amywink February 16th, 2010
Actually, it was our first drive since the last weekend of November, 2009! The weather has been horrendous and rain, rain, rain has kept the fields muddy muddy muddy. We had a break this weekend. Saturday was nice and Sunday morning I decided that we had to drive, even if it was just down the caliche road. We had a window of good weather before the cold front was supposed to move in late Sunday afternoon so Lisa and I got busy and got to driving.
It was great to be back “behind the reins” and both horses were complete champs. Like we hadn’t missed a day of our regular driving schedule. Will was a little speedy in his trot but he responded well to my hands and never got too heady for his own good. He jumped a bit when the hens cackled as we drove by but again, came right back to me. It was another milestone, our first drive after a long lay off of 2 and a half months. I expected more fireworks and rodeo but we just had a nice calm drive and I think both of us really enjoyed it.
Here he is sporting his Christmas buckle-nose halter, a gift from his herd.
The buckle-nose worked great for harnessing and I really think it looks quite fashionable as well. I’m calling it his “dress halter”. He has gained a little weight in his time off and we had to let out his harness a tad in the false martingale and the girth but I’m sure we’ll work it off as we get back to business. He had plenty of energy and wasn’t breathing hard when we finished and he even looked pleased about the day.
It was also a very big day for Cookie who had her first Carriage Dog lesson. She’s quite the charmer and seems to enjoy the attention.
About 3:30 we noticed the skies darkening in the northwest as the front approached, the clouds rolled in quick and the front arrived with fierce winds that excited the horses. They dashed about their pasture wildly and Will seems to be thinking “Wheeeeeeeeeeeee”
By the time I got to the gate, the blue skies were gone and clouds were racing in on the cold air:
But all that mattered to me was the wonderful drive we’d finally squeezed in. I hope we can get back to our regular driving schedule as we approach the spring.
amywink December 31st, 2009
My favorite holiday of the year is New Year’s, and the week leading up the the new. I try to take a positive look on what I accomplished during the last year and think about what I hope to move toward accomplishing in the next year. I don’t make resolutions, but rather think about goals and aspirations, writing down things I’d like to consider for the new year. This year, I am also try to take a long look back, especially since this past year was a “5 year” mark on several things I’d aspired to do.
The course to accomplishing many of those goals was a complete surprise. I never imagined I’d be able to spend my summer working at Haven Hill, learning as much as I could about driving and horses, and in tandem, learning as much about myself in the process. But that experience (and all the amazing people I’ve met through this new hobby) is what made driving Will at Agarita on our 5th anniversary entirely possible. And with that experience, I now have what I hope to be the makings of an interesting book–something that was not on the horizon 5 years ago!–which I plan to begin writing in 2010.
The book that was on the horizon then is now in print as Tandem Lives: The Frontier Texas Diaries of Henrietta Baker Embree and Tennessee Keys Embree, 1856-1884.. The publication in April 2009 was a long awaited event and I am looking forward to the presentation and book signing in March 2010. That project was also full of Providential surprises, including the eventual discovery of the original diaries. . . . or, I should say, the eventual discovery of *me* by the owner of the original diaries!
These accomplishments represent a interesting convergence: my own recovery of a long-desired and long-denied relationship with horses (a self denied) along with the completion of a writing project which I think of as both the end of the pursuit of academic writing– writing about self (auto), life (bio), writing (graphy)– and the beginning of writing for my own life. The resolution of each story line required a combination of sheer will and individual effort as well as many fortuitous events and unimagined blessings.
It is an interesting pairing, one which I hope will move me forward into the New Year and many more wonderful experiences.
amywink December 13th, 2009
Over the last week, we’ve had more rain, drizzle, fog and chilly temperatures. What we thought was muddy before pales in comparison to the mud we have now, a slick, gooey, black clay that looks just about ready for the potter’s wheel!
Will is Not Happy.
Popeye is a little more relaxed about the whole thing, preferring to think of the experience as an opportunity for a fine facial:
So, there won’t be any driving any time soon. It looks like December may just be a little vacation for the horses.
Luckily, Lisa has other entertainment opportunities inside: puppies!!!!!!
Her Jack Russell “Biscuit” is the proud and weary mother of 4 of the most darling examples of puppyhood: Sopapilla, Sourdough, Strudel, and Cookie. So we spent the afternoon playing with puppies, which is a pretty good runner up to driving.
Be Not Afraid of Cuteness!!
