I don't think this happens to other people

The weather was fantastic yesterday.  I didn't get a chance to go for a walk because my job has amped up recently, but I did stop by the farm in the evening to see Pluto.  He's doing well.  I didn't have my wound spray with me (it's too hot to leave stuff in the car during the day) so he still has Swat on his bug bites, but at least they're finally healing.  Bonnie let me use some of her silver solution on them.  Worked like a charm.

When I walked him back to his field, he startled and pulled away from me.  We were already inside the field so no big, right?  But he still had on his halter.  And 10 foot lead rope.  He galloped like an idiot down to the other end of the field to stand with Mystery.  That way they could both stare at Sergio getting dinner ready.

I heaved a deep sigh and started trudging across the field to catch him again.  Pluto saw me and hauled ass back my way, screeching to a halt about an inch from me.  He turned his head so I could unbuckle his halter, and then immediately after I pulled it off he wheeled and galloped back down the field.

I hollered after him "I guess you forgot something, eh?"

At least he remembered he needed to get his halter off.

And he didn't manage to kill himself by tripping over the lead rope.  That was nice.  At this point he has a fair amount of experience with dangling leads.

In unrelated news, I'm going to put up an ad at the feed store and the tack shop.  I'm looking for a dressage rider to half lease Pluto so he can get ridden over a walk.  He misses trotting and cantering.

All days should be nice like today

Love seeing the moon during the day

It was a super nice day today.  Started at 3 am with a migraine, but drugs took care of that.  Outside it was shirtsleeve weather.  The kind where the air feels good on your skin and the earth feels good under your feet.  A vendor bought me lunch and I walked back to the office from the restaurant, feeling like I could walk for hours given the opportunity.  And I would have.

My day was kind of busy.  I didn't feel like I got much done.  Mostly I went to meetings.  Good meetings, though.

This evening was yoga.  Yoga teacher was once again feeling too sick to teach, but she got us a sub.  If she hadn't, I was going to suggest that we just practice some basic poses as a group.  I missed it too much when we didn't have class last week.  But, sub was there.  She was very, very different, in a good way.  She made me mindful of parts of my body that I don't think of much.  I felt very bendy and happy by the time we were done.

The little monster here at the house is trying to fit in, and we're getting there gradually.  Maybe a month before everything is settled?  In the meantime, we watch her carefully, trying to intervene before she breaks housetraining.  And making sure that if Beauty won't stand up for herself, the Beast at least realizes that she'll get in big trouble if she abuses her housemates.  We think it's sinking in.

Smaller pants day is almost as good as new sock day

<braindump>

I don't feel skinny, and in fact I'm six pounds heavier than I was when I got off the trail in 2010, but I can now wear the same pants I was wearing then.  Woot!  I wonder where the extra weight is hiding?

Pluto has started to gain weight.  He's about 30 pounds up.  It looks good on him.  (Actually, on second glance he's getting kind of a pot belly..) He needs some muscle rebuilt, which I will attempt to do with him on the longe.  Also, he is ready to shed out now.  And he still hates it when I brush his mane (aw, mom! says Pluto) but he just breathes out a long sign and lets his head sink down when I brush his tail.

And he didn't whinge about having to step in a puddle today, which made me wonder if I got the right horse.  Normally he would have rocketed over the puddle as if it contained acid.

Filthy, shedding horse refuses to look at camera.  Man, I need to get him a shorter halter.  Or put holes in that one, I guess.

Also he wouldn't look from this side.  I tried everything.  I waved.  I whistled.  I jumped.  I held out cookies.  Apparently he only wanted to be photographed in profile today.

Today was fabulous.  And I was in training or in a meeting almost the whole day.  I stepped out for 15 minutes or so to take a brief walk, and other than that I just longed to be outdoors.

I noticed that my eyes weren't dry and itchy this weekend despite the wind and the sun.  I wondered if the lack of coffee made the difference.  So I've had no coffee for the last two days, and I note that my eyes are not dry and itchy.  Hmmm.  (I've had hot drinks, just not coffee.)

Massage, epsom salt soaks, rest, and arnica cream have mostly healed my foot.  I don't think it's going to be up to much walking this weekend, though.  I might have to clean my house.

</braindump>

A winter day's hike, with gear links

So I went to bed early last night, and I actually put down the damn Kindle and turned out the light before it got very late.  I slept like a log, woke up early, and felt FANTASTIC.  The older I get, the more I love a good night's sleep.

