NEWS ALERT! HEAVY WINDS HIT THE ARCADIA AREA LAST NIGHT! MY JOHN WILL TRY AND GET SOME PHOTOS FOR YOU SOON!
Hello Everyone,
So, so sorry to be posting you this late in the day. MY JOHN and DOTTIE (Sophie too) live in Arcadia, California…right by Santa Anita. Last night, that area had a HUGE wind storm. The winds were the hardest and traveling the fastest any of them can remember. The power is completely out in ALL of Arcadia, the phone / internet lines are not working, and trees are down everywhere. Schools are closed, businesses are also closed…and people are traveling about very carefully due to all of the trees and power lines that are down and blocking the roads.
On Huntington Drive, right by the racetrack, there are cars covered with fallen trees. None of the street signals anywhere in town are working. As for Dottie and MY JOHN, 2 large trees from their neighbors yard fell…and are now in their yard. Thus, the fence is destroyed in 2 places as well. Patio furniture moved around the yard and 2 chairs went into the pool from one of the decks. It is truly amazing to see how these winds could literally MOVE this heavy furniture and force all of these trees to fall.
Dottie went over to Santa Anita late this morning and some of the huge trees by the one escalator are completely down. Smaller trees in the plant are also on the ground. It seems like the backside held up fairly well. At this time, 2:15 CA TIME in the afternoon, all reports on the horses are great. They came through it all like CHAMPS! So, there is much to be very, very thankful for!
From all reports, there is to be more of these high winds later today and tomorrow morning. By noon Friday, the intensity in them is to be rather small….much more like a normal breeze that would happen now and then.
Let’s hope our weather reports are accurate and everyone continues to be SAFE throughout this windstorm.
We will keep you posted. Here’s hoping the power, telephone, and internet services are restored as soon as possible to the ARCADIA AREA.
MY, MY…something ‘FUN” is always happening.
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
signofthetimes
@Stephanie
Me too, 3 year olds weren’t much this year, but maybe
Four will be their lucky year. To Honor and Serve and Animal
Kingdom, too.
signofthetimes
@Kris O
I love them both, too. Her and her husband are training a couple of
young American girls, they talk of her fierce competition.
Shutterfly has it to and is her equine husband. They are an awesome
Pair.
Karen Mitchell/California
Dear Z, Team Z, all the Zsters and Dumplings and other loyal and loving Z friends: I am WAY behind in reading the Diary entries and many comments and am trying to catch up, as I was out of town and computer range for the past two weeks. As hundreds of you have said, the loss of Cloud Man and the other TBs, as well as the loss of some of your beloved pets, though expected in the journey of life, is terribly sad. I lost my beloved heart dog, Glencora (Skye Terrier rescue) 12 years ago this Sunday and still think of her every day and dream of her often, as I do with my other dear and beloved dogs and cats. I lost David, my husband/partner of 37 years, 21 long months ago, and my father 6 weeks ago. My heart absolutely goes out to all of you who have lost and are losing loved ones.
@ Carolyn Caswell-Brown: Though so many of the people who comment on this site are amazingly eloquent writers, I just have to say that your comment on Diary Post #386 especially captured for me the wonder of this site for all who love Zenyatta and all the other 4-legged and 2-legged beings in our lives. I’ll close by quoting the last verse of Emmy Lou Harris’s song “Not Enough”: “I still have your memory, One or two pictures of you and me. Life is long and life is tough, But when you love someone, life’s not long enough.”
signofthetimes
Tinker is TOO CUTE !!!!
Michele M.
Oh my Zenyatta, I am so glad John, Dottie and Sophie are safe. I am also glad the horses are safe at Santa Anita, they are ALL champs for sure! Are you going to watch War Horse, the movie by Steven Spielberg? I think we should honor all the horses who served their humans so bravely in wars. They are also my heroes!
