This evening, Scissortail Flycatchers were dive-bombing into the pins and chattering away. They aren’t as graceful as the swallows, but it looks like they accomplished their mission. I never saw so many of these birds at once, nor have I seen them catch insects in the water.
I’m seeing and hearing many unexpected things lately.
I just finished reading the wonderful book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which somehow I hadn’t managed to read yet. No doubt there was a good reason I didn’t read it when I bought it, but of course I loved it, since it’s a Suna kind of book. I’ll write more about it later.
I haven’t been feeling well today, just digestive issues, which are boring to anyone not living in my current household, where such things are favorite conversation topics. THIS is how I know we are no longer young, I think.
Much of the day was spent reading Robert Reich’s new memoir, which also doesn’t help my stomach (too many details on why the US is going to hell in a hand basket), though I do like him as a person. I also napped, listened to bluebirds, and watched a little college football. I favor no team, so I just watch young men run around and I then enjoy insurance commercials.
I did take a good walk and did a lot with Apache, who kept me on my toes. He loves to act like he doesn’t want to be caught so I have to practice my catching methods, but eventually he just stands there and puts his head in the halter. Maybe he thinks I need more exercise, not him. Hmph.
He did get a lot of exercise, including lots of muscle-building cantering, then we rode out to the round pen. I was proud of him for not having an issue walking by an unfamiliar truck and people messing with the garbage dumpster on his way to the round pen.
I was less proud trying to go on our trail when the truck started up and made a weird noise. He really wanted to make a run for the barn, throw me off, or otherwise embarrass us both in front of someone who doesn’t think much of our horsemanship. But, by golly, I let him cool off once I could get him to stop, and we were able to go on the paths and walk calmly.
I was proud of me, then, because other than a brief moment of worry, I took the incident as a chance to practice all my Apache calming techniques. So much to learn, but we have come far enough that I’m satisfied.
Let’s see if the rain avoids us again tomorrow for lessons…
What did I do? I survived an overwhelming work week without losing my temper at anyone. I’m sure glad this week was only four work days!
The minute I stopped answering questions along with my equally frazzled colleague, I went to dinner with Lee and our neighbor, which got me out of the house and laughing at least a bit! It reminded me of how much I miss Sara, up there farming her heart out in Wisconsin. Her husband is about done emptying their house here out. Sniff.
I’m impressed with my dedication to my equine pursuits, because when I got home, I went straight to horse world, fed everyone and got all Apache’s prescribed cantering and other ground work done before it was dark. Bonus: it was a little cooler by 7:30 pm.
So, I did it. Got all my training and documentation revision done, was social, enjoyed horses, and even made my daily exercise goals. Woo-ee. I deserved the blissful hour I spent finishing August on my temperature blanket and watching the Captain Picard show.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll be more interesting!
Better what? Better evening beverage. I grabbed one of Kathleen’s special drinks last night and enjoyed it. But it turns out to have secretly been an “energy drink.” Thus I got less sleep last night than I’d have preferred.
And today was two long trainings plus other deep discussions. By the end of the day I was zonked, so I was sure to choose water this evening. Now I’m nice and sleepy.
I do want to share that early this morning while listening to birds I heard some kind of bellow in the trees, like a cough, sort of. I thought I imagined it, but it repeated, loudly. That’s when I noticed movement. It was a group of deer. That made sense, once I realized what it was. Mr Deer was alarmed at something! Not me. I was quiet and still.
During my zonked period late this afternoon, I was rewarded by getting to watch Mockingbirds feeding, mostly just hanging out with me. behind them, the rabbits threw caution to the wind and were merrily hopping over each other.
They were joined by some melodically chirping cardinals and flocks of Eastern Bluebirds overhead making their haunting cries. One flew over my head, but no poop happened.
I felt much more relaxed after that! And one final nature note: the Rio Grande rain lilies are blooming again. That’s the third time this summer. Yay for Saturday’s rain!
It looks like I do. I made a drink from one of Kathleen’s little flavor packets and ended up with the blues: blue drink, nails, hair, and glasses. I will point out that I had a brown shirt (with a blue Roadrunner on it).
On a more serious note, I shared this story on Facebook this morning:
What a morning at my birding platform. First, I was just sitting here, watching Baltimore Orioles flying around, when I heard a Green Heron. Then I saw it, flying toward me, aiming directly over my head. I thought how pretty it was, but wondered what would happen if it pooped. Then a big white glob came down! Thankfully it landed just inches off my concrete pad. My blue hair is safe!
Then, after measuring yesterday’s .02” of rain, I gazed over at the fence. Oh my gosh, something was hanging from one of the chrysalises I’d been watching! It was a fresh, new Gulf Fritillary. It’s our most common large butterfly, since we have lots of sorrel vines that they love. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a butterfly emerging in the wild. What a privilege!
The humor and beauty carried me through an intense work day just fine! A meeting ended early, too, so I had time to give Vicki some slightly old frozen meat to make into dog food and exercise the horses. Neither horse was into it. I think I should have let them rest.
Just a little relaxation with the animals prevents the psychological blues from coming over me, though. Watching the dogs play in the long grass at sunset was a great way for me and Lee to wind down. They don’t get out much, but for once they stayed with us and didn’t run off to roll in poop.
I’m thinking about so many of you all, dealing with what comes your way as best you can. We are in this together. As my friend Kathy just reminded me, we’re all under the same moon!
