Current mood:

content

some days are diamonds
since losing my stall slave, it's back on me to make sure my mostly-neglected ponies get groomed, skritched, pampered and attended to as they think they deserve, so i decided to keep lisa's former lesson days as my riding days. i tacked old nik up (she was surprised but pleased) and we actually schooled briefly, just about 20 minutes, just to remind us both of the work we used to do back when we had big dreams. she was wonderful, soft and compliant and eager. she's physically stiff on the right rein, always has been and now more so with age, but very willing to soften to my massaging inside aids. what a star. then we went out for a brief trail ride, which was wonderful except for the terrible plague of mosquitoes we're experiencing. we live near the river and my farm has boggy bits, so they're always bad here, but this wet wet wet cool spring and early summer have morphed them into something from a horror movie. i don't swat them, i wipe them away in sheets. my riding gloves are spotted with blood from my constant re-sweeping of poor nik's neck, the only part of her i could reach. and this was after liberal application of fly spray.
afterwards i gave her her first deep bath of the year, scrubbed her til her lip flapped with ecstacy, show-sheened her, re-applied fly spray and decked her out in a red fly sheet. the other two rolled their eyes at the preening.


i love riding her. there is no other horse in the world i love riding like i do her. we've come so far together, and finally i've got the perfect blend of her fire and gofaster with the education she's had and the nice attitude she's acquired over recent years. i adore the fatties and they are a blast to ride, but there's nothing quite like miss pickles.
when i had her fluffed and flounced to her satisfaction i finished up my planting (yes, i WAS done but mumsie took me to lunch and a garden center for my birthday and i lost control), weeded the herb garden, got the tomato cages in, and had a nice swim. then i fixed a pork loin for david's dinner and a huge fruit-laden salad for me. i'm in the midst of the 3/3/3 fast, but my head's not into it and i'm cheating regularly and nonchalantly. hey! don't judge me! i just did the master cleanse AGAIN three months ago!
on tuesday night i told an original horror story about a vampiric teddy bear and (rather confusedly) sharks up at the 'there's no place like homeschool' camp. i was thrilled when several moms had to bug out of yakking afterwards cuz their kids couldn't sleep without them. damaging the psyches of the next generation is my constant goal. and tonight my booboo comes home. it feels as if he's been gone for way more than 5 nights.
all is well in the peaceable kingdom.
:) khairete
suz