That is my directive to you, dear readers! Make it a mantra. AHA moment. It is one of the secrets to life. Yes, I know. You’re welcome.
Hard sometimes? You bet your boots. But hey, anything worth doing, right?
An unexpected day off today, so I am changing it up for my long weekend. Darcy and I hit the road Thursday after work for some fun with Middle Sister, K and we are going to celebrate life for every minute. Starting with us pretending to be ‘ladies who lunch.’ And yes, there will be plenty of puppy cuddle time.
Whenever I feel the urge or get a feeling about something, anything, I do it. Well, OK, not just anything, but certain things.
Like, for example, if I hear a song that has really helped me or is something I go back to listen to multiple times for one reason or another, I try to drop that artist a note. I seriously, actually do that. I look up their website and find an email or I will send a Facebook message. Something like that. I want them to know how much I appreciate what they do. I want them to know that they have made a difference. Oftentimes, I get a thankful and appreciative reply.
Or if I have seen or read something by a horse trainer that has helped me, I do the same thing. The other day, well more like several years ago, but who is counting, I was watching some Pat Parelli clinic video on one of the horse TV channels. He kept quoting from different authors outside of the horse world while explaining his concepts and theories. I have heard him do this before in other videos here and there. In this particular clinic, he had a sports psychologist, who is also an equestrian, speak for a good little while. As you can imagine if you have been reading this blog or a little while, all of this is right up my alley. Viewing and working with horses in the mindset of the broader world around us. Letting them teach us how to be better humans and better function in the world outside of horses. It may sound hokey and hippy dippy to some, but oh well. Anyway, I was curious what was on his reading list. What influential books he has read that have helped him in various parts of his life. So, I sent an email thanking him for his point of view and asking about books. About a week later, I get a response apologizing for the delay and hoping I find the attached list and a few others helpful. I went and purchased many of those books the next day.
Even something as simple and seemingly little as sending someone a note to say you are thinking of them or stopping to pick someone up some flowers, I act on those urges.
You never know when saying or doing that little something will encourage them or brighten their day or change someone’s life.
I could not quite get my words around it yesterday. I wrestled with it. I am not sure they are around it now, but I will give it a go because I feel the urge. I do not think many words are really even needed, but here is my little note to you, dear readers.
If you are feeling stressed.
Lost.
Confused.
Anxious.
Worried.
Sad.
__________.
Insert anything.
Alone.
Know that you are not alone.
Know that everyone goes through times, seasons like these. And you will again in your lifetime. They come and go for everyone. You are reading words written by one of those people right now. Some of you who have been reading this blog for a little while know this. Others may not. You are sitting next to one of those people. You will meet one of those people. You know one of them.
Keeping seeing the beauty and the light. We are surrounded by it. Keep working hard and doing good. Keep striving and keep knocking and keep praying. That is our call. To be a light.
I may not know much yet in my 29 years of life, but I know this. Everything happens for a reason whether we know those reasons or not. Often times we will not know those reasons in the moment. Be built up by the struggle.
Have faith.
Have faith and know that He has and is the plan and the path. The light.
No, you are not alone.
That was my urge, to tell you that.
Walk in love, dear readers, and have a great Wednesday.
4 AM is about as pleasant of a time to wake up as any, right??? Right!
It would have been better to wake up that early to ride or go fishing or something as opposed to catching a flight for work. Darcy sure did not understand why we were getting up so early two days in a row or why she was then supposed to go back to sleep or why she was not going with me. I did not understand that either because how much better would work and meetings and traveling be with your dog!? But, I digress.
Monday and Tuesday were quite the days.
Two meetings, two cities, two states, three pat downs, four flights, and eight…count them all…eight Uber rides in just two days. That is a lot of travel miles and hours. I am getting tired again just thinking about it.
Yesterday had me chasing the sunset so hard that I was literally running away from the sunrise.
But, no matter how fast or how far you run, the sun will always catch up with you. AHA moment.
Might as well slow down and enjoy it, right? See and actually take in all of that which is around you.
