Saturday

No riding for me, although the weather cleared up beautifully by 5. When I got to the farm, J's granddaughter came running out. She's about 10, and very sweet, but she's not a farm kid. She was excited to see the horses, though.

And of course, she wanted to ride if I was going to. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any idea of what is and is not a good idea - running under them has evidently happened in the past. (gulp!) But with the rest of the horses in the lot, I figured it would be safe enough to give her a ride around the pasture on Sunny. At least that way, there'd be only one set of hooves for her to end up under.

When she saw Sunny standing there with just his halter on she was a little doubtful. Apparently, you need to have a saddle to keep from falling off the horse, and he also needed a metal thing in his mouth to keep the him from biting.


And she wasn't sure she wanted to try without both of those. So I hopped on and demonstrated that it was possible a) not to fall off, and b), that I didn't get bitten.

And she really did want to ride. Several squeaks and shrieks later, she was up, with a big grin on her face. Bless Sunny, he stood very patiently while we figured out the logistics of getting her on. He likes kids, and doesn't ever seem to mind when they make odd noises - but thank goodness he's not any taller!


We walked a few slow laps around the field while J took pictures.

Sunny got plenty of pats and praise for being a good boy. So that was my ride for the evening. Better luck today, I hope!

Packing

Not much time for horses today. Classes started Monday, so we're back on fall hours at the library and open on evenings & weekends. Thursday is my regular evening to work, which would ordinarily mean a full, uninterrupted afternoon of Sunny-time.

But sadly, today is also M's next to last day with us here in SD. He'll head back to his mom out East on Saturday, so we spent the afternoon collecting clothes & digging out the big suitcase. Tomorrow we'll be packing in earnest - although the way the airlines are charging for luggage, I'm tempted to UPS the whole kit & caboodle!

T didn't have any classes until tonight, so the three of us, T, M & I, finished up our running game of Rodeopoly after lunch. (M won, told you he's a shark!) Actually, we broke the bank and called the game on account of lack of money. But with $6K plus in cash and multiple "gold buckle" properties - well, let's just say the kid's a tycoon in the making :)

Since T's teaching, M came to the library with me to hang out while his sister stayed home to work on homework (her choice). She's staying here with us this school year, and so far seems to be settling in well. She was excited for the first day, and very enthused about the middle school's laptop program. We'd love to have M stay, too, but his mom's not wanting a completely empty house - and who can blame her! It just echoes here when the kids are gone.

Splitting the kids up isn't ideal, but the middle school here has a more stable environment. (No horses involved, unfortunately.) It's also close enough she can walk to school, and with two of us at home to present a united front, there's a bit more supervision and less opportunity for rule-bending. (I have the utmost respect for responsible single mothers who lack the support system of a family network to support them, and who cope with multiple children - how they manage, I have no idea. I'd crack.)

So, this will be the first time H & M will have been separated for any length of time. H says she's looking forward to being an only child - but I think that's at least partially a put on. M wants to stay too, and we'd love to have him, as well, but....

Anyway, long-story-short, my horse-time this afternoon consisted of a head check, fly-spraying and a few pats & scratches, but I can't begrudge the family time, either. Saturday evening and/or (hopefully AND - I'm crossing my fingers for AND!) Sunday I've promised myself some quality hours with the four-feets.