A Little Anxiety Anyone?!?!?

 

Oh look! I made a "puppy" for Robin out of a bit of her shedding fur. It's what an artist does when she's so overcome by generalized anxiety... Couldn't fall back to sleep last night. I wonder why?!??!?

F'rinstance (and in no particular order, although I could clear my throat and sing this litany to the tune of "My Favorite Things"):

*The upcoming ELECTION (only 5 days a way)... Aaaauuugh!!!!!

*A full moon.

*Mercury (continuing to be) retrograde (until Nov 4th. It figures; day after the election)

*COVID 19. Have we forgotten about the pandemic?!?!?

*Lousy stinkin' weather. Will it ever stop raining?!? (After a droughty summer!)

*Will they extend my unemployment benefits?

*Will I  ever be able to show my (art) work again?

*What's for dinner???!!?

*Did mention the upcoming election?!?

So you get the idea: just your typical, run-of-the-mill anxiety. Nothing to see here!

Mercury (Always) Retrograde

 

What could be a better antidote to the current incarnation of Mercury Retrograde than two charming equine friends sharing lunch at BobnRita's All You Can Eat Buffet? Look at that near perfect imagining of the Peaceful Kingdom. And as Mercury has gone so spastically retrograde, I sought solace in the company of Horse Number1 and Horse Number 2.

I was truly having a lousy day, having received two (2!!) notifications that my unemployment claim had been hacked, my cell phone plan is almost up (and they're playing inconsistent pricing and the fucking cell phone won't let me pick up when the phone rings!!), and I missed several call from a doctor's office (I walked into the clothes line late at night and clocked myself in the eye...) and neither pair of pants I ordered fit. (Same size but one pair waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to big and the other waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small!) I decided to play with Neko instead.

Here's Horse Number 1: Hello Maggie!

So I drag all my gear out to the pasture (saddle, helmet, bridle, grooming box etc etc) and approach Neko saying all manner of sweet nothings and pleasantries (such as, "What a good horsey!! Come here my pretty girl!") and she takes one look at me, throws the stink eye and ducks behind Maggie. I think, "Haha! Silly pony! You can't escape me! I'll just catch Maggie and you'll follow her!"

Hahaha! Silly Rita! Maggie caught the "I don't want to get caught either" bug and trotted up the hill with Neko trailing her. Then the fun really broke out as every time I approached the pack of two horses- now fully enjoying their game of catch-me-if-you-can, they took off at a brisk canter (Neko) and a wonky, wobbly lope (Maggie). And around and around we all went.

Needless to say, by this point I was sweating and furious, but still trying to hide it. I even carried a horse food pan around, hoping to trick one of them into being lured by the (empty) promise of grain.  But by the time they had sailed by me 90 times at 90 miles an hour, I was done. I responded by encouraging them in their game of Rawhide with much yelling and whooping and driving them forward. (*1)  I cracked my whip and hooted and hollered, terrifying poor Bob who later confessed he had heard the commotion and prudently stayed away. Robin joined in at the fence line, woofing and running and generally enjoying this display of pandemonium. I finally had had it. I left the field, feeling utterly defeated by Mercury and a pair of very naughty horses.

Here's Horse #2: Neko. The main culprit who got it all started: (And boy does she like to eat!!)

I went out to the field later to see how my criminal pair was doing- and if they'd ever let me near them again. Well, two very contrite ponies met me at the fence and came right up and allowed themselves to be caught and brushed and have their toes picked out, all the while staring at me with adoring, dewy eyes.(*2) I had to laugh.

And yesterday when I went to work with Neko she didn't give me trouble at all when I went to catch her. Stood like a charm and followed me around like a puppy. I trust that this is the sort of behavior I can expect in the future!! (*3)

(*1) Yes, I KNOW this was probably entirely the wrong thing to do, but I was playing off the old "keep their feet moving" theory of horse work. The lead or alpha horse pushes the other horse(s) around by driving them away from food etc and keeping them moving.

(*2) So I know I'm projecting; I don't really believe that horses feel remorse for naughty behavior, but it made me feel better.

(*3) Not likely!

'Tis the Season

 As you may have noticed, I am seriously interested in politics and especially this upcoming presidential election as democracy itself is on the line. And with COVID 19 on the rise (again), the issue of voting is increasingly fraught as so many obstacles present: who wants to risk voting in person (and perhaps standing in line for hours and hours as seen in some states with early voting?!*(1) and get sick, the rethuglicans are threatening to intimidate those that show up to vote in person, the US Postal Service is under attack and being messed up by... you guessed it! rethuglicans and (once more) rethuglicans are removing ballot boxes and polling stations in some states and putting out phony ballot boxes in others (like California: and they're putting them at churches and gun shops(!?!?)