Over the past two days I saw many things. I saw joy and unity in some because of the fine sport of baseball. I heard a girl wonder aloud to her mother if her father loved her or not. How he must love her because he bought her things. The mother did not have much to say. I got told by an Uber driver that I should have a husband. I met a nice stranger and had a lovely conversation. He reminded me of someone back home. I traveled safely.
So, yesterday morning I enjoyed my slow and delayed sunrise while flying west (well, northwest to be specific, but you get the idea) and thanked the Lord for my many blessings.
I never did see the sun actually come up!
We made our decent and landed in this lovely, cloudy scene…
Anyway, as you can imagine, I was ready for this when I was on my way home yesterday.
That and the sunrise back in Texas.
Speaking of sunrise…It is somehow the end of Wednesday. Crazy.
Trust me, this is a speaking of which.
This past weekend we had two stunning, chilly (like frost chilly!) sunrises. I spent time basking in the sun. Took many, many photos…as you will soon see. Had the first pit fires of the season. Tackled a few things on the chore list. I rode both of my getting-fuzzier-by-the-day dun horses bareback. Just relaxing, quality time rides. Focusing on nothing really in particular. Just enjoying. Feeling their warmth. A nice change of pace from being constantly on the move before our trip.
A little video with Friday’s pit fire, Lito’s Saturday ride, and Saturday’s pit fire. Make sure you have the volume up! Basically sums up the weekend.
Saturday sunrise.
You can always catch this guy taking a nap after breakfast. I get lucky when he is not in his dam’s stall.
Saturday’s sunset.
Sunday sunrise reflection on the western sky. The steam rising off the pond while the cows have their first big graze of the day.
I can have a second breakfast, right?
Snug as a bug in his rug.
Sunday sunrise.
Feeding the cows Sunday morning in the golden light and frosty air.
More basking in the sun! Nothing like the sun on your back on a chilly morning.
Back to real riding work this weekend!
What is going on in your world? What have you seen and taken in around you this week?
I hope each and every one of you are having a fine week so far!
Isn’t that what seamen say? Red in the morning sailors take warning, red at night sailor’s delight to predict the weather and the sailing conditions. I was taught that by my fisherman father.
Funny side note…I googled red at night to see what would pop up. You know, like the story behind the saying or a photo or a meme. Something like that. Turns out there is a song called ‘Red At Night’ by a new to me band, The Gaslight Anthem. Go figure! Have a listen. I just can not make this stuff up. Too perfect.
“Seems a blessing’s so hard to see sometimes
Got a little clearer ’bout dusk last night
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine
It’s a red sky night and I’m doin’ all right
Red sky night and I’m doin’ just fine”
Interesting, right?!
Anyway. Last night’s sunset…well, it was red. Was it a sailor’s delight? I do not know, probably, but it was my delight!
I made a quick (or not so quick if you count my travel time…it took my twice as long as normal to get there due to a freeway closure from a bad wreck…but who is counting their time anyway?) trip out to the farm after work yesterday to check on everyone and to get the horses penned up for the farrier. He is coming out to pull Lito’s shoes to save them for next year’s trip. He got expensive billy goat climbing shoes. Can not have him loosing one in the mud or ripping someone open if he kicks.
I could not stay very long unfortunately due to the aforementioned travel time and the earlier setting sun. I had just enough time to feed, love on everyone, and take Darcy for a quick walk to the pond to let her run. And that is all it takes to put a smile on my face. That and no wreck on the freeway coming home! My rear view mirror was red on the way home before it went dark. A good sign. A good reminder. A God wink.
Today. Today will be a good day. Yesterday was a good day. Tomorrow will be a good day too.
For my lack of red sunset photo, I offer you this…It is a good day for her too.
This past week has been a whirl wind, but a fun whirl wind.
In short, it was fun and Lito was amazing. By Friday he was more than ready to come home, but he did better than probably any other young horse that has never been exposed to anything close to this.
Saturday morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise and ample time to do what we needed to do before we left. That included a quick water line repair. Again…let us not talk about that…and a shower glam session for the Lito man. Can’t be traveling when you aren’t looking your best. That’s what my mamma says.
