book suggestions for my writing retreat?

Whenever I go away to write, I like to take a new, knock-my-socks off novel to read while I'm away. I know some writers steer clear of reading while they work, but I never stop reading novels. And when I'm off in a special space to write, I love having something amazing to read when I need a break.

So... I'm just finishing up Leif Enger's newest novel So Brave, Young, and Handsome. I like it as much as I did his first novel, Peace Like A River.

Next in my pile is Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. I'm looking forward to reading it but am not sure it's the right book to take along.

Another possibility is a re-read of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

There's a wonderful indie bookstore where I'm going, so there will also be the opportunity to browse and just happen onto a good novel.

Any suggestions? Best reads of 2008 you want to share? Old favorites I might not have read? I'd love to have a list to choose from!

post-chiro notes

We have three very happy geldings who are all pro-chiropractic clients. They all had their own response to the adjustments.

Cody: Okay, I like being first in line, ahead of the Big Bay, but this is very weird. But it feels good. But ow, that's tender! But it feels good. Whoa! Whew! Thanks, Keil Bay, for giving me moral support over your stall door.

He raised his head when she started each adjustment, but immediately lowered it, licking and chewing, when each was finished. He had a lot going on, all on the right side, and I'm so relieved everything matched up with the sore leg from last week. He's off work until Saturday.

Keil Bay: What took you so long to get here? Why did I have to wait so long once you got here? Would you please just get right to the pelvic area and fix that little joint that's out? Okay, that's nice. All better, I think I'm set to go. No, wait, you want to do some more? Okay. Hmmm. That's nice too. But I'm all better now, so I need to go back to my grazing. Oh, there's more? Okay. Oh, that is REALLLLY nice. May I just stop for a moment and say thank you? Are you SURE you're done?

Keil is the most demonstrative horse I've ever known. He is very aware of his body and where the issues are, and he doesn't hesitate to show you exactly where things need work, if you only listen. When she finally got to the final adjustment, she put her arms around his neck and did something that looks very much like a bouncy hug, and he looked at me over her shoulder with the most amazing expression. I can't believe I have to let her do this, but okay, I'll deal with it. His big long sigh of relief at the very end told the whole story. He too is off work until Saturday.

Apache Moon: This is not my favorite thing but whatever. I will stand here. But do you see that my ears are slightly back? One wrong move with those hands and I'll... oh dear, that is very NICE. Hmmm. Well, you'd better watch... oh. Wow. Done already? No, please, not yet! Oh, wait, that leaning thing. My favorite part. Yeah, that is HEAVEN. No, my eyes aren't closed, I just have a very long blink going on. It doesn't mean I like... oh, don't stop yet. What? It's OVER already?

He is so funny. All pony power and Thelwell attitude but underneath the veneer he is a sweetheart who just begs for a big hug. He will enjoy his airs above the ground even more now that those two pesky ribs are back in place.

Salina neighed when the vet drove away. What? Come back! You forgot to do me!

You are first in line next month, Salina, dear.


*******

We had another good inch of rain last night, and more predicted for today. It's wonderful to have this much rain. The sunshine in between and a breeze helps dry things out a bit and gives all the plants what they need to grow. The ground has a spongy feel that hasn't been there in over a year. The front field is resting since last Saturday, and we'll give it another 4-5 days. With all this rain and sun the grass is growing almost visibly. The horses are already lining up at that gate, hoping it's The DAY.

On another note, I was invited to join a group blog comprised of local riders who want some group support in meeting their riding goals. I had the best time reading through the posts last night, and am planning to join. They post pictures and video and fine details of their rides and lessons. It's not only support but a wealth of information. I'm excited.

And finally, the Equine Extravaganza is in town this weekend. Daughter and I plan to go on Saturday and enjoy all the seminars and demonstrations, not to mention the vendors. :)

Next week I'll be heading off to a writing retreat Thursday - Tuesday and I am more than excited about that. I'm right on target with the edit I wanted to get done before heading off to retreat - which I'll begin by reading through the entire novel, and doing what I hope is a final big edit. I'll let it sit (and give it to several readers) until the last week in August, re-read, make any last changes, and query right after Labor Day.

