Grillin' Daze and Amorous Lily

Today marks eight straight days of pretty dang nice spring weather.  

We're told that it will end this weekend when the 80s go back down to the 50s, and we get a little rain off and on for three days.

That's okay. 

I see more lovely spring days ahead by mid-week, and this past week has been very productive. 

With major changes going on with my daily barn chores (much more ease, I hope) and news that my sister Laurie had picked up her new pop-up camper, yesterday seemed like a good day for a grillin'.

I figured we could inspect Laurie's camper and eat hamburgers.  So, that's what we did. 

Six hamburgers instead of two last night as the Colburn crowd came over for dinner.

In between activities, I was making sure that all was going well with the new barn arrangement.  

Horses can now go in and out of the side stalls throughout the day and night AND they will be eating their dinner outside.

This marked challenging adjustments for horses who thrive on their rigid, down-to-the second daily routines.  

Whenever change comes, no matter how minor, their expressions tell it all----especially last night when Lefty and Lily stepped into their stalls to find no grain in the buckets and then walked outside to see the hay scattered around the barnyard and not in the stalls.

HOW DARE SHE DO THAT TO US??????

Well, she did, and they were hungry enough to soon cut the drama and get back to the business of eating. 

There was one glitch that needed some attention.  

Lily was feeling much too amorous (that's called "in heat") yesterday, and she thought that handsome new CB ought to be her boyfriend.  Never mind that he's a baby.  

Let's just say that "Cougar" Lily was aggressive in her desire for a little springtime love, following the poor little guy into the box stalls and crowding him up against the boards.

CB, a gelding for several weeks, hasn't watched any X-rated movies, so he had no idea of how to react to Lily's intentions, simply standing there, boxed in, looking at me with with a longing expression suggesting, "Get me out of here!"

In fact, I think that, at that very moment, CB wanted to join the "Me Too" movement. 

So, I sent Lily out of the stall, and CB ran for freedom-----into another stall.  Lily wasn't far behind. After much too much persistance on Lily's part, I moved Miss Lily to the round pen to give CB a break.  

Later, for safety reasons, I decided CB would stay in his main stall overnight until Lily's hormones go back to normal alpha, ears back Lily. 

Poor Lefty.  He must be feeling pretty jilted, but he doesn't care as long as there's food to eat.

I can now report that CB survived staying by himself throughout the night, and, happily, Lily behavior seems to have toned down a bit this morning. 

Anyway, in between trips to the barn, I took my turn stepping into Laurie's new camper.  

She purchased it so that she can go and stay overnight at her Spokane dressage shows without Barbara having to pull their travel trailer with another rig.  It will save a lot of time and money for both. 

The camper is appropriate for a horse lady, since it's called a Palomino, and, as yet, Barbara and Laurie have no four-legged Palominos in their herd. 

Once the camper inspection ended, Bill grilled up some tasty burgers on the deck, and we simply enjoyed visiting while taking in some of the NFL draft activities. 

Turned out to be a great day all the way around, and it's looking like we're all pretty primed to move on with fun in the sun and the myriad of outdoor activities that come with spring. 

Life has improved considerably since the snows of a couple of weeks ago. 

Happy Friday. 

This photo was taken in our Lovestead "room with a view," the upstairs bathroom. 

Yesterday morning's view was especially beautiful, epitomizing the ideals of spring in North Idaho.