He rode in a new to him trailer. One that he actually fits in. Even though he still likes to rub his head on the ceiling. He just has to work harder to do it. Lito got to ride with his bro for life, Ronan. I rode with my gal pal for life, R.
We drove to a friend’s place for the weekend before we made the shorter haul to where we were to stay and ride for the week on Monday. We were with 3 other ladies and their horses and we all had a grand and relaxing time.
He is the cutest.
Sunset.
Sunrise.
A much needed cocktail. All the excitement got to me and I needed to level out.
But what I really needed was this. An evening ride on Sunday and stumbling upon this at sunset. Serendipitous. Something I really love about the hill country is that it really puts life in perspective. Gives you a true sense of scale and how small we are. Similarly to how the mountains make me feel. I swear there is a cross somewhere on EVERY hill out here. When you get to the top of one, you can see forever and yet not see much of anything else besides what you are felling. Hard to explain.
This song reminds me of the hill country. Describes what the hill country makes me feel. We listened to it on Saturday morning, on the top of that hill where we were staying, before we left.
We did not drive like h***.
When we got to our final destination Monday morning, Lito stayed in a box stall in a tent barn and acted like he was born in there.
A front blew through Monday evening/early Tuesday morning and was quite windy. They delayed the ride on Tuesday, but Lito did not seem to be bothered by the wind. We rode every day this week with around maybe 90 other horse and rider pairs. He got a little anxious when the ride went to slow or got too crowded, but he really handled himself well. I had faith in him and I really think he had faith in me. You could really tell he was trying his best and trying to figure it all out. Proud of my loyal boy. He nickered every time he saw or heard me coming to his stall. Made my heart melt. He is such a gift.
When it came time for everyone to pack up and leave on Saturday, for the mass exodus, Lito thought it was the perfect time for his mid morning nap. My horse is a freak and I love it. Poor kid took up every inch of that stall.
He sure was happy to be back home in his pasture and with his heard. I am happy to report he strutted his stuff in fine form for everyone.
To spend a week with a bunch of Texas horsewomen in the country, just enjoying Texas, tradition, horses, and fellowship is nothing short of amazing. It was great and I can not wait till next year. Fun times were had by all.
R and Ronan stayed at the farm with us Saturday night before heading home yesterday. I went straight to my parents house to have dinner with them and get my Darcy doolittle dog.
Happy to be back with my Darcy dog, but not ready for reality! But. Reality brought us a cold front this morning. The air is glorious. Straight up feels like fall! I am going to have a fall cooking and baking session with my cousin tonight!
I awoke a full hour before my alarm was to go off at 6:30 AM. An extra hour of sleep would be nice before a long road trip.
But. Here I lay. Fully energized and rearing to go. Excited to get where we are going. However, I am forcing myself to stay in bed because that was the plan. No sense in getting everything finished early just to sit and wait again. Silly, right?
Anyway, here I am, writing to you since clearly the prospect of sleep is leaving as quick like as the sun is about to rise. And because Darcy dog is not here to cuddle. Which, is not so fun, not having my dog with me.
I played on my phone a bit when I first realized there would be no more sleep. Then I put it down and tried again. No luck. Picked it up again. I was reminded of a song. You know how that happens.
Here I am, laying in bed. Having the luxury of lounging in bed for an hour before I need to do anything. About to gather everything my horse and I need for a week, load it up, and head out with R for a week of riding and fellowship.
How did I get here? How am I able to do these things that I love? Have these horses that I have? How blessed am I?
I get to do all these things because my parents worked their tails off and did everything they could for us. Because they taught us to work our tails off. To do the right thing. To not give up on our dreams and wishes. To do what makes our hearts happy. To have faith and give thanks to the Man upstairs for it all who makes it all possible.
Even when we didn’t realize or appreciate it.
So.
I give thanks to the Lord. I give thanks to my parents and family. And I give thanks to my horse.
Corny as it may sound, it is all true.
Time to get up and get moving. R will soon be on her way!
Walk in love, dear readers! I will see you in a week!
Have y’all had a chance to catch a glimpse of the moon the last couple of days?