One more note after morning chores:

Keil Bay was much more patient this morning and although he did toss his halter while I prepared breakfast tubs, he did not bang the door. All three geldings had big swinging walks and soft eyes.

playing horse fairy

This afternoon I decided to play horse fairy. I went out to check on everyone in the barn at 2, horse cookies in hand, and Salina and Rafer Johnson were waiting in their stall for the treat. The geldings had wandered out to the back field, so I set their cookies aside and mucked, topped off waters and hay in mangers, and got tarps ready for shavings.

The geldings usually come in if they see me at the barn, but after all the rain we've been having (as of tonight, over 6 inches in a week's time!) they are glad to be out in the sunshine. So out they stayed.

That was when I decided to be the horse fairy. I fixed the hay in their mangers so the top surface was flat, and right in the middle I put two horse cookies for each one.

Keil Bay, who can sniff out a horse fairy from miles away, came sauntering up to the barn and found his cookies. The expression on his face was priceless.

Around 4:30 I went out and found it pretty muggy, so I decided to offer hosings. Keil Bay was first in line, but then he sidetracked himself into the big barnyard. Cody was second (not the norm, and he may have wanted company more than the hosing) in line, so he and I went into the small barnyard and situated ourselves with a pile of hay, some fresh water, and the hose, under the shade of the big pin oak.

Cody is fine with being hosed, but he doesn't love it like the other horses do. I decided to turn the hosing into a game where he was in total control of the flow of water. I hosed until he indicated he wanted me to stop, and during those moments, turned the hose into a water fountain. He loves that part of hosing, so that became the fun, safe part that magically happened each time he let me know he needed a break. I lowered the hose so he could lower his head to the "fountain" and let him nibble the water and lip the nozzle. When he had calmed himself that way, we proceeded with more hosing. The interesting thing is that he allowed me to gently hose his entire face today, and he actively sought out the water when he'd been given the chance to "play" with the fountain first. He also let me do an impromptu sheath cleaning, which again, he tolerates, but it's not usually something he relaxes into. Today he did. Each time he shifted his hind leg, I went back to the fountain.

After the hosing was done, I sat in a chair beneath the tree and just hung out with him for awhile. It wasn't long before I saw Keil Bay's nose in the crack of the barn doors, asking for his turn. So they traded places.

Keil Bay needs no game to make hosing fun. He loves it. He stood and got his turn, then hiked one hind leg out and into the air, which appeared to be his request for a sheath cleaning. He has never done that before, but when I checked, he needed it, so on we went. Then he grazed while I watched from then chair. By that point, the pony was banging on the gate asking for his turn, so Keil Bay went to the other side of the barn with Cody, and Apache Moon came in for his hosing.

He used to really dislike being hosed, and for awhile we thought he just didn't like the water. As it turns out, Apache Moon loves being hosed, but he really needs to be free when you do it. He stands facing the hose, and then pirouettes in a circle so you can get every part of him. When he's done, he marches straight up to the hose and takes the nozzle in his mouth. All done!

Salina came up to the edge of the barnyard and asked for her turn. I took the hose into her paddock and gave her a rinse. Rafer Johnson took one look at the water and went to the far end of the paddock, then into the stall. We respect his choice to stay dry. :)

The hosing got the excess fly spray off (the oil-based spray can get heavy after a few days of applications) and cooled them down, and was a wonderful way to spend the hot part of the day. I was, of course, as wet as the horses!

Tonight we had another thunderstorm so they were in from 7 until 9 p.m. After the rain was done (and the thunder and lightning) I opened the arena and let them in, and in the soft glow of our arena light (I think we are close to needing a new bulb!) they marched around and stretched their muscles. The night creatures were making a huge din after the rainfall, and the pristine arena footing gradually revealed hoof prints of all the horses. I walked around and tracked them, noting the imprints of their frogs and the basic shapes of their feet, as well as how they're tracking up. This is one of my favorite ways of checking hoof structure and movement. It's especially nice in the cool of night with all of them milling around, coming up to say hello, and continuing on their paths.

