What a diff a day can make

This was yesterday:

It was Levi’s birthday, and so Rachel decided that she would give him a present she could open herself: an afternoon’s ride.  So I ran down to the (farm, pasture, stable???) to tune up my Sophie—who put her ears back and her head down, murmuring and complaining and pretty much cussin’ all the time I was on her back.  But when Rachel and Levi got there, Sophie became a different horse.  This is her way—she is probably the most responsible, if the most cantankerous, horse I have, and she loves these guys.

I’m not sure what Levi’s doing, eyes closed and everything.  Maybe just soaking the whole thing in.  Maybe he got horse hair in his eye.  Can you see it, flying in the air?  Like snow.  Everywhere.   Take a look at Sophie’s croup there (that’s her back end), and you can see how tufty and shedding she is.  When we get off, we look like we’re wearing feather suits.

You know how I told you I looked goooooooood on the tractor?  Yeah, well that’s before I saw myself in my over-alls in these pictures.  I found these at Cal Ranch, and they are WONDERFUL – padded, warm as anything, and they keep my regular clothes from being felted with shedding horse hair.  Usually, I have my coat on over them.  And I don’t look down at myself.  Now I’m looking at myself.  They put 80 pounds on me.  So I take back the goooooooood thing.

Here, I’m bending Hickory.  I give him a signal, asking his nose to come around to touch his side.  This keeps him flexible and humble, and it’s the basis of the one rein stop. I’m also turning him with a heel in his off side there.  Cool, huh?  Like I know what I’m doing.  Yeah.  Well, I don’t.  But I’m doing it anyway.

I love his tail.

G dropped by to steal the tractor, so he grabbed the camera and took all these shots from the gate.  You see what a good girl my Sophie is?  And how beautiful Rachel is?  And how happy Levi is?

Me on the headless horse-man-ure machine.  I included this because I liked the shot of Rachel and Levi in back there.  Still bending.

It was another really lovely day.  I wish summer would stay in the 70s.

You will note that our pasture is not in a very romantic spot.  Our neighbor back there, who is a nice man, tends to throw his bits and pieces of stuff behind his sheds.  His place looks neat from the road—swell, nobody lives across the street from him.  But we get to look at his junk all the time.  YAY.  We used to be in a romantic spot – but we didn’t own it, there wasn’t any electricity, and no city water.  So I guess it’s a trade-off.  Which leads to this moral: you may think you’re stuffing your junk away where nobody can see it . . .

He’s so pretty.  I really wasn’t bending for that long.  G just took a mess of pictures and headed for the tractor.  

And here is the last shot.  Dumb looking rider.  You know, I realize, looking at this – when I’m with Rachel, I think I look just like her.  Young, lovely.  No jowls.  Very little padding.  This is why I don’t like pictures of me, I guess. The shift in paradigm is too traumatic.

I will have you know that I even talked this little snotty horse into trotting for me.  I don’t have the strength of will Geneva does—she had him trotting for hours.  I’m too convinced he’s going to stand up on his hind legs, put his hooves on his hips and ask me who the heck I think I am, anyway?  He’s got a GREAT trot.  And it was another fun afternoon with the equines.  HOWEVER – the night before, I kept waking myself up coughing, and finally, while I was there that afternoon, I realized – with all that horse hair in the air, I think maybe I breathed some in so –

THIS IS TODAY:

(There are no pictures of this; it would be too brutal) I am sick. Sick.  Yucky, hacky, dragging around in my PJs, sucking herbal tea, wishing I had Puffs SICK.  I got up this morning (after a nice Nyquil night) and went out to the piano and ascertained that I could sing, in full voice, an E below C below middle C.  Which would be fine if I were a Russian bass.  Which I am not.  So you want a thrill?  Call me on the phone and see if you tell me from G.  YOU CAN.  My voice is the deep one. (cough, cough)

I liked yesterday better.