Today I was distracted by concern for two people I care about who weren’t doing very well. It’s always a relief to have some good little bonuses to balance out your concerns. In the meantime, send out those healing vibes into the Universe!
Both of my little miracles happened when I was out doing my daily sauna…I mean working with horses. First, Apache had a great attitude on the ground and in the saddle, for the most part—he just gave me his opinion for a little bit, then literally sighed and started doing what I asked. After all the stopping, starting, circling, and side passing was done, I decided to see if he’d do any better on the trails Lee has mowed for us (Drew loves them).
I like grass.
Imagine my shock when I realized we’d been moseying along the paths calmly and steadily with no sudden jerking to eat grass or wheeling around to try to go back! He was just fine the entire time we were out. A horsie miracle.
Apache in my mind (from Pinterest)
The second miracle I attribute partially to my skills. I was taking Apache’s bridle off so we could head to the trailer to unsaddle. He was very interested in the lush long grass in the playground area, the only part of our property Lee hasn’t hit with the lawn mower. I was asking him to pick up his head, when I saw my shoes and jeans were covered in fire ants. Not just a few, a lot. Usually it’s Apache who steps in them! Here’s the miracle: I managed to brush all the ants off and ended up with only one bite! That’s unbelievable!
Extreme fire ant closeup (from Pexels)
Kathleen, who has very bad luck with bites, is probably shaking her head at my luck. Here’s something pretty for her and you.
Gulf Fritillary
Not a miracle: the fact that both Apache and I were as wet as if we’d been swimming by the time we were done. It’s weird that the rest of the week’s horse work didn’t affect any of us that much!
Hot (but not that hot) Apache from earlier this week, thinking he had to pee.
What an interesting day it’s been! Interesting animal health news abounded, and animals impressed me, too. I’m just going to start with the actual seasonal miracle. Well, you may recall me saying we’d lost our hen, Betty, the Americauna who laid light brown eggs. I said that because when I checked on her between rain storms, she was lifelessly laying in a puddle.
I was reminded that life is as ephemeral as a dandelion puff.
I didn’t put her in a plastic bag to be disposed of, because of the rain. Next time I checked, I realized she was still alive, though she hadn’t moved. Yesterday, when I did my evening check, she’d moved. What?
Birds are mysterious. Ask any swallow. They are weird, like me. So swoopy.
This morning when I went in, she’d moved again, and I saw her move around. I mentioned to someone that I could swear she was actually better. But how? She was really looking bad for a few days, and was soaked. Nonetheless, when I got home from horse training today, after being given up for dead for three days, there was Betty.
I’m not dead.I am a bit bedraggled.
So, her name is Not Dead Betty from now on. Who knows what was wrong? Did she have a virus? An impacted egg? A cold? I just cannot believe this miracle of rebirth. How seasonal!
Take a break to enjoy a bee so engorged with pollen that it was acting inebriated. I tapped the flower and it finally drug itself out of the pollen paradise.
So, What Else?
Well, there’s good news and bad news in the horse department.
Good: I was able to get Drew groomed today, with just a few clods of dirt left in his mane. He’s all soft and smooth now.
Bad: Apache seemed ok in grooming, but when we got to Tarrin’s, his back was all bloody. Drew was biting him in the trailer. No wonder the trailer was rocking all the way there (which took extra long, of course, thanks to having to get gas, hitting every traffic light, AND being blocked by a train again.)
Bad: Apache seems to be all inflamed for some reason. His lymph nodes are all puffy. Tarrin thinks it’s allergies from all the new rich grass and pollen. He gets to stay in the pens during the day for a while to work on it, and he will need lots of exercise (that’s good).
Good: Drew was amazingly better at this week’s lesson, even with no riding in the past week. It was like watching a different horse, and riding him was actually fun! That was a miracle to me. Both Tarrin and I needed positive horse experiences today, so hooray.
