the bright side, I don't have to worry about getting out of bed tomorrow.

[HairOfTheDog]

Of course Becky.... we all take risks, and our hobby is risky in more ways than one, but it is also my greatest joy and I have to go.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The funny thing I have observed about horses is, IMO, they are more attentive to the rider when THEY ARE by themselves. In a group the herd instinct takes over, and it's a monkey see, monkey do thing. You get one idiot wigging out and they are all liable to wig out. By themselves, they are paying a whole lot more attention to their rider BECAUSE they have no one else to follow. I hate being in a crowd. Especially with young kids or novice riders, or horses.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh MY! - So your Dad is gone too? - Wow what a shakeup in the family today!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I have always thought carrying out in the open made more sense then concealing it. But if you do that, you have to be ready to use it. And I am not sure I could being by myself. I know I would have no problem if it involved one of my children, but by myself I am not sure, so I won't do it. Although you raised a question I had not thought of. If the horse was bad hurt. HHHMMMMM. something to think on.

Becky

[Lil'freeper]

Oh MY! - So your Dad is gone too? - Wow what a shakeup in the family today!

Agreed, prayers and best wishes to the JenB family.

[JenB]

Yes, well, Dad has been thinking about it for ages. Things have been odd for ages. He wasn't making anything because he was trying to build a business, but you can't have a business without a product. So he's going to be making a lot more money, and hopefully so am I, but there are downsides, and of course I'm all shook up. I didn't see this coming - nobody did, my dad didn't know until three. This was supposed to happen the other way around!

[JenB]

Thanks Lil... my dad will definitely be fine, he's been contracting for ages part time and that's what's been paying the bills. I just need some prayer and guidance... and more money for school and stuff.

[Sam Cree]

Prayers, Jen. Sounds like it could work out, and I hope that it will.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, in the woods you can get away with openly carrying without being assessed to be a nut. And it is a deterrent, where a concealed one is not.

[300winmag]

The flight instinct in the horse is the reason I don't so far, and because I don't know how to shoot. My learning would be the first step, then getting the horse use to it second. Have you ever gun trained a horse? How would you go about doing that?

I've never done it myself, but the good ol' History Channel said the US cavalry would take their horses to the firing range, and feed them far behind the firing line while shooting was going on. Each day they'd be fed a bit closer to the firing, and with a bit more grain thrown in as a treat. Finally they'd be chowing down right behind the firing line, and not pay any attention to the noise.

Actually shooting from horseback must have been done something like that, but I don't know if any horse enjoyed having a '03 or .45 fired right over his head. Perhaps the only expertise right now is found in mounted police divisions, and companies that rent "stunt horses" to the movies.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL...being assessed as nut has it's advantages:)

Becky

[JenB]

It *will* work out. I just have to have faith, and patience. Neither of which have ever been high on my list of virtues.

Man, I am glad I'm going away this weekend. I need this break now more than ever.

[HairOfTheDog]

Best of luck in the short term Jen..... For you and Dad.

[Lil'freeper]

The visual deterrent thing got my mother out of a bad situation once. She had a long commute down to Tucson for school and along the highway was a compound of bikers known for their criminal tendancies. They liked to swarm out on the highway and box in unsuspecting drivers and terrorize the heck out of them. They did this to Mom, once. After that, Dad made her carry the pistol. When they surrounded her again, she moved it from the passenger seat to the dash. They saw that she was armed, took note, and never bothered her again.

[Lil'freeper]

spam?

[Lil'freeper]

spam?

[Lil'freeper]

spam?