Mud Season

For horse people, there are three seasons -- Fall, Summer, and Mud.

This is post-four straight days of rain followed by a day and night of snow and sleet. Followed by two days of temps above freezing.

D'Artagnan (Dart) always wears his blanket, and always rolls while wearing it. Always.

Champ doesn't have a blanket, and he rolls, too. Filthy, filthy guy.

That shadow is nosy Dart, trying to get some of the snacks I was trying to give to Champ, who gets no love from the other geldings in that pasture. Poor guy even gets booted out of the run-in shed when it's raining!







It's Sunday, and that means an afternoon at the barn for Wren's lesson. Today was for vaulting, and the vaulting horse, Beau, was a dirty mess when he came in from the field.

Good thing he had a team of groomers to lavish him with a spa treatment. He even got baby oil for his tail when Wren decided his tail was entirely too tangly.

Here's how I know my daughter is over-the-edge horse crazy. She won't spend ANY time on her own hair, and barely lets me brush the tangles out of it, but she HAD to do something about the tangled mess of tail her lesson horse had!

And then there was the nitpicky hoof cleaning.

Beau is a very good sport about all of this, and enjoys the attention very much. I am all about Wren learning to do anything that involves cleaning, careful attention to detail, and hard work. Good life skills, those are. Also very necessary skills for Pony Club in the future.

And, a horse show secretary's work is never done, so while the girls had their vaulting lesson, I prepared ribbons and organized paperwork for the upcoming barn show.

Afterward, Wren and I tried to lavish some attention and grooming on Champ, but he was not all about it. I guess his previous owner did not really spend time with him, other than to ride, and he is not only not used to being groomed that much, but is also very very sensitive to brushing. He kicked out and left a big mark on the wall when I brushed his belly near his stifle. After he totally freaked out, and I got upset with him (for scaring the hell out of me), he was much calmer, but still not happy about being brushed. I hope I can help him overcome this somewhat. I really want to be able to love on him; it sounds like he just didn't get a lot of attention, or maybe the wrong kind of attention, over the past few years. I never understand why people don't want to love on their horses, nor spend time with them except for the work of riding. He's only been a resident of Hunter's Ridge for about two months, so I guess I need to be a little more patient while he relaxes and gets a grip on his new job. I'm really looking forward to seeing who he is in about six months, after he's been here a while and has been ridden by many people instead of just his previous owner. I'm really hoping to take him to a horse trials this year.

We finished up the evening with Happy Meals for the ride home, and then Wren and I watched some FEI World Cup vaulting, and the 2010 World Equestrian Games US Team's win in Kentucky. She loved it, and practiced some of her moves on the arm of the couch.

Poor Noah was ill tonight, and Travis took him to the pediatric urgent care center. He's got a double ear infection. I hope he's not going to need a third set of tubes. Good thing we have an ENT visit in a couple weeks.

Everyone's tucked in bed now, and I think I'm not far behind.

Like Christmas

The requisite "house in the snow" picture I take every time it snows here.
7:30 a.m., Friday, January 18, 2013

Not quite enough snow fell last night to make a real snowman, so I had to augment with PicMonkey. I take this picture every time it snows, mostly because I think our house is pretty in the snow, but also because it's interesting to look back over the ten years we have lived here and see how our house has changed from year to year. Different cars in the driveways, different landscaping, flags, decorations.

Our day started way too early. My son is an extremely early riser, and got me up the first time at 5:00am. And then he proceeded to get me up every ten minutes of so after that, until I finally gave up in a huff and hauled myself out of bed, wide awake and slightly irritated. I realize a snow day is like Christmas to them, but seriously, an opportunity to sleep past the 6am alarm was juuuust about within my grasp.

I know, I know. One day, I will look back and wish for today, when my son is fourteen and hasn't gotten out of bed at noon. And I want him to go out in the snow-covered yard and throw snowballs and go for a walk with me. 

Kira has still not gotten up, even though I know she is awake.

