The last day of August

I had intended to ride Cleo today, but the wind is rivaling a hurricane and I have a headache from dust and pollen. The sun is shining like a hot summer day, but fall is in the air. The leaves are whirling around mingled with the dust and dirt of the stables. Alex's horse came up lame so she couldn't ride either. We hope he was just acting goofy in the wind which always riles the horses up to a frenzy, and stepped wrong or on a rock and that he will be better in the next day or two. I did ride yesterday and, like most rides, I won the war after the battles. Cleo really does think she knows what we should do better than I do. But we made it up and down the lane with Janice as our guide. Tomorrow we'll try again. I am curious how my relationship with riding and Cleo will change when I am only teaching one semester a year instead of Chairing 12 months a year. It seems like I schedule my work week and then what little spare time I have around the horses. I'll still have lots of things competing with riding, but they will be of my own making. Maybe it will feel like being a stay-at-home mom--which I never have been. I've always imagined what it would be like to be able to juggle all the demands of living without the complications of a job with definite deadlines and hours that don't belong to you. I hope that is what retirment is like. I can't understand people who get bored or have nothing to do when they retire. I never thought I would say this...I can hardly wait.

Summer's almost over

I'm mystified how the summer ran away. I haven't even visited my blog site in over a month; all of July is gone. I have been doing a fair amount of riding. Cleo and I even go down the lane as long as we have Carrie and Artie to follow. Unfortunately, Carrie has been gone much of the summer, so I have spent most of my riding time in the indoor arena--sort of a waste of sunshine--when it does peek out of the Humboldt fog. We had a great lesson today. Cleo is much more cooperative going both directions and trotting with energy. I doubt I will ever learn to canter--at least on her, but I never was one for speed. I still amaze myself every time I take her out of her paddock, groom her and tack her up, lead her to the arena, and get on--all without help or supervision. Who ever would have thought.......She really is the perfect horse for me in many ways. She is friendly, never needs to be caught, neighs when she sees me, and generally does what she is told. Last month I was leading her down the dark barn aisle, caught my boot on a rock, propelled myself forward and landed sprawled down the aisle. Rosemary heard a thud and came running and Alex who was tacking up Kassidy so we could ride together came dashing around the corner too. I thought I had broken both my knee caps (just badly scraped) and all I could do was sit there catching my breath. Cleo was the perfect horse. She didn't bolt; she didn't turn and run away from the commotion. She didn't step on me in the confusion. It could have been a disaster. She could have gone runnning back to her paddock her lead rope hanging dangerously from her halter. Instead, she stood there surprised but calmly and then walked slowly toward me with her nose next to my now sitting body and asked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE?" I took a deep breath and actually got on and rode. My knees turned out to be fine, but weeks later, I still have a sore ankle. Riding is worth it.