Jane (S. California)
Glad to hear your Dottie and John are ok! We live in the high desert and our winds were not as bad as the Pasadena/Arcadia area and we didn’t loose power. Hopefully the winds WON’T pick back up tonight and they can soon have power restored.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I saw on Eblouissante’s FB page that she had a cough but is doing better. I was worried about her when we hadn’t seen any training or workouts lately. Looking forward to her debut whenever John knows she’s ready and we’ll be there to cheer her on!
~~~~~~~~
Have a wonderful day Zenyatta and baby “Z”.
xoxoxo
judy berube from Rhode Island
Dear Z, Dottie and Z Fans:
Sorry to hear about the bad wind storm in the Arcadia area. Glad the horses and people came through it OK. Hope all of you are well. Love you Z and love to all of you, Judy and Russ
Marshall (older girl in NC)
Wow, Zenny! Thanks for the report on Dottie, John and Sophie and their barn with those wonderful horses. Sorry for the damage, but glad that all 2 & 4 legged creatures are okay! All the Best! Hugs!
Anne from Paramount, CA
QUEEN Z, So good to know that everyone is okay, but oh my what winds, huh? Even here in Paramount in the middle of the night it sounded ferocious, but nothing like what YOUR Dottie and John endured. Very good news about the horses at Santa Anita.
@Cynthia H/Where Zenyatta Danced: WOW and oh my!!! Happy to hear you are okay. Sure hope tonight is calmer for all.
@Dottie: thanks for keeping us updated; as others have said, a big thank you! How you go out of your way in the midst of everything is truly amazing. Best wishes for a calm night, everyone, humans and horses.
Cynthia H./Where Zenyatta Danced
@Kari: Thank you for posting the link on adorable TInker. Even Ebenezer Scrooge would open his purse for such a sweetheart. You are a treasure. I love you.
12th Heart
@Trina: Thank you for your kind words, Trina. You are a dear lady.
@Anne from Paramount: Thank you, Anne. I am glad that you did not get hit as hard as us in the Arcadia area. It looks like a war zone around here.
The winds have calmed considerably, and we are hoping that means it will be a much quieter night than originaly predicted!
Linda in NJ
Oh my goodness Tinker is adorable! Thanks for sharing Kari.
Tiffany Vaughn
Dear Zenyatta. I am praying for safety for everyone dealing with the bad winds…
I would also like to ask for some much needed prayers from all my Zenyatta friends, and team member! My sister Krystal went in for a biopsy on tuesday to see if she has lyphoma. During the surgery the dr cut one of the major arteries near the heart that connects to the brain! She has been through so much these past few days, she is doing ok, was able to get off her breathing tube this morning, but it is still tough for her to breath a little, and she is in a great deal of pain, and is very upset. She is also very scared, and doesnt want to sleep because she is worried she may not wake up :( she is also runing and very HIGH fever, about 102! she is able to talk/whisper a little, but it hurts…
She really needs a lot of prayer, so if you could all just please keep her in your prayers that she has a fast safe recovery, she is not out of woods yet, and we are very close, she is my best friend, and such a wonderful person to everyone even when she is treated badly,,, So please keep her in your prayers <3 Love to all my friends and Zenyatta and her team <3 prayers are so very appreciated!
Denise Skladany
Very glad to hear everyone in California is safe and that the horses are safe. Hope that everyone remains safe and the damage minimal.
VickieA Dana Point Ca
Thank you for the updates! Power on and off here too! Thankfully no damage but it is BLOWING right now … Wishes for all in So Cal to stay safe…prayers for everyone!
Barbara Grimaldi/NJ
I just saw news reports of the winds in CA–up to 100 mph and more are expected? In the news videos, huge trees in CA were uprooted as if they were twigs! I am so sorry for people there who lost homes and property…I have not heard if anyone perished and pray they did not. I hope the animals are all safe as well.
