Awesome morning

It is the most beautiful morning and cool. It was like this in Alaska last year. After so much heat and humidity it really feels great. I am sitting out with morning coffee, watching sunrise and I actually shivered for a minute! These days are the best, now I wish I had plans for the 4th if this weather sticks around. Some friends are going to river, others are in Paris! But, right here, right now, MD feels just fine. No rain is forecasted for all week, so I think I will go and get that round bale for mares and foals. Happy Day to all.

Rain,Rain come again

It rained buckets yesterday afternoon and last night. It was such a welcome change, even tho' it was really steamy and hot again right after the downpour. The best rain was last night and this morning it is almost green again. Looks like the yard in fall, kinda yellowish green, but it feels soft again underfoot. The birds were singing up a storm (haha) at sunrise today. I guess they are relieved too. I saw a huge buzzard in my stream yesterday morning, actually in the trickle of water, fanning its wings out. Had never seen one in the water before- gave me a real start as I came around the corner- they are huge birds. I am so glad we got rain, I was about to have to drop hoses all the way down the hill to the mares and foals in the back field. Have had to do this about every 4 or 5 years when the stream dries up completely. It was getting close! And I was calling about round bales to put out- when the pasture is this dry, the horses eat the grass down to roots and it has a very hard time recovering. I will probably get one this weekend to put in run-in shed. My local farmer-gurus think it is going to be a bad summer for heat and dry pastures- bummer. Happy Birthday, Michael. Love you.

heat wave

I just saw on the morning news that we have had 9 days in a row above 90 degrees. Several above 100 degrees. That is hot. Yesterday when we got to the yearling show, they casually mentioned that there was no electricity. Yikes. It was extremely warm and with no fans, the horses just stayed sweaty. Thank God for a little breeze outside, it made the walking ring at least bearable. Makes me wonder how everyone managed before AC. A friend said she was putting hay up yesterday!! Now that would have been hellish. Amanda - you win that toss-up! Speaking of hay, my pastures are burning up and I am already thinking of putting out round bales. It is not even July!!! So glad I bought hay already, it could be a bad year for the hay crop. My yearlings were not what the judge yesterday was looking for, but they showed well and I was happy with them. The winner was gorgeous. Some choices I didn't get , but that's the way with a beauty contest- it is very subjective to what the judge likes. I have 4 babies this year, so one more year anyway, then we'll see. I give the yearlings the month of July off before getting back to round pen work in August, so I get a little break. Thank you. I think I will look into writing that screenplay about a pirate movie- inside, in the AC!!

heat wave

Another day is dawning, into another perfectly blue, perfectly cloudless sky. Normally I would be delighted but it means another scorcher of a day I fear. Yesterday we broke all the records and hit 100 degrees. I keep thinking of the February snows and trudging through drifts over my thighs and that helps a lot in the cooling mindset. I get my chores done by 8:30AM, the mares and babies are under fans all day, the old guys stay under the trees right by the stream in the dark green coolness . And when it is just unbearably hot, headache hot, I think of those fat snowflakes coming down - think I will add a picture to remind us of why we really are enjoying this heat wave!! My friends are going to The River, as they say, to float down it all weekend. This sounds really, really nice. I will be dragging my yearlings butt around a show ring in 95 degree heat, hoping to impress a judge so that someone will buy said yearlings in another couple months , for at least enough to cover the bills! I think the hot weather is getting to me. I love what I do , just the heat and the flies start to make me think about other ways to earn a living, like writing about it!!. Speaking of jobs, my youngest is working for a car dealership this summer and it is hilarious hearing all the used car salesman stories. He is learning so much about truth and how to deal with people pi__ed off about their cars when the service department lies to them and he has to placate them. Life skills. At least he is in air-conditioning.

Hot Equinox

Summer solstice was last night and I went to Michael's lacrosse game, one to see the game and two 'cause I wanted to see how late it did stay light, being the longest day of the year etc. Well, I was driving home, after getting completely lost in Howard County, and it was still light enough to sit outside and enjoy the evening at 9:30PM. Seemed like a long day to me! It is supposed to be a scorcher today, the second day of summer!! so I am up early and getting those barn chores done now. Working yearlings in the round pen is mindlessly boring and Hot. I enjoy their beauty, but will be happy to finish Yearling Show on Sunday, then take a break on training for a month before starting again building muscle in August. Julia sends me pictures of Polly, the filly I sent to her in Florida, and she is having fun. I can't imagine riding in that heat. Speaking of fillies, my "sick" mare is doing well. Only slightly lame and looks a million times better. I think she is going to make a full recovery. Absolutely a miracle. She is already pushing the yearlings around, 6 months ago I was sure she would be dead in the morning! Every one else is fat and happy in cool pastures under trees. I am a cool weather rider, they all get the summer off.

June dawns

I have to get up with Michael now to catch the sunrise (used to be able to wait 'til after 6am). I am out with my coffee by 5:45 to catch the moment the sun gets over the treetops. I still love watching the dark green of the trees start to glint from the tops down with the gold of the sun. The skies have been so cloudless lately that the fiery ball is hard to look at, but if I watch the leaves change color its OK. The bellies of the planes way overhead just turn into silver blips streaking across an infinite blue. I don't know why dogs like to eat grass in the morning, maybe how they brush their teeth?, but mine were chomping down this morning! Looks like it will be hot today, so I will finish this later after chores and yearlings are done.

