Cicadas!

The cicadas are back. Yesterday I noticed the constant thrumming noise on the edge of my mind and today, at dawn, sat down on patio and went, Wow, they're back'!! Sounds like the World Cup action all over again, just like those vuvuzuelas or whatever they were called. I wondered if the rise and fall in crescendo or intensity correlates to heat or humidity levels, because it definitely has a unique swirling rhythm. My resident falcon flew by, screeching good morning just now. I haven't seen him in a while. I am off to Canada to see my mom and then swinging back via Saratoga Springs to catch the yearling sales. Lots of mileage but am stopping after 4 or 5 hours of driving every day, just can't do marathon road hauls anymore. I'll rephrase that, don't want to do it- now, I want to enjoy the travelling as much as the destination so, I stop at funny places. One summer , my youngest son and I passed "Grave Digger" on the way to beach. Without asking him, because I knew he was game, I u-turned and said, " we're going to go ride "Grave Digger!". For the uninitiated , that is one huge monster truck , sits about 100 feet off the ground. It was so cool, they were giving rides for about $10 . We strapped in and jumped a school bus after doing wheelies in the dirt. Then my seventeen year old had his picture taken with identical blonde bombshells who were selling red-neck GraveDigger hats. We still have the picture. Bill Bryson would have been proud of us.

Dawn's witnesses

High in the treetop, where that squirrel had sat days ago, several little birds kept me company this morning. They sat very quietly, not singing, not even moving much. I thought perhaps, they too, sometimes just sit and watch the day dawn. I think they were doves. I got out the binoculars and it was two doves and four little tiny birds- baby doves maybe? It was a very busy weekend and I am glad to relax back into my regular routine. We started trail clearing at the huntclub, unfortunately Saturday was extremely hot, but we survived and little by little we accomplish a great deal. There is a companionable misery in trail clearing- it is nasty work but because we share it, there is a certain pride in who can do the most or take on the toughest job! Kinda nuts really. After three hours of sweating to death we came home and took the first of what would end up being endless showers that day. The manure spreader had broken and my handy man came to help fix it. Why, the hottest day of the year, I don't know but I have learned you never turn down repair help, so we sweated for the two hours fixing a ridiculously difficult nut and bolt job. Shower number two. We had planned to go see a movie but friends called who, last minute, had two extra tickets to The Beach Boys in Baltimore at an outdoor venue that night. We're game and had a great evening, slipping back to the '60's and dancing in the seats to "Good Vibrations" etc. They were great and what was surprising was the actor John Stamos, from Full House , played drums and guitar with them!!! Go figure. I thought I saw him backstage and some women were screaming John, John. I thought , "that looks remarkably like John Stamos", and wondered what guitar player it was. I used to know a lot of them in previous life!. Anyway turns out he actually tours with them part-time. It was just another crazy twist in a crazy day. Home to shower number three. Sunday was still hot but I stayed in mostly with my youngest son and enjoyed his company. Finally went to that movie Sunday night. Enjoyed Salt- even appreciated the name after sweating so much- salt sounded good!

the sky and the sea

I think I am becoming addicted to watching the sunrise. When I wake I actually spend a moment wondering if it will be a good one! And I hurry slightly to look out and check. As I sit this morning on my very simple patio and watch the "pastel gift wrapping" coming off the daybreak I am reminded of watching the sea on vacation. I miss taking the kids to the beach, that annual trek, that ritual of parenthood, of packing the car beyond reason, finding the ratty beach umbrellas and the beat up boogie boards. But I wanted the beach for the sunrises over the ocean! Everyday it was a different ocean, one morning still as a pool, the dolphin fins visible as the gently broke the surface, then the next it was angry , roiling waves. Surfers paradise. The range of the sea's moods was so wide, I could not stay in bed beyond the dawn, simply because I loved the moment of sunrise and I loved to watch the waves and the expanse of that silver sea change to pink and grey and blue as the mood emerged. That quiet moment with a cup of coffee strolling the beach became my vacation ritual. Now I sit on the farm, hot and humid, watching this dawn tell me the day's mood.

This summer is too hot!

We are back to hot, humid sticky days. The grass is green again after many, many thunderstorms in past couple of days, but I am hiding inside 'cause it is too hot out. I walked hounds ( even they are too hot to do much) and then worked the yearlings in round pen. Should be up to about 20 minutes of trot work now, but I stop at about 12-15 because we are all out of breath by then- me from swinging the lunge whip and turning in endless circles. I hate this time of year. The foals are very cute and hanging out in the very back fields. Both mom and baby horses wait patiently for me to flyspray them twice a day. I try to ride Chessie, whom we now call "CoverGirl", because her photo is on the Southern States feedbag and she is the poster child for the World Equestrian Games I have been told!-at least a couple times a week. She is doing really well. After that I am in air conditioning working on computer for the rest of the day!.

hot day

It has greened up so much after the rains we got this week but now the heat is coming back. The dawn "sun ball" is a few minutes later every morning as it tops the trees. I love watching the very, very subtle color changes that herald its approach . Gray fading to silver, tinting to pink and then brightening with oranges and reds. It is like the day comes gift wrapped. I watched a squirrel go to the very highest limb on a nearby tree that is very tall. It has some dead branches at the top and he went to the top and sat. I was holding my breath, afraid he would fall. Then he scampered down , it was as if he stopped to enjoy the dawn for a minute also. Today there are three birds in the same spot, sitting quietly, just watching. I can just see the sun coming now and it is really red- it is going to be a hot one! Getting chores done early, riding one horse, actually the one who was so sick last winter. She is almost 100 %. We ride, walk mostly, around the property , strengthening her hind muscles that atrophied so badly. She was three- legged last winter for about 4 months. Slowly she seems to be regaining muscle tone and at a walk is perfect. Slight limp at a trot an she only canters in field by herself now. Truly a miracle.

