The seasons are changing

Less than one more week until the official end of summer. I have been back to teaching since mid-August, and since that time both this blog and Cleo have been on their vacations, so to speak, since my time is taken up by planning lessons, attending meetings, teaching classes and meeting with students. Cleo doesn't seem to mind. She is enjoying the relatively warm (70 degree) days, lounging in her paddock while I am working away at HSU. But we are enjoying our weekends together riding in the arena, and when Janice is at the barn, riding up and down the lane with Carrie and Artie, with Janice as my 'chaperone.' Cleo has been behaving quite well, but a scare a month ago going down the lane has eroded my fragile confidence. With Janice to calm my nerves, we have been enjoying riding outside in the warm summer weather typical to Humboldt County in September and October, our best weather months before the onset of the rainy season. No one is quite ready for rain this year, since our spring was so wet and cold. Our usual six months of dry weather--as long a you don't count drippy fog--looks like it will be reduced to a maximum of four months this year, and possibly down to three. Depends on when the rain starts coming down.

But this year, Cleo should be happier since a cover was constructed in her paddock. Now she doesn't have to spend drizzly days locked up in her stall to keep her warm and dry. She can hang out under her roof with a blanket on when it gets really cold, and breathe fresh, clean air instead of a barn dust. She would always rather be outside unless she is soaking wet. Last winter, I would find her at dinner time standing at her gate shivering so hard that I could hardly put her halter on to bring her to her stall for the night. But then in the morning, she was in such a hurry to get back outside, she would practically drag me down the lane to her paddock. This winter should be a lot easier on both of us. Less gross bedding to muck out of a stall, and fewer tugs of war to get her from one spot to the next because of the weather. Hopefully, we can keep a year-round routine of inside and outside time, riding, and relaxing without precipitation as the driving force. I don't need to look out my Founders Hall window watching the rain pour down sorry that I didn't put Cleo in for the day.