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Saturday, April 5th, 2008
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8:06p - Spring, really I think
It got up to 65F today, and was sunny all day. We still have mud in places, but standing water is pretty much gone here (there's still plenty in lower parts of the county though.)
Tess was overly excited this afternoon when a put a lead rope on her and took her out to the pasture. I almost got a rope burn from all the frolicking and prancing on the way. I kept making her slow down, which she hates, but walking politely on a lead is one of my insistent demands from a horse. After a few trips out, she'll get over this, I know from past years.
She only gets 30 minutes right now because the new grass is coming in and I'm not about to risk foundering her. She's had a couple of near calls with that in the past. She spent the first ten minutes kicking and squealing and racing around like a foal, then rolling in the wet, squashy ground. She made enough racket to distract the neighbors' (the Brit side) horses, who were having a lesson of some sort. They used to have just one, a tall black gelding who was very good looking and mostly left to his own devices day and night. Then he disappeared over the winter and we thought they'd sold him. But he seems to be back, along with a smaller black mare and a black foal. (Daughter was riding the gelding a bit, while wearing very stylish English riding gear of course, and mum was walking the mare on a lead while the foal would get distracted for a minute or two then realize that mom was on the other side of the pasture and run full tilt and a-squealing toward her. Dad was standing at one side shouting advice at everyone, though frankly I think he has as much sense for animals as one of his geese. Son, as usual, was ignoring everyone and thrashing tree trunks with loose branches. When his branch would break, he'd pull down another one. The two year old kid and both of their dogs were racing around under everyone's feet, including the horses'.
All of this going on just two fences away kept drawing Tess' attention away from the business at hand: eating grass. Which is good, since she shouldn't eat a lot of it right away. I left her alone after ten minutes while I fixed up her stall for the night. When I came back she was waiting right by the gate for me and did not complain about having to "go home" too early.
Purple crocus and snowdrops are blooming now. Some trees are budding. The creek is flowing hard, but well below its banks. Things seem to be mostly in order for the moment.
current mood:  pleased (comment on this)
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