Back home

It seemed to take a day to really feel like I was back, at work, so to speak. I get so used to being with Mike 24/7 on vacation. We relax into each other, finding a new rhythm, enjoying the closeness and then all of a sudden, we're back and I am all alone all day again. I appreciated the company this time because I noticed the empty space yesterday and today. That said, we had an awesome vacation. I loved Charleston and Beaufort, Savannah was OK and Hilton Head was the best beach. Now I know why everyone loves Hilton Head. I would definitely go back to that beach, at least to the Westin beach! The horses and dogs were all fine. Thanks to my friends that made it possible to get away! Now it is time to start prepping for yearling show. And on we go.

Beaufort SC and Savannah

We spent one lovely day in Beaufort SC, which is a quiet sea town about 30 min south of Charleston. Beautiful, beautiful homes shaded by the most wonderful trees I have ever seen. I love these old live oaks dripping with Spanish moss,that is neither Spanish nor a moss (just named so 'cause it resembles an old scraggly Spanish noblemen's beard!) We had a carriage tour of Beaufort and the best part, other than those trees and the southern homes, was the BIG Belgian gelding named Duke who pulled us! He would think about starting for a long time , then grudgingly step forward only to stop whenever he saw a convenient piece of moss hanging down. It took a great deal of cajoling and pleading with Duke to finish this carriage ride, but we laughed at every halt and loved this truly southern horse who was not in a hurry! A true low country town which brought to mind all the wonderful movies made there and I "made" Michael watch "Prince of Tides" which was the best of all. The tour guide told us everyone in town loved Nick Nolte and didn't really warm to Barbra Streisand ( who didn't warm to the south either!).

We are in Savannah now which is bigger than I expected. Old homes, lots of walking tourists, lots of beautiful city squares with more wonderful old oaks and a riverwalk. We had a private tour with a southern belle who told us stories about all the old homes and people affected by that"War of Northern Aggression". During one tale we mentioned the story of Drayton Hall in Charleston being spared (supposedly a "smallpox scare") by marauders. Well she laughed and said everyone here knew it was because that Drayton son was a Union naval officer and the Charlestonians won't tell anyone. We cracked up. The Civil War is still very much an everyday part of life here. "They have forgiven , but will never forget" was what she said. It has been very romantic and a step back in time. Lovely.

North and South

We visited two plantations along the Ashley River yesterday. One, Drayton Hall, was spared the burning and looting Post Civil War mayhem ( legend is they posted a smallpox quarantine warning) and it remained in the family for 7 generations unchanged. No electricity or indoor plumbing-what remains is the mansion alone, empty but looking as it was 200 years ago-amazing. And very peaceful. Then we drove "next door" to Magnolia Plantation", which was burned and looted after the war. In fact it was rebuilt twice after starting as a huge Georgian mansion, destroyed by fire twice and now is a lovely , kinda Victorian looking English cottage. The grounds were fabulous. Can't imagine the work here. We walked a swamp path along old Carolina rice fields and saw 'gators and a snowy egret rookery up very close, slave cabins still remain as does the black families graveyard. A step back in time. Spent the morning at Ft. Sumter. The museum there is very good and definitely describes the absolute chaos that must have followed the firing of those "infamous first shots". Interesting side note. Lincoln was invited to a flag ceremony at Ft. Sumter in April 1865, but he declined, probably because of his unpopularity in Charleston , but publicly noting he had a previous engagement- theatre tickets at Ford's Theatre in Washington that night. Should have gone to Charleston!

South of Broad

I am glad I read Pat Conroy's book, because as we walked around downtown Charleston, the lovely homes and secret gardens had much more familiarity to them. It is really a gorgeous town and I live near Annapolis, so that's saying a lot. We did the touristy harbor dinner cruise , which was fun, very romantic with weddings and anniversaries being celebrated all around. Then the carriage tour of the French Quarter and downtown. Beautiful homes and I love the verandahs all facing the harbour, to catch the breezes. We passed a little lane that was used for dueling- the guide said hundreds had died in the tree-lined, cobbled lane! The bed and breakfast, The Vendue Inn, has the most comfortable beds ever. These featherbed comforteras and mattress covers are incredible. Our friend's son's wedding was lots of dancing and sweating, but we had a chance to see The Citadel and it looks just like a citadel!! I kept wondering if it was as awful as Pat Conroy said it was, going to school there. The young men we met last night loved it, so maybe it is better! Today is Ft. Sumter and Magnolia Plantations- something for both of us! I forgot the camera-to-computer link , so no pics . Bummer.

June hot

How did June get here so fast? We had a lovely Memorial Day weekend, visiting with Stephanie's family, some wedding "planning", good food, good times. The foal who had surgery seems to be doing great, still on antibiotics but I think she is going to be an awesome little filly. I was doing follow-up care on all the mares and one needs to be flushed. Just when you think you are all done , something else pops up. Glad vet caught it. Otherwise we are done. I am not breeding anything, a first in 10 years!. I am both sad and glad about that.

Now, I am looking forward to an upcoming trip to the Low Country! A wedding in Charleston and then onto to Beaufort and Savannah, with a couple of days in Hilton Head. A change in routine is almost as enjoyable as traveling. I am so glad the last mare foaled a week early and we got the surgery done and the mare's looked after. I can relax and read a book. Mike got an IPad for his birthday (early) and is madly loading books etc. I have a Kindle , so we are set!