It was chilly when I got out the door to go hiking - 27 degrees.  I figured it was an excellent opportunity to try out my new winter hiking boots.  The verdict?  I don't think they make great hiking boots.  After three miles, both my feet were feeling blistery.  It doesn't seem to be very easy to tie the boots such that they're snug in the right places.  They're too warm for hiking, I think.  Although the waterproof feature was very nice when I hit icy puddles.

I'll probably give them another try with different socks and/or insoles, but as of right now I'm thinking I'll either send them back or just not plan on wearing them for long distances.  They'll be fine boots for shoveling, visiting the horse in the snow, and other winter activities.  But for less money I could get fully waterproof Muck boots.

Pretty shortly after I got started I warmed up to take off my down jacket.  I put on a wind shirt, and combined with my wicking shirt and stretch polarfleece top it was enough to keep me warm.  In fact I was sweating pretty vigorously.  I didn't realize it until I pulled my phone out of my breast pocket and found it wet.  Woopsie!

My butt, however, started freezing within minutes, so I pulled my down skirt out of my daypack and stepped into it.  Worked like a charm.  I'm going to try not to be without one of these skirts for future cold hikes.  I wore it the whole time, plus out to lunch afterward.  It's not the most stylish look, but my butt really doesn't care.

By the time I finished a circuit of the park, it was up to 35 degrees and felt comparatively balmy.  My legs were totally up for another loop, but my feet were bitching about their new blisters.  I had swapped the winter boots for my regular Keen hiking boots about three miles in, but the damage was already done.  I decided to take pity on the feet and call it a day.

Home earlier than I expected to be, and with a steadily worsening neck ache (why?  I have no idea) I decided to pursue one of my favorite hobbies - midday napping.   I let a hot shower beat down on me, and then I warmed up the bed with my awesome heated mattress pad and climbed in.  I was out in seconds.  Oh that felt good.  I was blissful.  And the nap totally did the trick, too.  My neck shut up and got back to business as usual.

This evening I ate irresponsibly.  I was in the mood for bread and fruit, so that's what I had.  Rainier cherries, and Italian bread with margarine and honey.  And then sea salt caramel flavor gelato.  (I ate before going to the grocery so I have no excuse.  That's what looked good to me.  Is it possible I could have a sea salt caramel deficiency?)

Right now I'm trying to decide between TV and the Kindle.  TV is a crapshoot.  Sometimes I find something awesome, like the special on Mayan hieroglyphs I saw last week.  (Sometimes I don't!) Plus, I could have cats all over me while I watched.  But I already know I have something good on the Kindle.  On the other hand, if I go to the Kindle there's no element of delightful surprise.

Either way, it's probably a win.

Today is going down in the books as a good one.  I hope that yours was good too.

Perfectly ordinary, perfectly beautiful

Good GRAVY I love fall days like this.  The leaves are turning, the sun is bright, the sky is quite blue, and it's warm enough to be in shirtsleeves if you're active.

Fall doesn't last long enough.  Fall and spring never do.  They're the best times, and the shortest.  I suppose that makes them all the more sweet.

My day has been awesome.  Not just because of how beautiful it is outside, although it didn't hurt.  I slept in, ate apple pancakes that JD had made, and then went out to ride my horse.  And this time I actually rode him.  I covered up as much as I could, wore sunscreen, and used my giant goofy looking Equivisor.  I'm pretty sure I escaped without sunburn.  I kept forgetting my head effectively projected out several more inches, so I bonked Pluto on the forehead multiple times while nodding or bending down.  He didn't appear to mind.

His feet, which were perfect last week, now look as if they've been through a wood chipper.  They were good enough for riding at the walk, though, and since that's all I'm doing they were good enough.  I've texted the farrier to see when he can get out.

Pluto and I worked on side pass today.  He so, so didn't get it.  I hopped off and worked with him on the ground.  With me pushing him, he could do it.  I expect we'll work it out under saddle.  I'm using the voice cues "left" and "right".  Soon I shall find out if Pluto can tell his left from his right.  Right now, when I ask for sidepass he does this line dancing maneuver where he goes forward, back, and side to side.  He may have "Achy Breaky Heart" playing in his head.

