Why Work?

This week is really great because I have a vacation! But I'm not going anywhere this time because Brandon does not have this week off. All the more time for me to zoom over to the farm and get some riding in. I started the week off right by riding on Sunday with Jackie, even though the weather was iffy. Since Lilly is still healing in the BP, I was riding Glitter. When I ride Glitter, I forget to take pictures. So here we are more than half-way into our ride, just coming out of the Winter Pasture. Hardly wintery these days!

Glitter was really good. On the trail while ambling along, we work on sidepassing. This is not a bad skill to have since you could get your kneecap smashed on a tree quite easily out there.


Jackie was on Pokey who she had just plucked from the BP. He tried to give her a hard time, ignoring her commands to not jet back to his buddies. At first she suggested that he listen to her, but once he fully committed to being bad, she had to squawk at him and get his feet moving. Like a pro, I might add. I texted Bill (who was at his grandson's graduation): Glitter is perfect, Pokey, challenging. I hope we did not get Bill in trouble for distracting him from the ceremony!


Here you might be interested to see Bill is getting his chimney rebuilt.


On Monday the weather was no better. But I was serious, rain or shine I was going to spend as much time as I could riding. Once again, Glitter found her way under my saddle, but only after she tried to run away from me while I was getting her from the field. Very naughty mare!


At first Bill started with Ruby, but after hearing about Jackie's struggle with Pokey the day before, he traded Ruby for Pokey. OK, Pokey, now you've gone and done it! The big guns are coming out!

As soon as we started to leave the BP area, Pokey started to resist. But of course Bill was ready for it. Resistance was futile. Pokey had no choice but to straighten up and fly in formation. Here is Glitter peering out into the Blueberry Pasture. Isn't her mane fantastic?


Going through the Blueberry Pasture almost always means one thing: A return to Trollwood!!! To see how Trollwood greets us, click right here!


Brandon insists that I look for mushrooms for him while riding. It's been so wet this year, there should be all kinds of them! Here I am stopping to photograph one. It looks like Glitter does pretty good ground tieing in this picture. She is pretty good, getting better. But of course no one is as good as my own brumby! She is the Queen of Ground Ties!


Here's the mushroom! It's an Amanita muscaria. I think it looks a wee bit naughty, if you know what I mean!




That's me, getting back on Glitter. I never said I was graceful!


After Trollwood, we ride through a woodsy area I call The Chapel (because it reminds me of a pretty, little church with a long, leafy aisle). Then we go through a trail I call the Upper Loop. Then we go one through a tiny brook to the Lower Loop. This is a picture of Pokey feeling very nervous about going through the brook. To see a partial video of him really not wanting to do it, look here: here! After the video stops, he does go through after Bill turns him in a few tight circles. One thing about Bill, he always finishes what he starts.


Glitter loves to snack. But do you know what else she likes to do? She likes to pretend that she is a bomb-proof horse. I know what you are thinking, that you want some evidence. OK, if you insist: just click right here!
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Coming up, details about Tuesday and Wednesdays rides!