Moving on with Maintenance

Another season with the Zags has ended, not quite the way we all wanted the story to go, for sure. I enjoyed reading a column with Coach Mark Few this morning, reflecting on the tough game they had yesterday against Syracuse as opposed to the season as a whole.

He said he enjoyed this season with his team more than any other. I think his fans would agree with him. The Zags were fun. The Zags were exciting to watch, except for those games when it looked like they didn't show up mentally.

As we all sensed the outcome yesterday morning, each of us donned in our ZAG uniforms, be they hats or sweatshirts, we all concurred, "Once more they helped us through the winter." That in itself is quite a feat. And, that was enough.

We left my sisters' house while my mother stayed behind to watch some more NCAA games. We headed to the Tibbs Arabians indoor arena and immediately moved on to another activity that keeps us going for the months after winter and those leading into the next snow season: enjoying our horses.

Like the Zags, many of our equine athletes show great potential, and this season with our horses could be like Mark Few's just completed---our most enjoyable yet.

Just like the Zags, we'll probably have a few classes, among the many in which our horses perform, where they don't show up mentally. We'll be disappointed, but we'll move on with hopes of a better day or better luck next time.

And, today definitely signals a time to move on to new pursuits. For the first time this year, I saw angle worms this morning stretching their bodies and moving along the surface of the driveway after a night of rain. The lawns are almost green, and it could be just days before the lawnmowers come out.

Well, those mowers need their maintenance, and I've got to call my fix-it guru Tony today to arrange for his first visit of the year. I've already called John Fuller, our farrier. He just returned from his winter months in Mexico and says he'll be out between 8-9 tomorrow to put some shoes on Lily and give Lefty and Heather a trim.

I'll be calling Harvey, my hay supplier, to bring me those two tons of hay I bought last year. The hay pile still has 20-plus bales, but with lush green grass coming in the pastures, we still feed hay. We don't want them going out there gorging on that rich stuff and getting bad tummies. Bad tummies for horses can be deadly.

Thursday, I've got two maintenance appointments. One involves Mother's regular doctor's visit where they check to see that she's still doing okay, which she appears to be. And, there's Rowdy, her beloved cat.

Rowdy is long-haired, and his coat has developed its usual winter mats. So, he'll go to Ruthann's Quality Grooming in Ponderay for some first-class primping and combing. No doubt, Rowdy will come home happy on Thursday, and that will make Mother happy.

We also have to go down to the Power House and pick up the taxes from Bev. She finished 'em up and didn't even send me any lectures, except that she sure hopes we have some baby animals or crops coming next year so we'll make some money on our farm business. We'll sure work on that, Bev.

We're relieved that the only check we'll have to write is to Bev, and we'll get those tax forms for 2009 sent off in the mail.

Yup, this is definitely the maintenance time of the year, but all for good reasons. Pretty soon I'll have to be mowing lawns weekly, plucking weeds daily and watching my garden grow. And, that's a great substitute for no more ZAGS games.

Besides, we usually don't need much help getting through spring, summer and fall in North Idaho.