Shiny

That was what the road looked like yesterday. (It stormed all day Tuesday, but nothing melted Wednesday because the high was all of 30' with a gray ceiling and lots of wind.  Brrr!)  I didn't get out for a walk until mid-morning yesterday when the temp finally cracked the freezing mark.

See the hail stones? That's sort of the median-large end of the size range.  There were a few closer to golf ball size, but most of them were more like the marbles we used to call shooters in elementary school.  Or big ball bearings.  Glad we were on the edge of the storm - it was a lot nastier up north, from what I hear.  But it was finally melting by the time I got home from my walk.

Now for the exciting moment of my day:

No, Rattle has not started taking steroids and going to the beauty parlor.  Mr. Bobcat was sitting calmly in front of one of the outbuildings yesterday evening when I happened to look out the kitchen window.  After a mad scramble for my camera (Verbatim exchange with my mother-in-law - I was on the phone when I spotted him. Me, "Holy crap, there's a bobcat in the yard!"  ML, "Well you'd better go then.  Do you have a gun?"  Me, "No, but I've got a camera!")

I took a couple pictures through the window, then decided to push my luck and see if I could stand in the front doorway without scaring him.  Unfortunately that put him behind a vehicle from where I was standing, so I eased over until I could see better.  Opening the door made noise, and he'd moved and was sitting just beyond that pile of limbs you can see in the picture above.  Then he got up and trotted off out of sight behind the building.  Too cool!

Maybe if we already had chickens I'd be worried, but he didn't seem interested in Squeak and Silence - they were out by the old chicken house - and the cats are the only small critters around.  At a guess, he'd probably weigh in about 35-40 lbs, so too small to take on a whole horse.  But I wouldn't want to be a pack rat or a rabbit!  Sure hope I see keep seeing him now and then.

The ponies were thrilled to be back out on grass this morning.  We all walked briskly up the hill and they waited, albeit impatiently for me to get all their halters stripped off before making a beeline out.

It's Derby Day! Have you picked your horse yet?

The horses are on their way to the paddock - everybody have your favorite selected?     My family, immediate and extended, always chooses a horse per person, and everyone antes a dollar.  I picked Union Rags earlier this week based on my usual system - I liked his face.  Turns out he's the favorite, which almost guarantees he won't win.  My track record is pretty unbroken in that regard!

I almost went with Daddy Long Legs, loved that book, but someone else picked him first. 

In the more ordinary horse world, not much has been going on the past week.  As directed, I've been doing stretching and bending exercises with Sunny daily.  It took him about 20 seconds to catch on to "touch" with the aid of the clicker, and now he'll stand planted, completely loose, and reach his neck around to touch his sides on request.  Both sides, too, which is an improvement.  And he's stepping across on both sides in back, as well.

On Thursday, in riding withdrawal, I couldn't resist and hopped on Thunder bareback with just a halter and lead and we tooled around the pasture for a bit.  Sunny watched and nickered at us, a bit baffled I think that he wasn't the one under me.

No lesson this week, as Eric headed for Minnesota's Sahara Sands Arabian show with a trailer load.

This morning I woke up to grey skies, ominous skies and shortly thereafter...

That was just the first wave - about half an hour later the sky delivered very enthusiastic reinforcements.

The rain gutters were overflowing.  Needless to say, the flowers I planted Thursday are flat, and since the flower bed I seeded last night looked like a baby river, I think it's safe to say if anything does come up it will all be at one end.

The windshields on both vehicles survived intact, thank goodness, although both hoods have some nice dings.  But the really important thing is the horses came through just fine.  From the looks of the trees as I drove out to check, I think the storm came through just far enough north that the worst of the hail missed them.

Looks like the riders are up, so I'm going to call this a post - Happy Racing, Everyone!