Progress, reruns, losses

Monday again, and some progress to report on some fronts, more of same on others, and a few losses as well. The weather (I know you're all keen to hear about it) has slowly improved, which is to say we are getting some rain only about every second day or so, and not the relentless twenty-four hour a day downpours of most of May. I've adjusted my parameters on what constitutes a "good day" weather-wise of late. It can be cold, overcast, and windy (today was all three) but if it isn't actually raining, it's a "good" day. I consider that to be in the "progress" category.

The "more of same" is that once again my poor horse has lost both his shoes, and is not really rideable until he can get them back on. One of his hooves needs corrective shoeing and while this has been a chance for me to assess its progress, the verdict is that he still needs shoes to be rideable. Until the mud in his turnout finally dries up to the point where it doesn't suck horsehoes right off hooves (and we're not the only ones this is happening to!) and he can be reshod, he can't be ridden. Since being able to ride most days is one of my sanity valves (aka barn therapy) I hope that this will sort itself out soon. In the meantime, we'll make do with extra grooming and more "grazing in hand" time, assuming it's not raining and that we can fend off the mosquito population.

In the "losses" column, one of the "old boys" of my retired Thoroughbred's small herd is no longer with us. I got an email last week to say that TJ had colicked severely and had to be put down. Of all the many things that can afflict horses, colic is surely one of the most dreaded and feared by horse people. I'm not totally sure how old TJ was, but my Native is now thirty, and TJ had a year or two on him, so while we can mourn the fact and the means of his departure, he had a long and good life. I think he was a three-year-old when I first met him, so he's been part of the story of my life as a horse person for a good many years. Rest in peace, TJ.

As a respite from my endless shots of mud and watery surfaces (that aren't supposed to be watery) I have a couple of flower shots as a nod to the season. Shot one shows one of our orchids, which has produced a fabulous spike with about twenty of these flowers. Orchids often take quite a while to get around to blooming, but once they are in flower the flowers can last for weeks or even months. We've been enjoying this one for a while now and it shows no signs of slowing down, despite having been moved from the house to the outdoors greenhouse, then to the outdoor deck (when we foolishly assumed that the weather would stay warmish), then back to the greenhouse with the heater on when it was getting close to freezing again, also to keep it from drowning in the monsoon, and now back outdoors on the deck again, where I hope it can stay until fall. It probably hopes so too.

Shot two shows the gorgeous little spring gentians that are out front in Jim's little "alpine garden" area. This is the first year I can recall this one blooming for us, and it is a bright and cheering sight at the side of the walkway.

Shot three was taken on Sunday, which, as you can see, was a supremely lovely day. I needed some work done on the big studio windows up top and that meant a call to the family "heights" specialist, my son-in-law Bill. As a part-time fire-fighter, Bill has the credentials that we look for when we need to send someone up a ladder. While he was up there, he also unclogged the rain gutters, and, as seen in this shot, checked out the weather station at the top of the studio, so it was a worthwhile venture all in all.

Our little friend Mogo the mini-Dachshund is here for a couple of days. I was working in the back yard and realized I hadn't seen him for a while. I always worry about him somehow getting out of the yard, and me having to leave the country rather than tell his owner that I've lost him. Once I cast my eyes about, though, I spotted him on my vintage "reading" chair, quite comfortable, albeit with less sun on him that he would have liked. That's my Mickey in the foreground. I've tried putting beds and blankets out for my boys to cushion the hard deck, but they never use them. There is a nice soft lawn available that they can make use of if they wish.

Shot five shows a photomontage that I recently completed for one of my barn clients. This one features various aspects of the partnership of Paige and her boy Blaze. I don't remember how old Paige was when they bought Blaze, who was a seasoned show pony, and a good performer in the show ring if you knew how to deal with him, but I know she was *really* tiny. We used to watch her lessons and marvel that the horse even knew anyone was up there, and I always felt she was so light that gravity probably didn't even work for her. Well, that was then and this is now, and Paige is still a slim young thing, but she's grown a lot and has developed into a skillful, determined and competitive young rider. Blaze is now retired and Paige has a lovely young Warmblood mare that is her perfect complement. This year will be their first show season together and I look forward to starting a new collection of "memory" shots for them.

For anyone in the Saskatoon area, this type of photomontage is one I can create for you as a custom work, of horse, dog or whatever combination of animals you might have for me to work with. Keep me in mind if you want a special custom and personal image created for you. Email me at judywood@sasktel.net if you have any questions or would like more information.

Last weekend's horse show was cancelled due to the show rings being mostly under water. This coming weekend, in theory, there is a dressage show at Ebon, then the cancelled show will be the following weekend. Eventually, I'll have some horse show shots to share, I sincerely hope!