What? You don’t know why it’s noisy here right now? Get out your Texas Parks and Wildlife hunting regulations booklet! Right there!
You see, it’s always a little blam-blammy on the first day of any season, but dove season is extra loud because they just keep shooting. There are lots of doves: Mourning, Inca, Eurasian Collared, White-winged, and Ground Doves are here in Milam County.
No doves are harmed on our acreage, so we won’t run out any time soon. The harvests keep the numbers in check.
After the early morning festival of shooting sports, Vicki and I took the horses for the lesson that was postponed from yesterday. The weather was pretty nice, and only Apache got overly sweaty.
Apache’s just doing great, even improving on his leg yields. He now has to do three circles in canter on the ground, too. The good news is he’s happy to do it.
Suna has also improved! I was able to get him to canter off my aids instead of only doing it after a jump. I appear to be getting more comfortable going fast.
Drew is also showing good progress. He had his best lesson with Vicki so far, and she had him trotting so beautifully! They are moving forward in getting used to each other. I’m proud of them both.
Vicki may start him back on his pain medication now that he’s working harder. I should have thought of that!
With the new month comes new color fun for me. My hair became smoky sapphire today. It should fade nicely.
Nails will be dark blue this month. I like the sparkles I put over a Greek blue. The extra layer helps my one broken nail grow out.
Hey, everyone gets to have a frivolous hobby if they want to! And it cheers me up! Back to a busy work week tomorrow. I’ll be all blue!
Ah. Today we got beautiful rain, over 2” but I won’t measure until the morning. It was another great day to read on the porch!
I was sorry to miss my horse lesson but we’ve rescheduled for tomorrow. Let’s hope tomorrow’s rain is not between 10-1 or at least not heavy. I can ride in light rain. The horses spent the day blissfully cool. Once it wasn’t raining hard, they were out enjoying the “low” temperatures.
I, too, appreciated having a day without drips of sweat in my eyes and sopping wet bras. I did try not wearing a bra, but the sweat running down to my wisdom belly was also unpleasant. I’m not gonna sit inside all day like a delicate creature, though. Knowing it will be more pleasant in a few weeks gives me hope.
The other thing I liked about this respite from blazing hot sun is that sunsets are so pretty with clouds in the sky. I enjoyed today’s sunset by the pool while I watched nighthawks eliminating excess insects.
I guess the best part about staying inside most of the day was that I got a lot of comforting reading done (Braiding Sweetgrass), got my August birds added up, crocheted almost all of the August section of the temperature blanket, and got my journal ready for September. What that really means is that I played with all my toys: books, colorful pens, paper, washi stickers, and oh yes, yarn! My indoor toys sometimes get neglected when I’m outside all the time.
Trying to stay on an even keel these days is a challenge, isn’t it? No need to name all the reasons why, because you know the ones that affect us all, and we each have our own personal stresses, grief, and challenges.
Today was one of those days when the dam burst and I felt all the feelings. I needed to feel them so I could regroup. The Buddha reminds us that life is suffering, but he also shared ways to cope, grow, learn, and move on.
That’s what I’m reminding myself of today, as I processed warmongers, school shootings, friends’ loss of parents, and frightening political climate.
Trite but true: all things must pass.
Not much has been going on in poultry land these days. Only Connie has been laying, so we have an ample supply of very large eggs for our cooking.
I also realized it’s her birthday, or close to it, since Heather’s son has picked up his tiny poults for this year. She’s come a long way from her start in such a fancy environment!
That was the good news. As I was feeding the fowl, I heard an odd noise, like a branch scraping against the coop. When I checked it out, I realized it was Bianca, my only chicken who survived the Great Chicken Massacre a couple of years ago. She was breathing funny. I planned to check on her when I came back.
Anyway, I went to feed the horses. When I came back to turn the water off and pick up eggs, Bianca had collapsed. Now I’m all worried she got something contagious, so I am VERY disinfected now. I’m sad to lose her. I will keep a close eye on the others, who all seem fine so far. Of course, Bianca was all perky until today. She even got out a couple of days ago and was spritely running around.
She’d never been a big layer, and hadn’t produced eggs since last winter, so it might just have been her time. But she was my oldest. Sniff.
I exercised both Apache and Drew to cheer myself up. I think Vicki’s work with Drew is paying off—he did well in his ground work.
I’ll be doing a lot of coop cleaning in coming days. I hope Cindy and Cathy don’t get too pestered by Clint now that the rooster to hen ratio is 1:2.
Circle of life. Etc. Plus another senseless school shooting.
Today was lots of fun in the bird department, as lots of songbirds decided to let me see them. At last I truly believe that Orchard Orioles and Yelliwthroats live in my trees. There was also a Kestrel around all day.
So, I was in a meeting with no agenda (open office hours) with my three fellow Subject Matter Experts, and we were collaborating on various issues when one of us mentioned going for nature walks. That got me and another woman all excited about this ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora) she had seen earlier in the week, and we got into fruits we can forage in Oregon and Texas.
About ten minutes into our rapturous discussion of things we see in the woods, our more urban counterpart told us that she gave in and we’d converted her into looking more closely wherever she walks. I think we felt like we’d accomplished much more that just solving work issues today.
I guess that’s enough cheerful talk for the day, but I must interject that, even though rain was close again today, none fell, so Apache and I had a nice practice session and great time on the trail. I think he’s used to it now!
The Hermits' Rest 