Wednesday Odds and Ends

 

The last Lovestead breakfast for 2025 is in motion right now as my horses stand munching on hay in the Pasture No. 1 shelter.

I'm feeling a tinge of emotion today, knowing that, with their trip to Forest Siding Road and Roxane's later this morning, it will be quiet around here for a few months.  

When you walk each of three horses to and from the barnyard twice daily, there's a strong daily bond. 

First thing at the gate each morning, I'm usually not feeling like bonding with them. 

Lefty and CB are usually racing around, trying to herd each other away from the gate, so that the winner will get first turn at going to the pasture. 

Sometimes Lily keeps them out of the way by simply standing at the gate and thrusting her highly effective horse glare their way. 

Sometimes she decides that maybe she doesn't want to go first, so she walks off halfway across the barnyard and stands, usually waiting for me to grab the winner of the gate side brawl and start them out the gate. 

That's when I have to be on my toes. That's when Lily and the remaining horse often quietly shift into motion in hopes of sneaking up close enough to take a bite of hide out of the horse in hand. 

When successful, that means the horse in hand becomes more of a handful because of its urgent need to escape the chomp.  Fortunately, up to this point, I've been able to move out the way in time for the horse in hand to lunge forward and escape the attack. 

Similar scenes happen pretty much every morning. 

Am I going to miss that?  

Probably not. 

But I will miss the one-on-one interaction once the horse in hand and I are safe from the gate gauntlet. 

That's when I talk to each and tell them they are good horses.  

I'm sure they'll be good horses over at Roxane's too, but I'm betting gate time over there won't be any more fun than it is over here. 

Anyway, it's the end of an annual era here and the beginning of a new chapter over there.  After two years, the horses are familiar with Roxane's and whatever drill she imposes on them. 

Tomorrow morning, when there's no gate action in the darkness and no brief personal interludes with Lily, Lefty and CB, I'll feel some mixed emotions:  relief at not having to referee and wistfulness at not having our morning conversations. 

I'll probably spend those first few mornings digging out the areas along the side doors so I can shut them for the winter. 

Thanks to our neighbor Garrett Poelstra and his Kubota excavator, we now have a new culvert in our lane.  

When Garrett dug up the area to remove the old culvert, none was to be found except the part that had broken off at the end. 

It's a mystery where it went.  Bill figures it just disintegrated with age.  

Twas obvious it was time for a new one.

 

I'll call this "blood draw view," since its the first scene I observed after having my blood drawn yesterday. 

The clinic where I go now has a phlebotomist, which means patients can go in any time during office hours to get their blood drawn.  

No appointment necessary. 

Janelle, the phlebotomist, had a definite Southern accent. First, I guessed Texas but then South Carolina, and she happily let me know that I was correct. 

As one who doesn't care for needles, I appreciated that we kept a conversation going while she took some of my blood. 

Later, in the elevator, I was also relieved that once more I had survived a needle, making that view of MickDuff's Restaurant (once our Sandpoint post office) as I left the clinic especially enjoyable. 

Yesterday while driving around taking pictures of fall color, I notice a man in his yard watching my while I took this photo.  

I don't know the name of the tree, but they sure are pretty. 

Aware that the man probably wondered what that lady was doing stopped in the road, I backed up and told him I was just taking picture of his trees. 

That's all it took for him to get started, telling me about the "suckers" and how he can given the main tree and its suckers a lot of tender loving care. 

That care includes fences around each to protect them from the deer and water when needed. 

He was really proud of his trees and happy to talk about his maples, which do drop their leaves but he doesn't mind hauling them off. 

I think if I had parked on the road much longer, he would have invited me in to see his maples. 

Since I love trees, and my husband loves trees and I met a confirmed tree lover/nurturer yesterday, the item below seemed appropriate. 

Trees provide great metaphors for guiding us on how to approach our lives. 

And, once more, I was sure enjoying the view yesterday afternoon while driving around the Selle Valley on another gorgeous fall day. 

Let's hope for victory No. 3 tonight as Seattle hosts Toronto in the play offs. 

Happy Wednesday.