I have been asked by several people to give detailed information on how to get onto the OTHER website: http://www.equi-army-ndo.com, so here I go for those who might like to visit or who just want to learn about how our site works:
Log on and the first page will pop up–the background will be grass green with brown lettering and a photo of a horses silhouetted against a sunset. Scroll down a bit and to the right of the main copy area you will see a box in a column where you will be asked to sign in and select a password. Once you do that, you can scroll down a bit further and see the comments section which is right under our intro on that same first page. You might wish to visit all the other pages of our site before you start commenting, because they give more dimension to our site and to us. We formed our group in honor of Deputy Broad, a race TB who was slaughtered this past summer. We have a page that describes our beliefs, a page devoted to Deputy, a page showing situations where action is required, a page celebrating victories, a page or memorable statements, a page of campaign information and model letters, a contact page and, soon, a page dedicated to the names and addresses of rescue groups in every state. (People often contact us about a rescue who know nothing about such groups in their own states, so we can quickly send them our list for their state.) Just backspace to page one and the comments section when you are through browsing.
You might wish to read some of the previous comments before commenting, and if you find one you’d like to respond to, hit the response button and you will see a box open for you at the bottom of the page where you can comment directly to the speaker whose statement caught your attention. Up to 6 comments can appear under each comment! If you want to post anything new, just scroll down to the bottom of that first page to the comment box, and speak to us! No length restrictions. Conversations can definitely be held there. If you have anything you wish posted on any of our other pages, just let me know because I am also the webmaster there.
Well, I know that was boring, but if it made it easier for anyone to visit or learn more about us, I’m glad.
Meanwhile, I forgot to thank one person in my message yesterday: Joan. Her two postings on yesterday’s Z-diary were brief and to the point about the slaughter issue and what that really is all about. Sometimes you cannot believe something until you read or see something about it. So thank you, dear Joan, for providing the bare facts about what we fight for…your statements laid bare the evils all advocacy groups fight against.
I’d also like to express my thanks to Trina Nagele who thoughtfully invites people to our site. Trina, dear poet and friend, thank you for your neverending kindness and heart.
I hope the CA winds subside, I hope Zenny stays healthy and happy for 35 years, and I thank Dottie with all my heart for her understanding of what some of us here are trying to achieve for all the precious horses.
Trina Nagele in So Cal
@TIFFANY VAUGHN—I’m praying really hard for your sister Krystal! Please tell her there will be many more people praying for her, even if they don’t all comment here. Prayers for you too. Let us know tomorrow how it is going. I hope you’ll have good news.
@Karen Mitchell—You have gone through so much heart-breaking loss, and yet have the spirit and courage to reach out to give comfort to others. Bless you! Hold tight to your precious memories, and I hope there will be brighter days ahead.
Trina Nagele in So Cal
Dearest Z—Sleep tight till the morning light.
@Else Mach, Kathy Baldwin, Doreen in CT, and Carole #42 in WI—Thank you so much for your donations to Valley View. I have mentioned your names and messages in my most recent e-mail to Marlene Dodge. Thanks again!
Heidi (Vallejo.Calif)
Zenny, it’s very late here in Calif but, I wanted to give you an update. As we know, I live in Vallejo, Ca., across from Mare Island. All afternoon, the wind was blowing and around 5pm, NOTHING!! Not even a whisper of a breeze! Around Midnight, I could hear the wind chimes going crazy, our windows started to rattle! Scarey!!!!!
I just hope and pray that all will be fine and that Mother Nature settles down.
Yvonne and Maurice
Hi Zenyatta, Dottie and John. Thank you for keeping us up to date on the terrible conditions in CA. Thank God, no horses and humans were injured. I don’t remember the winds being this bad – weather is sure extreme these days. Everyone please be safe. We are traveling to Louisiana Fair Grounds today for the Claiming Crown. Unfortunately, we will be traveling in rain through Texas, but weather in Louisiana for the Claiming Crown should be just perfect. Everyone take care, Zenyatta, stay comfy, eat well for two, have fun with Tasty and all of your other barn friends. Love you, Angel.
Carol
My heart feels for all of you that are being affected by these horrible Santa Ana winds. I’m originally from Burbank but have lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for many years and have been through many tropical storms and hurricanes and been without electricity for long periods of time. Hang in there! I pray everyone gets back to “normal” ASAP. Zenny, I hope all is well with you. Thank God for your website so we can stay in touch with you and your wonderful family. Say hello to Tasty for me!