We HAD to go out as soon as it was light enough to see outside. The kids voluntarily dressed themselves (a minor miracle in itself), and went out to throw chunks of frozen snow at each other. And at me. Travis enjoyed the opportunity to wear his no-kidding authentic Russian fur hat (purchased in Russia, even). 

This is what passes for school-canceling snow here in the 804. Note that the roads aren't really even frozen. Oh, I am not complaining, mind you, because even though I was awake at 5am, I did not have to be functional, nor make lunches, nor implore anyone to get dressed, brush their hair or teeth, or find backpacks. Or argue about how much clothing really was necessary.

Shortly, I am going for a run. At least three miles, maybe more if the roads aren't too slippery. The sun's out now, so I don't expect the snow to last too long today.

But for a single snow day, on a Friday, before an already-scheduled three-day weekend, it's perfect.

Winter Wonderland!

Waiting for the snow
4:00 p.m.
Richmond, VA

It was a busy day today. I had a tour at the museum -- 3rd grade, Ancient Greece and Rome, my favorite -- and then a TON of day-job work to do. Which I spent all afternoon and evening doing. Thankfully, my efforts were not wasted, I got a lot done.

My desk at the kitchen island. Hot tea in my Uffington horse mug, my trusty laptop, and a ton of paper.












FINALLY, it snowed. We've had some seriously crummy winters around here for the last couple of years, but tonight, it snowed! I'm actually hoping for a snow day tomorrow for the kids because we've had so few in the last few years. As of around 7pm, this is what we had on the deck....a dusting, and a beagle butt.

 My middle daughter apparently has an internal furnace. The kids could hardly contain themselves when it switched over from rain to snow, and, already in the requisite inside-out jammies, they put on coats and snow boots and headed out to play.....at eight o'clock at night.

Noah is all about throwing a snowball or two.


There's more on the ground now, but I have a feeling this crappy southern area we live in means there will be rain again shortly. I hope the temps drop and it all freezes, so we can have a snow day. I love snow, love love love it, and we never get enough. I'm ready for an unexpected day off.

Not that I actually get a day off.

*Edited to add: Our school district has called off school for tomorrow!! SNOW DAY!


I foresee a lot of wet-snow playing in the morning. Guess I'd better get the hot chocolate stuff ready. And the boots, gloves, and snow pants, if I can find some that fit these kids.

I love winter!

Heart of Gold

This morning, I rode my trainer's warmblood mare, Landie in the indoor ring. Champ watched me from his stall, along with all the other horses. Landie was a nutcase on the lunge line for a while, but once I got on, she was good to go. The poor thing hasn't been ridden since I rode her a month ago, and if she isn't ridden regularly, she gets stiff. And nutty. I worked on sitting trot with and without stirrups, balance exercises, rhythm and forward movement at the walk, and re-learning correct positioning -- sitting on my 'seat bones' (ischia) instead of hollowing my lower back and sitting forward. It was a good lesson. I missed Champ, though. Next week.

I rode in my very own saddle, which has been a fixture in my bedroom closet for about 12 years. It's a Stubben Seigfried all-purpose, of unknown age. I bought it in 1993 from a girl who rode at the lesson barn where I was riding. Actually, my dad bought it for me. It was the first piece of 'real' riding equipment I owned, and I am really comfortable in it. It was nice to have my stirrups with the sandpaper pads in them, too. I like those. The little things make riding feel like 'home' again.

It rained and rained and rained while I rode, the sound amplified by the metal roof of the barn. There are a couple of mirrors at one end of the ring, and I noted that I did not actually look like the sack of  potatoes I feel like sometimes. Hooray!

After I was done riding, my trainer and I talked and talked while finishing up some barn chores. Leaving the barn, much later than I planned, felt like emerging from some other world, back into this one, where the phone rings with work, and kids need picking up from school, and dinner needs to get started. I wanted to take a nap when I got home, just to prolong the otherness of my morning.

