Quick Check In

The sun came out briefly yesterday afternoon and disappeared again behind clouds this morning. There is a slight chance of rain tonight and tomorrow. Rainfall, year-to-date, is slightly above normal so I am not complaining in the least. I made the most of the few hours of gorgeous weather yesterday and worked in the garden, raking oak leaves and using them to mulch the fruit trees, and weeding. It was far too soggy to ride.

We put the horses, except Flash, out in the pastures when the weather cleared yesterday around noon. Brett advised me that Lucy had been a handful the last time he took her from the barn to the pasture. She had had happy, happy feet and pranced and pulled next to him; even doing a half-rear at one point. Fortunately, I have been very firm with Lucy about manners on the lead line. When I first brought her home, and turned her out in the pasture, she tried to rip her head out of the halter, spin and run -- dangerous for the human on the other end of the lead line, especially if the horse kicks out as they leave.

The minute I slipped the halter on Lucy in her stall, I reminded her that there were rules and I expected her to follow them. She nodded. It was hard, but she managed to walk quietly next to me to the pasture gate. Once inside, I turned her to face me and asked her lower her head while I took off the halter. Once the halter was off, she got a cookie -- then she spun and was outta there, scattering goats in her wake. She loves scattering the goats.

This morning, Brett and I went to a Christmas tree farm on Apple Hill and hiked around before finding one that pleased us. We wanted it tall and I wanted it fragrant. Why is that flowers and trees are bred for beauty and not fragrance? Fragrance is the number one criteria for me in the garden, and in a Christmas tree. I decorated the tree this evening. I wasn't prepared for the difficulty; the emotional difficulty. This is the first Christmas since I lost my mom and many of my ornaments were gifts from her. So many. It was a bittersweet exercise.

Ending on a better note, Flash was able to go out to the pasture today. He's still slightly stiff but definitely improving everyday. This morning he sounded his breakfast "hurry it up"nicker when we went out to feed. Brett squirts some syrup on top off his pills and he gobbles them down. We see improvement every day.