His back did NOT look like that when he got into the trailerTarrin put some medicine on him later.Here’s where he leaned on the rail in the trailer. You can see he’s lumpy.Both the horse and the human are beautifulMy view of a muddy maneWe are being straight.I am side passingSide passing again, and he’s not pitching a fit.Enjoying some sun with my boy.
I was relieved that Drew was doing so well today and paying attention to me so well. I am equally concerned that Apache is having his issues flaring up. I hope we have caught the inflammation in time to get him back on track. When one of your animals is sick, it’s like your child is ill. I’ll just hug on him and dote on him and let him eat hay all day.
We just all need to sit outside and breathe a while.
There were all sorts of other things going on here, none of which are my stories to tell, but I’m glad we all have each other to support one another around here. If you have any to spare, send vibes out to my family, okay?
It’s spring in Texas. Those of us not allergic can just enjoy the green grass, blooming flowers, and changing weather.
One of the things I’m most grateful for is that little miracles keep popping up in life, and they keep me moving forward with a good attitude. Yesterday was filled with these wondrous occurrences.
After this, we even had a few drops of rain (and it rained a LOT to the north of us).
The first one was so many people reading the blog the last couple of days. I guess tagging a post “death” brings in readers, but really, the hits were a testimony to how much my friends care about each other. Thanks to all who said such kind things about Stephanie, Terry, Beth, and Alston.
Next came an answer to my prayers (more like a response to my internal curses). The County finally, at last, por fin, made a stab at fixing the road that runs by the Hermits’ Rest. Thanks, Precinct 2, for doing this before we lost another tire or shock absorber to your potholes that were becoming dangerous craters.
Heading toward Sara’s house.
They put down some black stuff, and at least for the moment (i.e., until it rains again in a month or two), you can drive the speed limit! No more weaving and trying to judge which set of holes was less bad for your car. No more coming to a complete stop before daring to go up the hill to the cemetery. Wow.
Heading toward the cemetery. You can see they didn’t bother to cover the parts of the road without potholes, but that’s okay.
It felt bizarre going down the hill last night and not getting that feeling that you’re on a carnival ride. We feel so fancy now.
This part was solid pothole!
Maybe the people across the street complained. Since they are Cameron natives and from a Good Milam County Family, their complaints would be listened to. Gee, I hope all the cement trucks and heavy equipment for building our pool doesn’t mess up the roads again (or the trucks full of corn, cotton, or whatever).
Alfred hair.
And to me, this was an actual miracle: Alfred actually came up and asked to have me pull some of his tons of excess hair off yesterday. He even came back for more when I got tired of it. It now looks like it snowed in many parts of our property, but Alfred seems much happier. Good dog.
I’m a good boy
And this felt like a minor miracle, too, like a gift from my friend Terry. One of our friends found some pictures of us having parties at a conference we all attended. There were pictures of us having a movie night as well as us laughing so hard while reading a book about baby platypuses that we lost the ability to speak.
Paulette, Barbara, and Terry during our laugh fest. It’s been wonderful sharing fun memories of our dear friend. Photo by Elisabeth Lewin.
I’ve missed these positive memories about my supportive group of friends from back then, the majority of whom are still my friends now. It’s a miracle to have such lasting connections.
Movie night at the “Technology Room” at an LLLI conference, laughing with my friends Jo and Dave. Our lives have changed a lot, but we keep in touch. Photo by Elisabeth Lewin.
And finally, Lee and I went on a nice ride out in the country last night, to enjoy the daily miracle of a Texas sunset after a day that wasn’t too hot or humid (I barely sweated when I rode Apache around 5 pm). With all this open space, I enjoy either a lovely sunrise or a pretty sunset nearly every day, even when the air isn’t full of dust or smoke from fires and such. Or rain from hurricanes, which we won’t have, but our friends to the east are having way too much of.
At the end of our road.
Think about what miracles surround you, whether from people or Nature (yes, people are part of Nature; I realize that). These things help you get through illnesses, deaths, work stress, and more. Don’t forget to share your miracles with others! It helps to hear them!
The Hermits' Rest 