Donna
I have fallen in love with TINKER.
kelly- Allentown, Pa
Thanks for posting. Be safe! Love you Zenyatta! ^-^
LauraJ (Cincinnati, OH)
@Barbara Wood, “in your pocket” is a term I’ve often seen used to describe an affectionate horse that likes to hang around with his/her humans. Nate is a bit stand-offish. He likes people well enough, especially when they have goodies in hand, but he prefers to be out in the pasture with his horse buddies. He doesn’t much like being in a stall, which is where he has to be to receive visitors. (That reminds me: I need to make arrangements to see him soon. He is probably hairy as a bear by now.)
–
@Trina Nagele in So Cal, it is a cute story, isn’t it? It’s 100% true, too. For a long while, Nate’s caretakers tried to figure out a way to give him a replacement tail. His buddy is so good about sharing that they finally decided it wasn’t necessary.
Kathy S.
So I see Eblouissante resides in Zenyatta’s stall at Hollywood Park…how FUN!
LauraJ (Cincinnati, OH)
Girl Power!
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/racing-news/2011/11/28/buena-vista-top-worldwide-earner.aspx
Sue Colvin -NJ
i wonder what happened when i didnt see the diary post yesterday.
thank God that dottie & the Z team are safe-as well as the horses.
i’m glad no1 was hurt.
thx for the update. its much appreciated.:)
i’ll be saying a prayer for every1’s cont safety.
@Tiffany Vaughn- i’ll be praying for u & ur sis. may god watch over her & keep u in his care.
tinker is sooo cute <3
high hooves to all
luv ya Z :)
Trina Nagele in So Cal
A Birthday Poem for Barbara Wood
December 2, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan’s her hubby, she’s his wife,
And together in life
They did aspire
To climb always higher—
And that’s meant literally!
They never felt more free
Than standing on a mountain top
From where they could see
Miles and miles of our country
And feel so close to God’s majesty.
They did seek
Rugged peaks
Soaring a mile or even two
Up into the blue.
That activity
Was good for the soul
And in part for the body too,
But after many years,
I fear,
It sadly did take a toll,
So from hiking they did retire,
Due to troubles of the knee—
Both have had replacement surgery!
So now if Barbara ever gets to cash in
On a big lottery win,
She’ll use it for her new passion:
Protection of the domestic horse
And also, of course,
Of its wild kin.
She feels no horse oughta
Ever go to slaughter.
In her lady-like fashion
She’ll give a tongue lashin’
To each politician
Of whom she reads
That they, out of greed,
Are clashin’
With her deeply-held belief
That all equines deserve relief
From the grief
Of the killers’ knife
At the end of their life.
Barbara has helped to rescue
Quite a few
Horses in this nation
Through donation after donation
To places such as Valley View,
Which is tops
In getting horses out of Nevada feed lots
And giving them a shot
At a happy life and a gentle end too.
Every time Barbara sees
A rescue
Through
Which a horse frees
From the torment
Before it,
She again feels
A mountain–top moment!
Wishing you many “mountain-top moments,” dearest Barbara, today and always!
Trina Nagele in So Cal
I just heard on the news here in So Cal that 270,000 people are still without power. Some are not expected to get it back for a week. In Pasadena some forty residences and businesses have been designated uninhabitable and a hundred-some more remain to be inspected. Winds reached peak gusts of 123 mph. Best wishes to everyone, as winds may return through the weekend.
Kris
Just a reminder to vote on Bloodhorse for Zenyatta as most intriguing horse, Shirreffs and Smith as most intriguing people and for the moment that Zenyatta was named Horse of the Year. Here’s a High Hoof that you win, Zenyatta.
Cynthia H./Where Zenyatta Danced
We had a non-wind event last night in the Pasadena/Arcadia area. Thus far this morning, all is calm. Thank God there was no loss of life.
@Tiffany Vaughn: Prayers for your sister, Krystal. Group name under Gratefulness Candles: KRYST.