dewdrops

There was actually dew on the grass this morning and I am amazed at how quickly the green comes back to parched, parched grass. We had a wonderful soaking rain all day Saturday, the best kind, it just kinda rained all day. The stream recovered slightly and the grass is edible again. Thank you rain god. Mike and I felt very lazy and went to see two movies that day! "Restrepo" is a very moving, emotionally wrenching film documentary of a year in a platoon's life on a outpost in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan, the Korengal valley. It is, however, the bond between these men (really they are almost boys) that is so heartfelt. They laugh and kid around and wrestle, all while never being without their gun and never having their "personal safety radar" down. One minute they are busting each other about something and the next somebody has died. It is very good and the analogy to a Spartans life of a soldier is not lost on anyone. After dinner with one son, we went to see "Predators" and I marveled at our society's love of violence and mayhem and the last human standing theme. The theater was packed, way more crowded than a "Twilight Eclipse" premiere and they clapped and cheered when the samurai took a last doomed stand against the predator warrior, and won , of course!. I loved it too. The next day we took son number two to his college town to check out his off-campus housing this year. I quietly and endlessly give thanks that my sons are not off fighting wars and I silently pray for all those mothers and sons that are living through that eternal unease.

Rain, blessed rain

It has been raining off and on for several hours this morning. I actually went back to bed this morning after seeing the gray sheets of rain coming down. Heaved a huge sigh of relief and burrowed back into covers. Now it is chore time and I will not mind in the least getting wet as I drive the Gator around. I even fed the yearlings in the run-in shed. Blessed rain, we need this so bad.

Cloudy dawn- yay!

Never thought I would be happy to see a cloudy dawn, but I am today. It means a chance of rain which we really need. I had to drop hoses ( 5 of them screwed together) down to the broodmare field, to a trough, as their stream had dried up. The grass, what little is left, is crunchy and brown. I have also put out round bales for the mares and foals. The older horses still have some grass but the worry is that they nibble down to and destroy roots, so if this keeps up they will all be eating

hay! And, it is only the beginning of July. I can't imagine how worried the farmers must be. Record snows, now record heat. On some cosmic level, I fear we are really messing with the environment, what with terrible oil spills and ozone-eating carbon emissions. I do my little bit, turning things off, fancy lightbulbs etc. but I do wonder what will ultimately happen to our planet.

But, for today, I am just happy it may rain! It is cloudy and a wee bit cooler. I am sitting on the patio taking pictures of clouds at 6AM.

record heat

I hear it is going to hit 105 degrees again today, for the second day in a row! Six months after record snow, here we are with record heat- way to go Maryland! At 6AM it is comfortable on the patio, but I am getting those chores done soon. July 4th was a great weekend. We went to Inner Harbor in Baltimore, with a new acquaintance that had a condo deck with fantastic view of fireworks. Great food and great friends is what makes life really worth all the daily grind sh--.

We had fun and the "bombs bursting in air" were spectacular.

Happy July 4th

Happy Birthday America! I am proud to be an American and proud to represent my chosen country to the world. Being an American means I believe in freedom: freedom to disagree with you and freedom to stand tall and safe while you disagree with me, freedom to pursue what makes me happy and courage to give you the freedom to do the same, even when we are different. I love this country and I aspire to live by and truly represent the ideals that "all peoples are created equal". Love and tolerance. I saw some awesome fireworks last night and hope to see some more tonight. None of the horses ran through the fence last night either (because of firework explosions), so I am a happy camper. It is another beautiful morning and I am blessed. This is a photo of the flag that flew over Ft. Sumnter.

July 2nd

Yesterday would have been my brother's 61st birthday. He died in 2000 and I still miss him. I remember the morning he died I was foxhunting and I was distracted thinking about him. I was alone, under the power lines , waiting to catch an errant puppy that I could hear yipping on a deer. It was warm and Elvis, my QH hunter was relaxed and dozing, hip cocked, as we quietly waited for the puppy to exit the woods. I was mourning the eminent death of my brother from lung cancer and without really paying attention, as the puppy got in range I raised my pistol ( loaded with rat shot used to scare deer-chasing puppies) and I fired. Well, Elvis exploded like a demon-possessed bronco and started to buck so hard I thought I was going to die. There were rocks all around and I was too scared to fall off because he was getting such height in his bucks I was sure I'd break my neck. Luckily for me, a friend was coming in early and came up the hill and saw Elvis going berserk. She rode up to him and he calmed and slowly stopped bucking. In the initial explosion of horse, Elvis' neck had slammed into my trigger hand and three fingers were dislocated, one still looped through the pistol trigger. They were hanging at right angles to my hand and not functioning. Without thinking I grabbed them in my mouth and pulled them straight, snapping them back into joint sockets. It was ugly. Sabine, my friend was astounded and just stared at me. I was so happy to still be alive on that horse, I could not stop thanking her. After we had ridden in and I finally dismounted (without the puppy who was so scared by the whole thing he did not come in for hours) I saw blood on Elvis' ear and realized I had probably grazed his ear with a rat-shot pellet. He had been happily dozing in the sun and I had apparently shot him! He was fine but I heard shortly thereafter that my brother had lost his fight with cancer. The pain in my fingers and hand that morning was a physical manifestation of the pain in my heart. He has been gone 10 years and it still hurts and my fingers are still twisted and ache sometimes. Happy Birthday Ian.