So it stands to reason that Bob and I- taking no chances and trusting nothing to fate- sent out our requests for absentee ballots in a timely fashion. Most of our friends also requested their ballots and have voted, too. So Bob's ballot appeared about and a half  week ago; he signed it and drove it to the town hall and deposited it in the secure ballot drop box. I checked the mail box the next day, and the next day, thinking maybe they mailed the ballots out alphabetically and me being a "V", I was later in line. But a week went by and I'm starting to think, "Hello! Me of all people! I'm constantly haranguing friends to vote early and I'm not getting my ballot. Maybe they put me on a "Do Not Let her Vote" List." Yesterday, I finally called the town hall and they agreed I should have received one as it had been sent out like two weeks ago!

This morning, I went to the town hall in person and had to sign a request for a replacement ballot. The irony, of course, is that I had to put in an appearance and I've been seriously trying to minimize the time I spend in public. I filed the form and then asked that they give me the ballot so I could fill it out RIGHT NOW, which I did as I had no need to reconsider for whom I was voting. 

I asked for am "I Voted" sticker but they didn't have any so I'll have to make my own.

So... I VOTED!! But I did have to work at it...

*(1) And leave it to me to wonder where do you go take a pee if you're standing in line for hours at a time?!? That's a major concern!

Pleasant Pictures Amidst Turmoil and Despair

 

I'm not even being facetious about my blog title this time around. This blog posting is going to be a visual interlude; a swan song to summer and an appreciation of flowers on this chilly, rainy October day. Above, brilliant sky blue plumbago, blooming it's proverbial pants off on our kitchen table. Such an amazing color! It's almost enough to make us forget that the consequential presidential election is a mere 22 days. Yikes!!!!!! Wait, wasn't this post supposed to be soothing pictures of flowers?

And look at the fiery vibrancy of our good friend Roberts's "Caliente" dahlias? Coupled with lime green coleus (I believe that's "Wasabi") and the equally lemon/lime leaves and red seed pods of "Jewels of Opar (Talinum) it's a pop of much needed color in the house as summer fades. And alas! Most of our dahlias have already died in an early frost; Roberta's garden is only 15 minutes south but much warmer. The heat of these beautiful blooms almost eliminates the chill I'm feeling when contemplating the possibility of four more years of The Orange Menace, steering us towards death, destruction, mayhem and NO!!!!!

Here's a small and innocent group of the last marigolds from the cut flower garden. I like to offer up a small arrangement to the residents of my dragon shrine. Maybe they bring us good luck? I sure hope so because we sure as fuck need good luck! Over 212,000 people dead of COVID 19 and no end in sight of isolation and social distancing and mask wearing and STOP!!!!

Okay, okay: I promise to end on a note of simple, glorious eruption of color. Asters! One of my absolute favorite type of flower. They're so late and yet sport pinks and purples and powdery lavender blue that I might more readily associate with spring. They're tall and wild and smell like hay fields and they billow in explosions of end of season exuberance. Just as I give up on the garden and  dread the approach of winter and try to think of next year's garden... Ta Da!! the asters explode and prolong what remains of this season. See? I kept my word and ended in a better frame of mind... Just keep thinking "flowers".

Nu Horz

 

OMG! Suddenly- after much anticipation and delay- Candy/Candy/Nico/Neko*(1) is here! I feel like I'm hallucinating... She's so laid back, so zen, so chill; she got off loaded from the trailer and we put her in her pasture and she fell right to eating. Good girl!!

Meanwhile, "Horse Number One" aka Maggie is carefully sequestered on the other side of the fence*(2) and her eyes are bulging out of her head:

She's like, "Who's that and where did she come from?!??!!?!" Hopefully, they become fast friends and live happily ever after. I will be keeping them separated for about a week. If they seem accepting of each other that's great. If they don't... well tough! Life may be a bit more complicated for the near future but isn't that what makes life fun? Just wait until grain feeding time... then the excitement will really begin.

Anyway, I'm sort of surprised that Robin hasn't seemed to notice that we have a new horse or has decided that all horses look alike or something because (atypically) she is not barking. Glad some one else is low key; my head is still reeling that we*(3) now own two horses.

That's Maggie thinking things over. I trust she will like having pasture company in the form of another equine pal. She hasn't seen one of her own kind in a while. I have been letting her smell my hands and clothes when I come back from riding but this is an escalation. 

At least the arrival of Horse Number Two (they're now like those multiple wives of sultans) has kept me from obsessing over the endless parade of crazy news. NOT!! See *(4) below.

*(1) Although officially, her name is Neko... by popular demand.

*(2) I'm thinking of the old adage, "Good fences make good neighbors". Hahahhaha: Get it? "Good NEIGH-bors"?!

*(3) Thoughtfully including Bob in my insanity.

*(4) And speaking of insanity, how about the entire rethuglican party deciding to go all positive for the virus? Does that surprise anyone? No masks, no social distancing... what a bunch of losers!