I was grateful that he has finally grown a brain when I dropped a ziplock back while riding him.  It drifted past his head and landed on the ground in front of him.  He grew several inches taller but did not otherwise react.  When I was sure he wasn't going to bolt, I dismounted to get the bag back.  First, though, I fed him a cookie from it.  He decided the bag probably wasn't evil.

On the walk back, I made him stop and back up several times.  This accomplished two goals.  One:  work on his backing up skills, which have never been spectacular.  Two:  remind him that I am the one in charge while we walk back to the field.  He's very well behaved in the arena these days, but not so much on the walk home.  Given that my options have changed from "dressage queen" to "gentle walk work and ground training" I am much more focused on his ground behavior than I used to be.  I hope to someday (maybe someday soon!) have a horse worthy of showing off for his skills in hand.

I love the ray of light shining down on him

Between the ears shot, shortly before the ziplock bag attacked

This afternoon is dedicated to domestic activities.  Throwing things away, doing laundry, and generally sorting things out.  It's not as fun as playing the with horse, but still rewarding.  I hope to find some sofa and book time later on.  :)

I have Rabies for a few days

It was a beautiful day here, today.  One of those days where you put the top down on your car, if you aren't me.  If you are me you abhor convertibles because they are noisy and they make you have sunburn and bad hair, and also they have no trunk space.  But if you were, say, my husband or my mother in law, you would put the top down.  And you would be happy.

I didn't put the top down for the aforementioned reasons, and also because I wasn't driving a convertible.  I was driving a monster truck.  Technically it was only a normal truck, but if you're used to driving Eddy, my cute little PT Cruiser, it's a monster.  You don't sit down, you climb up.  There are extra mirrors to check because it's so easy to accidentally crush VWs and other minuscule cars.  When the truck hits a bump, the feeling goes on for a long time because it takes a while for vibrations to travel through all that material.  What I'm getting at is it's big.

I am actually okay with this.  I love Eddy, don't get me wrong.  Eddy is just right for me.  He can seat several adults at one time, and he has vroom if I need it but is otherwise content to go at normal speeds.  And I thought about getting those gangland style bullet decals but then Eddy actually GOT SHOT and now I don't need them.  Eddy and I are mega cool.

But Rabies... Rabies is on a whole nother level.  (Okay, the truck's name is Rabies.  I would think that would be obvious.)  (Because JD put the dog's tags on the truck's keyring to distinguish it from Eddy's keyring, which is otherwise identical.  And last year's rabies tag was on top.  Do try to keep up.)  There is no way NOT to feel like you are the shiznit when you are driving Rabies.  You sit waaay up there over all the other drivers, and when you press the gas pedal Rabies makes this low rumble, like "I am the big dog, and you just got too close to my bone.  And I'm not going to kill you because I am generous that way, but you had better step off, biyotch."  And then Rabies graciously doesn't crush the other cars, although it does take out the occasional curb to subtly reinforce the point that it is larger and heavier than everything else in its environment.

JD claims Rabies is female but I am not feeling it.

I seem to have gotten off the point about it being a nice day.

After I dropped Eddy off at the garage (Eddy was making undignified squeaky noises) and rumbled in to work with Rabies, I got the opportunity to walk around.  If it were December, I'd have driven.  It's the first of September, however, and the air was gentle and the sky was blue.  I went for a walk.

You know how when you go for a walk on a really fine day, it feels like you're floating a little bit?  Like the sun is a big warm cat rubbing on you?  How it smells like all the good things in the world are growing right near by, and there is not even a possibility of poison ivy or skunks?  That's how today was.

If you know how that is, you might understand why I'm a long distance hiker.

After I went to the other building and did the inventory task I had to do there (which involved being in a tiny, windowless room in which everything is coated in an unhealthy grainy black dust) I strolled on back to my office.  I was appreciating at an intensity level of 8.  It's not really safe to appreciate at a higher intensity than that if there's traffic around.  Although today's drivers were being pretty considerate so I could have gone for a 9.

I was enjoying the grass growing, and the particular way the leaves were hanging off the trees, and the bouncy way the squirrels were going about their business.  And then I rounded the corner and saw my building.

My building is not a pretty building.  It is exceedingly utilitarian.  Any possible beauty which might have been imparted by its one original saving grace, which was neatness, has been neutralized by dead grass, equipment lying around, safety tape tied haphazardly around the equipment, and the obvious afterthought of a high bay garage having been turned into a low bay garage.  Goodness but it's ugly.