Pretty spectacular, right!?
No, I do not have any pictures of it because that is hard to do with a phone, but it really has been amazing. It was a full harvest moon yesterday, I believe. Big and bright. Pretty easy to see why they call it a harvest moon. Just another reason this time of year is so special. Makes you think. Harvesting all the seeds you have sown. Giving thanks for that harvest. Who you give thanks to and put your faith in.
I did try to get a photo of the super moon a few years ago while riding Cheetah at night. It was such a super moon, it was practically daylight…even if you can’t tell from the photo. A few days prior to this we found out that she was not pregnant on the first try. She just wasn’t ready I guess. In my memory, she was ready to breed back that day we found out and I took her directly from the clinic to the stud farm. This photo was possibly taken the day I brought her back home from the second try. Pregnant with twins. Lucky us. That was a sad day when we had to do the twin reduction. My sister was with me, pregnant with her first child.
I have a thing about the moon. Not like I want to go to the moon. Zero desire to do that. I am just captivated by it. Things happen during the full moon. Good things, mostly. Horses can sometimes get a little goofy during the full moon though. Animals of all kinds get active. It has a powerful force.
I did some research into moon phases and its effects on horse births. I was trying to plan when to take Cheetah to the place she would foal out. I asked my vet about this. Full of excitement, as you can imagine. Also full of knowing his response. He was nice about it and didn’t make me feel too crazy, but he clearly does not put much stock into it. Cheetah did not foal during the full moon if you were wondering, but I sure thought she was going to!
I have caught myself riding during a full moon often and generally by accident.
Once with R. We were riding bare back. The moon kept us from realizing how late it was. We got caught on film by the game camera. This was also when Cheetah was pregnant.
It happened another time with a another friend, K, in early high school I guess. Man that was a great weekend. We literally rode horses the whole time. Only stopped to eat and switch horses. We decided to go on one last ride that day in the big pasture back behind the barn. It was later than we normally would have started for a typical sunset ride, but we figured we could just make it a short ride. The sunset set the sky on fire with every color you could imagine as we set off and we just kept going.
We stopped talking long enough to realize we could not go any further and that it was past dark. Oops. But not really dark. That is when we saw the moon. Lighting our way back home. It was literally a flashlight in the dark. We could see everything and the horses were having as much fun as we were. We would have kept going except for hearing my father’s call to us from the barn when we finally got back within ear shot. Sorry, Pops.
Anyway. Kind of random. Seems to be the theme for the week. I love the moon, but I am glad the full moon is behind us now that we are about to head across the state for a riding vacation! No goofy behavior! Knock on wood. I am all packed and ready. I have a couple things yet to pack for my Lito man, but other than that and loading it all in the trailer, we are good to go! Knock on wood. Fingers crossed Lito still has all four shoes.
We strike out tomorrow morning for the first leg of our journey. I will try to check in at least once before I am out of pocket for the whole of next week. Jealous? I know you are.
Check back for a full photo report upon my return! If you missed last year’s, click here!
OK, while we are not technically still in summer, around these parts, we basically only have summer and winter.
A normal pattern, one that we have not really seen consistently for quite some time due to drought, is afternoon showers. Lovely, lovely showers. Thanks Gulf of Mexico!
I might be one of the few down here who welcomes these afternoon showers since a little event named Harvey, but they really have been nice. Every afternoon we have had a little rain storm that makes the best background noise and cools the evening down. The air gets clean. Days like these I really wish I lived at the farm.
But I digress.
I get home from work and take Darcy out and then change out of my work clothes. Usually, that is when it starts raining.
Both yesterday and today I cleaned, did laundry, and cooked with the soundtrack of summer. Exciting sounding to an outsider I know, but I find such beauty in the everyday of it. So relaxing and dependable.
Life has been so busy and hectic lately with Harvey and trying to get back to ‘normal’ (something inconceivable even today for some victims of the storm) and my upcoming trip.
