Saturday, April 2, 2011

Pas de deux de mud

Wow.  So much has happened (and not happened) today.  I'm not sure where to start.

Okay.  Start at the beginning.  That's usually a good place.

From the first moments of consciousness, I realized that A) the dog let us sleep in, and B) I had gotten 10 hours of sleep.  I felt blissful.  They say you can't catch up on sleep but "they" are so, so wrong.  JD got up first with the dog, and I took my time stretching in bed and gradually getting up.  By the the time I got downstairs, JD was well into breakfast preparations.  Turkey bacon, eggs, pancakes, diced potatoes, and a strawberry all graced my plate.  I decided I would skip lunch.  :)

After that I took my car in for an oil change while JD dropped off my most recent ebay sale at the post office.  (Look at me go with the ebay selling!  I'm going to finally clear out all my old camping gear.)  There I chatted with other customers about He-Man.  Apparently old cartoons are a thing now.

I came home and swapped my shoes for riding boots.  I was already wearing my full seat riding pants, something nobody at the Quick Lube had mentioned.  I am always amazed when people don't notice, frankly.  Full seat riding pants are some weird looking garb.  And this pair is purple, even.  Anyway, togged out in riding gear and bearing a mug full of Pero, I made my merry way to the barn.

Pluto waited for me at the gate.  He was *filthy*.  I tried to clean him but mostly settled for knocking off all the dirt in the saddle area.  I think I also knocked off an engorged tick but then I couldn't find it on the ground, so..  Probably need to get the horse tested for Lyme this year.  (The lymph nodes at the back of his jaw near his ears are once again swollen.  These are different lymph nodes from the one that just started healing.  I have no idea what is going on with his immune system.) 

As soon as I got his saddle on him, it started to sprinkle.  You would not believe (or maybe you would, if you've met Pluto) what I time I had convincing him to bring the saddle parts of him under the shedrow rather than just his head.  I waited a few minutes, hoping the storm would pass over.  Then I pulled out the iphone and checked the radar.  It showed rain clouds backed up for miles.  I called Tara and told her I was putting the horse away and coming down to discuss options. 

I left Pluto in the field wearing his halter, so I could easily get him out again.  (Then, of course, he rolled really thoroughly in the mud.)  As I took off his halter, the wind started to get very loud.  I glanced around for tornado signs but saw none.  Still, lightning and thunder started.  I ran back to the shedrow.  Tara called.  She had also checked the radar.  As the rain turned to a steady downpour, we decided to cancel entirely.  She was maybe going to come back later, but I had other plans.

I got in my car but didn't leave right away.  I noticed Pluto and Mystery running around in the field.  They had left the safety of their shed when I called Pluto to get his halter taken off.  Apparently, already wet, they decided there was no reason to go back in the shed.  As I watched they performed several paired maneuvers, including a side by side canter circle, an extended trot circle, and parallel shoulder-ins down the fenceline.  I sat in my car gaping and hoping for more, but their last act was to stop together at the fenceline and stare off into the distance.  And they stayed like that until after I left.  Performance art?

It poured on and off for the next hour or two.  JD rearranged the cat room so that the dog couldn't get into the litter boxes (we hope.)  I tried on my new smaller jeans and was shocked to find them fitting.  I wouldn't want to get real athletic in them, but they fit.  Hrm.  Now what?  Wait until they're loose and then order the next smaller size? 

In the late afternoon JD and I headed out for our second good meal of the day.  We went to DuClaw around 4, early enough that it was still quiet inside.  They had several new items on the menu, making for some tough decisions.  I ended up with an appetizer, sliders, a dessert, and beer.  So I'm guessing today isn't a weight loss day.

Despite not getting to ride, I think today was a pretty fantastic day.  I hope you had a good day, too.

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