I stared up at my building and tried to think of something positive about it.  And I thought "Well, it's strong.  It provides shelter and it keeps the rain out."  That was the best I could do.

But you know what?  Being strong and providing shelter is a beautiful thing all on its own.

Earl Grey, Hot, in about fifteen years

Finally, FINALLY, the weather cooperated and Tara and I got to ride on a Wednesday night.  It was lovely, too.  It was pretty warm during the day, but after the sun went down it was just right.  A little breezy, but comfortable. 

For once, Tara was riding the flighty TB and I was riding the Lipizzaner.  (Normally, she is riding the calm schoolmaster and I am riding the nervous Arab.)  (Same horses, btw, just different night.)  I told Tara that I didn't know who this horse was, but I didn't want the old one back.  She's of the opinion that he's developed another brain cell, which brings him up to four now.  Curious, I asked how many she thought he'd end up with.  She said she thought at least 27.  Using this math and his rate of development, he should be doing calculus and serving me Earl Grey tea by the time he's done.

I asked for and got a lot of good stuff from the horse tonight.  Solid stops, a lovely swinging walk, a nice trot, much more developed lateral work, light contact, good bends.  I was a pretty happy rider.  Until... the gnats came out.  They were "bugging" Pluto, swarming around his head.  I called it a good night and hopped off.  Then I helped Tara move jumps out of the arena so we can get it dragged.  Pluto and Timber followed me around (why?  Isn't there something more interesting elsewhere?) and when Pluto found a good opportunity, he snuck up behind me and headbutted me.  Literally.  His head, my butt.  He kind of launched me forward a bit.  I whirled on him, calling him a bad name, and he shied back.  I'm pretty sure he thought he was going to get it.

I hollered but I didn't do much to him.  It doesn't work to discourage his sense of humor.  He, like most boys, will only find a more annoying way to express himself.

Tara and I made plans to take the boys out for a ride on Saturday, which I'm looking forward to.  Assuming it doesn't monsoon.  Wish us luck!

Pluto, wondering when I'm going to get around to putting a bridle on him.

I find it very difficult to work on the security plan at work.  It takes a lot of concentration.  Any time I'm interrupted it sets me back at least fifteen minutes.  So I have a sign up - If I'm wearing the hat, don't interrupt me.  Or I will turn you into a newt.

I have a feeling I'm going to have to point at the sign a lot.

A fabulous disguise for pointy hair

Today was fantastic.  If you haven't gone outside today, drop whatever you're doing.  Go outside, stand still, and take a deep breath.  Go on, I'll wait.


....

See?  Wasn't that nice?  Wasn't it worth it?  Isn't the moon up in the sky stunning?  And doesn't the air smell like the finest perfume?  It's definitely a grade A night around here.  I did something that I very, very seldom do, because it was so nice.

I opened the window on the top of the car while I was driving around.  Usually the wind and the noise bug me, but I was driving on back roads between work and yoga and home, and the air was warm and fragrant.  At low speeds I didn't get much wind or noise, and the air felt incredible on my skin.

Anyway, enough about how much my life rocks.  Not that I'm sure what else to talk about.  I'm not feeling very emo tonight.

Oh!  I can show you my new hat.  My office, such as it is, sits in the main thoroughfare of my house.  It is the opposite of private.  I've been having difficulty thinking and writing, sitting at my desk, because there was no obvious cue for JD that I was thinking as opposed to waiting to engage in conversation.  So I bought myself a nice big visual indicator.

I bought a writing hat!  Writing, wizardry, tomato, tomahto.  It's a big fat visual cue.  I told my boss about it and he thought I needed one for work, too.  So I've ordered another one.  A purple one.  When I work on the security plan I will be wearing a big effing purple wizard's hat, and that will be people's notice that they should not effing talk to me or I will effing turn them into a toad.

I'm sorry, security plans bring out the rough language in me.  Come see the violence in inherent in the sysadmin.

I will not be wearing my hat this weekend, though.  I'll be roughing it.  I'll have to write hatless.  Although the hat probably only weighs a couple of ounces (Actually 1.15.  I checked.) so it wouldn't be an unreasonable addition to my backpack.  And in the long distance hiker world, nothing says "backpacking trip" like weird clothing.  Nevertheless, I will leave my hat home to save weight, because the torrents of rain we expect on Saturday will probably add several pounds to my backpack, and probably several more to my boots and garments.  Yay!  Fun times.  Or something.