On the menu tonight…or sometime this week, depending on what R prefers…roasted tomato and vegetable soup. Tomatoes, onions, peppers, peppers, peppers, butternut squash, garlic, and a ton of herbs…sage, thyme, rosemary, and basil. All roasted together in the oven and then combined in a stock pot, that my Grandmother gave me, with chicken stock to summer. Blended together and presto. An amazing soup.
I am already enjoying a margarita. A classic for me.
I have the robo vacuum going upstairs and it sounds like it is dragging a dead body around.
But. Darcy girl is apparently hungry, so I must bend to her will.
This morning I woke up at 4 AM to catch a flight for an out of town meeting. The good thing about this kind of situation is that the earlier the meeting starts, the sooner you get back…right?
Today, that was the case.
Meeting ended on time, slightly early actually. I got to the airport and secured a seat on an earlier flight. Every minute counts for Friday traffic and my need to get away from civilization.
I don’t know what it was about today, but somehow the traffic was not all that bad. I got home from the airport, grabbed my bags, loaded Darcy Doolittle and we were on our way and arriving at the farm in no time.
We got here, took a deep breath, and walked out to the horses. No better thing. To smell the scent of horse and the freshness the end of a thunderstorm brings all while listening to them lazily crop the summer grass.
Quite idyllic if you can ignore the mosquitos.
But forget I said that. Focus on the rest.
After I brought the horses in, I poured myself a long overdue glass of wine and went out to soak in the last of the sunset.
Just in time.
I just figured I would share it with you!
It reminds me of a time I went fishing. My whole family was already there on the coast. I was one of the last to show. I sent my Darcy dog with my parents, when they left earlier. I caught a late flight after work. I showed up, grabbed my rod, and headed for the dock. Fishing in your work clothes. Excuse me, catching in your work clothes! I will tell you, it is oddly satisfying.
Early morning is my time. For starters, I am physically incapable of sleeping in. That whole mental alarm clock thing. To actually sleep until 7AM without waking is a luxury I do not often experience.
Waking up early is easy for me, especially when I am at the farm or am somewhere where I am going to ride. And you all know how I feel about sunrises. Rousing myself for work? Not so easy. I am still awake, just can’t seem to make myself get out of bed.
I am sure I have told all of you this before, but when I do actually get out of bed at my usual early time, I never feel better. I get to have my time. Quiet reflection in a quiet world besides the percolation of the coffee pot, the clink of Darcy’s collar tags, and nature’s morning stirring noises.
The first thing I do is take my pup outside. We are generally always by ourselves. No lights are on in my neighbor’s windows. It feels almost as if we have the whole place to ourselves.
Back inside, Darcy gets a drink of water while I pour myself a mug full of coffee adorned with honey and milk.
That is my favorite mug. It has a gingerbread man on it. It’s comforting and happy. I like happy.
Then, I sit. Sometimes I watch the news. Well, more often not these days…too depressing and well I don’t know…sometimes I watch my latest Netflix obsession. Sometimes I read.
Today I was going to read, but then I decided, I should write to you! So, here I am. And there you are.
Now with R being evacuated from her home and living with me while it gets repaired (thanks Harv, for doing that to my friend), our mornings are a bit more exciting. Darcy loves having someone else in the house. When R starts to stir, she shoots up the stairs with the most energetic of good mornings. If only she could speak! That usually envokes a play session and then we are off to get ready for the day.
On this particular morning, work is on my mind. I typically am trying to think of anything but. However, my job is changing a little.
When I was first told, I freaked out a little. Hello, change. My mind went in a whirlwind with questions. What does it mean for me and my position in the company? Am I the right person? What does it mean for compensation? How fast will this happen? I don’t want my life to be that complicated! I have responsibilities here!
Simply and remarkably, Holy Spirit showed up in usual form. Still amazes me. Anyway, the question posed was this…why are you scared?…
I am scared? Am I? How did you know that? Fear of the unknown. Old friend. Not logical, rational, or from the Lord. AHAmoment.
The simple fact is, while I now have this new ‘role,’ it is early days. We are feeling it out. We will figure it out along the way. We. If at any time it is not right, that is OK. It has the potential to be big. I should be excited. I get to learn something new and meet new people. I am excited.