Oh. We looked at the registration papers for Champ to find out his 'real' name.

It's Heart of Gold.

Perfect.

Bitterness

I understand not being able to move on, to a point. I am certainly not one to forgive and forget very quickly, and I've been known to hold some serious grudges. But we only get a little while to be in this glorious world, and I cannot imagine living my life so consistently upset that I would waste days, or even years, holding on to something I could no longer change, or was no longer really relevant. At some point, you have to decide that YOU are more important, and that you are going out and making something of yourself. I hate to see a life wasted in the pursuit of stoking the coals of negativity.

Truly, it is. Should you feel a need for revenge against the one who wronged you, then make something more of yourself. Be happy, move on, get a life. Don't keep that back burner going. It's not worth it, and it only burns you from the inside out.

Making excuses for why you can't move on is sad. Blaming others for your inability to move on is pitiful. Right up there with blaming others for your not being able to do the things you want to do.

Don't miss out on the good stuff because you're too busy shoveling fuel into your fire.

No Fear

My husband is not a horse person. In truth, he is afraid of horses and thinks they are all trying to eat his soul or something. He married a horse-loving woman, with one horse-nutty daughter, and then had another horse-crazy daughter. Now our son is showing signs of the horse-crazy, too.

When Wren started riding in March of last year, Travis was not all that comfortable in the barn or around the school horses. But, to his credit, he knew that with Wren being in the barn at least once a week, and then with Kira and I both starting to ride again, he had to get a *little* more comfortable around the equines.

Over time, he slowly got to the point where he could pet the horses' necks and heads without looking terrified. He could walk around a cross-tied horse without having to go into the neighboring county to avoid the hindquarters, and he started to be able to recognize the equipment, and know what was needed for grooming, for riding, and for general horse and barn care.

The barn we ride at is also a boarding barn, and one of the residents is a beautiful Clydesdale gelding named Turk. Everyone calls him Turkey, though. This horse is a sweetheart, owned by a local cardiologist who does not ride much at all anymore, so my trainer uses him for vaulting lessons for the kids, and occasionally he will get ridden by an adult beginner. Travis has taken a liking to him recently, mostly because he is a huge guy, quiet, and doesn't get a whole lot of attention. He seems to like Travis.

Today, after Wren got Lilly tacked up and was on her way up to the ring for her lesson, I took Travis out to the back pasture and taught him how to catch and lead a horse.

And then I showed Travis how to use the grooming tools and where to stand and how to move around Turkey without startling him (not that this big guy is easily startled).

We gave Turkey lots of treats, and I braided his prolific and thick forelock to keep it out of his face. Then, Travis led him back out to the pasture, and gave him some more treats and extra love.

I'm so proud of Travis for this. It's a big thing, if you aren't already comfortable around these large animals, and it means so much to me that he would make the effort to overcome fear and uncertainty to participate even a little in what might be a large part of our future life. One of my most favorite things about my husband is his positive attitude and his willingness to try new things.

He's even made some comments about maybe riding Turkey one of these days.

Sunday, Sunday

Outside my kitchen window,
Sunday, January 13, 2013, 9:15 a.m.

Rainy, too warm for January, and very foggy today. An afternoon at the barn is in the cards soon, so Wren can have her lesson, and I can chat with the other moms, play with the dogs, and think about competing again.

Some Sunday randomness:

• I need to run today, but I don't know if I will be able to before it gets dark.
• A fleece vest. That's what I need for riding and for hanging out at the barn.
• Rain boots or paddock boots today?
• I'm feeling the itch to do something creative again...to sew, or paint, or carve another stamp.
• I wonder if I will ever get the oxygen concentrator I need to power my Bobcat torch?
• Really bad art films are just really bad, and I don't feel guilty for not liking them.
• I wonder if I could really, really go back to school to study the history of glassmaking, or if that's just an unrealistic dream at this point?
• I love my too-full, wonderful life.