I highly recommend taking some time to play and surprise and just be with your horses. I came in feeling the same way I feel after massage or a swim. Totally relaxed.

out of whack

I woke up this morning with an out of whack perspective. Everything seemed not right, not good enough, too much, overwhelming. I walked out to the barn and felt like I might drop flat to the ground from all the things that needed to be done: more, better, differently.

The odd thing is that everything is the same today as it was yesterday, and the day before that.

I still have chigger bites. About 35 of them. The shavings pile is still low. New shavings delivery was scheduled last week for early this week. The horses hooves are packed with damp earth the same way they are every morning after a huge rain. The world is still full of midsummer insects that bite and sting. Our internet was out again, after a power outage yesterday evening. Nothing dramatic had changed in my world.

The only thing that shifted is my own perception. It truly felt like this little world I live in, the one I often write about with great joy and bliss, had become tilted in some way.

This is no great revelation - it's happened before, and will again, but there is always the need to remind myself that things have not gone to hell in a handbasket. It's my view of them that has tilted.

I don't know what actually causes it. It could be biochemical, hormonal, or energetic. Or all of the above.

I did morning chores, and came in for a shower. Our massage therapist was due at noon, and we honored the commitment we both made to Keil Bay last time - that we would be quiet and go slow for his massage. He was a fidgeting mess the first third of the massage. He finally settled down when she got to his back end. The final two thirds of his body he stood in a trance, licking and chewing, eyes glazed over with endorphin rush.

He has some body issues right now. I wish I could solve the puzzle for him, but mostly he seems content. I suspect the homeopathic constitutional is layering back through some medical issues from his past. We move forward together, one day at a time.

Today, after his massage, he panther walked to the water trough, got a long drink, and then headed out to the back field where he promptly rolled and then set to grazing. It was obvious that all was just fine in Keil Bay's world.

Due to the chiggers, which I Freudian-slipped and called "chives" - chiggers plus hives equal chives??? - we opted to do a 30-minute chair massage for me instead of the usual long hot stone massage.

Initially I was tight through the shoulders, which felt like Keil Bay's tension I'd picked up while standing with him during his body work. I talked for a few minutes but at some point I just disappeared. I had the sensation of leaving my body and then sliding back into it. But I was no longer "me." I was a turtle!

I was a turtle whose shell felt out of alignment. Something about the neck and the place where the shell hinges was off. I turned my turtle head back and forth and felt the tightness where the shell wasn't right.

Then suddenly I was on the beach. Back to my regular self, lying wrapped in a sheet in the sun. H's hands were warm like the sand, and the fans in the barn were the surf. There was something quite like an ocean breeze blowing through the barn aisle. I smelled the air and the sea and enjoyed the ambiance. The ocean has always been a healing place for me - the salt water, the warm sand, the mesmer-sound of surf and gulls. I was right there.

H. got to the end of the chair massage with a wisping touch I recognized as the final one. I breathed, thinking how nice it was to end my massage on the beach. But suddenly I was back in the turtle shell. And i realized that as relaxed as I was, the shell was still not right. I turned my head back and forth again. And suddenly H. put her hands right at the base of my neck, on the upper shoulders, right on the part of the shell that was pushing wrong. She put fairly intense pressure on that area and the shell clicked into place.

When she asked "how are you?" I came back to my body. Everything was right again.

The turtle image was so amazingly perfect for how I felt. My little world off its hinge, then righted.

And my time on the beach was just heaven.

fire works

I was going to write about my own little 4th of July stresses and how one neighbor did indeed manage to set off fireworks but was thwarted repeatedly by a thunderstorm rolling through.

But when I checked email this morning I found one from friend and fellow writer Joseph Gallo, whose tale of July 4th gave me some insights that I think we all might benefit from.

Go to his blog Yarblehead and read his story.