Tonight I was mowing the lawn and when you mow the lawn, the only thing you can do is mow and think. I could listen to music or a book on my phone, but I like the sound of the mower and the background noise of the locusts. Yes, I know they are really cicadas but growing up in small town Nebraska, we called them locusts and they will always be locusts to me. I found a shell on one of the trees the other day and wondered if my boys have ever seen one. I took a picture of it to show them. As I was mowing, I was thinking about a lot of things and how I used to enjoy sitting down to the computer and blogging; talking about things that were really only important to me, but giving me an outlet to express myself. I realized how much I missed that. So after I finished mowing, I sat down here at my desk and looked at my neglected blog. It's been two years since I posted with any regularity. Not that there hasn't been a lot to post about. I just can't keep up! Why? Computer time is spent reading Facebook. And I am a Facebook junkie. It is so easy to just post pictures there with a snippet and get instant feedback. But Facebook isn't the place for rambling which is what I tend to do when I blog.
My job has been challenging the last couple of years. While still with the company, my position has changed. It is more challenging - which is okay - but the pace has picked up and while I have always said I work best under pressure, I do need to come up for air now and then. There is more travel and long hours; but if it had to happen, I'm glad it is now and not when my boys were in high school. I was lucky to be able to attend most all of their activities.
From a family perspective, both boys are doing well. My oldest is still in the Marines - one year left. We visited him in Okinawa earlier this year. I'm so glad we got to see what his life was like there. He had a hard time adjusting at first but settled in well. He is stateside now: New Orleans. Oh, and he was married for about 9 months or until his "wife" changed her Facebook status to "in a relationship" and not with him. A new kind of Dear John letter, I guess. As a mom, we hate to see our children hurt. Yes, he is still my child even though he is grown up and a Marine. But between you and me and Google, I am glad the little snit is not going to be sitting around our dinner table at holidays or having my grand babies. And in the words of Forest Gump; that's all I will say about that.
My youngest son is at home, thinking maybe of going to college and then thinking he won't. If he could play football without having to go to college, that would be his dream. It's good to have him here especially when we are gone. This latest time, he found the colt with a wound to his knee and had to call the vet. Had he not been here, it would have gone unattended for several days.
Colt you ask? Yes. Our Fancy had a baby. Well planned and well bred. Except she didn't get the memo that we wanted a red filly and gave us a palomino stud colt. But from the picture below, I think you will agree we have nothing to complain about.
Windy and I finished out our 2015 CTR year in 1st place horse, horsemanship and team (Region 6) as well as high point Nebraska horse & rider, Novice division. And I haven't competed since. The reasons stack up: Not enough conditioning on Windy. Not enough conditioning on me. My weight gain. Work. Heat and humidity. Broken bone in my hand and a bruised tail bone. See, I have all kinds of excuses. I am co-managing a CTR at Rock Creek this month and hopefully will start competing again next year if I can juggle some of those excuses beginning with dieting. Oink! And then I will have to decide who I will compete with? Say what?
Did I tell you all about Darby? I don't remember but if I can't remember, maybe you don't either. Last year I bought a 2 year old filly for John. I thought while he waited for Fancy to foal and raise her baby, it would give him another horse to ride. Well, I fell in love with her. I had her at a trainer earlier this year and have been taking lessons on her since. She is Windy's opposite. Where Windy is opinionated, Darby listens. She is more patient than Windy and really tries to do what I ask where Windy and I sometimes battle. Don't get me wrong; all the things Windy is is who she is. Does that make sense? It's like falling in love with the bad boy. I feel so at home riding Windy and even though we have our moments, riding her is where I belong.
So what about Darby? I don't know. There is nothing wrong with having 2 horses. Darby is pleasure bred; big and beautiful. She may not be a distance horse. Maybe she will. Who knows. But I do know that this time I am going to get it right. I have a great trainer (thank you, Rebekah) and hope to take lessons as long as the weather holds. And we'll go from there.
My other passion is dogs. I lost my chocolate poodle, Pip, last year to histoplasmosis, a fungal infection. I got another standard poodle puppy, Joy, who was run over before her first birthday. Last month I traveled to Tennessee to bring home Nadia, a 1-1/2 yr old standard poodle. My heart hurts from losing Pip and Joy (or Sissy and Sassy as I called them) so close together, but Nadia is sure filling the emptiness. I haven't taken her riding with me yet but she has been camping and has settled in wonderfully.
We just returned from a week in Wyoming riding Medicine Bow and Pelton Creek. I love Wyoming and someday hope to call it home - at least for a few months of the year.
Lots has happened over the last two years. Life as we know it, some would say. Let's see where the next year takes us. Hopefully I'll spend more time on this page. I've missed it.
