Weather Woes

Just where did summer go? All of a sudden it's cold. Really cold and muddy and rainy and I hate it. Horse enjoyment season is summer, I've decided. Sure I was waiting for cooler weather and fewer bugs, but what did I know? I changed my mind. Shedding season is upon us and I'm wondering how all this hair is falling off these little horses and yet they're shaggier than before the shedding. Go figure.

So I'm struggling to eek out some riding time with this weather, as I wait for the rain to stop and then for the muddy bog of my arena to dry and by then it's raining again. I am, however, managing to spend some quality time with them, there's nothing they love more this time of year than being scratched and curried for long hours in the dry barn. And Tuff is enjoying the harvest from our modest orchard, and while the apricots have disapeared, he likes plums (pitted ofcourse) just as much and would never turn down an apple.

They spend the ever shortening afternoons romping in the waning pastures and lolling around in the mud. I had them pretty muddy during the summer what with daily hose-downs, but this is an entirely different mud. Sticky and slimy and sticks in their longer coats like glue. It's disgusting to wade around out there trying to clean pens because it's impossible to pick the muck from the ooze and ofcourse, some horse has just rolled in it.

But I must say, my guys really seem to love the Fall. They seem so carefree and full of vigor. I know ofcourse that with less riding time they have more energy but it's more than that. While I'm lamenting the close of summer, I think they are enjoying the last of the balmy weather before the freezing temperatures and snow and ice of winter appear. Perhaps if I lived outside like they do, I'd appreciate it more too.

It's something to think about, but for now, I see some sunlight trying to break through the clouds. Maybe I can sqeeze in some horse time before balmy days of Fall start looking really good to me because I'm mired in winter weather.

On To Greener Pastures

I haven't kept up on my blog in past weeks as often as I'd have liked to. My husband and I have been house hunting. His parents are long-haul truck drivers and we've been living on their Thoroughbred farm and running things in their absence for the past two years. But his mother is now coming off the road to stay with the horses so that we can get our own house and start building equity of our own.

I was excited at first when we got our loan and a price range, I thought it would be fun looking at different houses. But what a headache this has all turned out to be! For anyone who has ever tried to buy a horse property, or any property, there are so many factors to consider, so many peoples' needs to be met. It's hard enough finding a house that is suitable for my family's needs, then we have to look at the property and horse facilities, if there are any, and how easy it would be to build them if there aren't. Some places have my dream horse set-up, but the house is inadequate for one reason or another. Some places have fantastic houses but no property, or acreage that couldn't be converted to use for horses. It's frustrating and disheartening to rule out one after the other and my husband is really thinking nasty thoughts about my need to keep my horses.

However after a frequently disappointing search, we finally found one that should work for everybody, and our offer was accepted so now we are mired in the stress and uncertainty of escrow. The whole process was a test for my husband and I on the art of comprimise. The house is not as fancy as he would have liked, the land has nothing but but a few fences, ie...no barn for me. But it is close to his work, and has plenty of bedrooms for us, our kids, craft room, game room, music room, etc... that were on our list of must haves.

So now I can relax and get excited, a bit, I'm learning that there are lots of things that can hold up a sale, and this house isn't even done being built yet so it's especially nerve-wracking having to wait to do the inspection and appraisal and all. But on the plus side I've gotten to pick out counter tops and appliences and such.

So please excuse my distraction in the near future. It seems lately I can think of nothing else but paint hues, tile samples, fencing materials, barn kits, insurance quotes, furniture measurements...