I might be the last person to see this (we don't have TV) but it came through as a link on my classical dressage list and reminded me of Keil Bay (the king, you know) and then stuck with me as I posted about Tilikum and the huge group that enslaves him.
If I was technically savvy enough I'd take the words and music from the Chivas ad and put them with a Sea World clip of Tillikum in his tank and broadcast it far and wide.
But in any case, here it is.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
more on Tilikum, the sperm whale at Sea World
Yesterday I noticed a tremendous spike in the visits to camera-obscura - huge numbers, out of the blue. I investigated and discovered that the crowds were coming from Google searches for Tilikum and sperm collection.
You may remember that I heard a story on NPR several months back that so incensed me I wrote a blog post about it. You can go back and read it HERE.
Apparently, and who knew, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and I have something in common. We both find the fact that Tillikum is being held captive for use as a sperm bank unconscionable. We also find the method they are using to collect the sperm, as Tommy Lee put it, "sick and twisted."
Tommy Lee wrote a letter to Sea World. Perhaps we should all follow his example.
See the article HERE.
There is also a wonderful article of this on Psychology Today's blog. I hope everyone who comes here will read THIS and do something today to speak out about yet another example of humans using animals for gain even if it means a life of suffering for the animal.
******
Sheaffer has requested information on how to speak out on this issue. I'm searching and will add info as I find it online.
To start, here's an easy online letter you can send via PETA: CLICK HERE.
As best I can determine, Sea World is owned by Blackstone Corporation. Here is the info - write and mail, write and fax, or call! If I can find any email info, I will add it here later.
The Blackstone Group
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder
You may remember that I heard a story on NPR several months back that so incensed me I wrote a blog post about it. You can go back and read it HERE.
Apparently, and who knew, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and I have something in common. We both find the fact that Tillikum is being held captive for use as a sperm bank unconscionable. We also find the method they are using to collect the sperm, as Tommy Lee put it, "sick and twisted."
Tommy Lee wrote a letter to Sea World. Perhaps we should all follow his example.
See the article HERE.
There is also a wonderful article of this on Psychology Today's blog. I hope everyone who comes here will read THIS and do something today to speak out about yet another example of humans using animals for gain even if it means a life of suffering for the animal.
******
Sheaffer has requested information on how to speak out on this issue. I'm searching and will add info as I find it online.
To start, here's an easy online letter you can send via PETA: CLICK HERE.
As best I can determine, Sea World is owned by Blackstone Corporation. Here is the info - write and mail, write and fax, or call! If I can find any email info, I will add it here later.
The Blackstone Group
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder
345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10154
Phone:+1 212 583 5000
Fax: +1 212 583 5749
New York, NY 10154
Phone:+1 212 583 5000
Fax: +1 212 583 5749
Sunday, December 05, 2010
when we are old and gray
I was thinking of a favorite poem this weekend, by William Butler Yeats, which opens:
When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book
And slowly read...
And in my head it morphed to this:
When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And mucking out five stalls...
It reminded me of an older woman I saw once while with my daughter at a Pony Club activity. She could walk, but not easily, and two women around my age were helping her from the car to the barn. I imagined she might be one of the women's mother, come to see a horse, but after a while the women and two saddled horses came out of the barn, and with a fair amount of struggle, they helped the older woman mount. Then one of the other women mounted and the two rode off together. The older woman seemed happy, and her horse was frisky, but settled down as they rounded a curve in the path and disappeared.
Someone told me later that the older woman boarded her horse there, and although she was barely able to walk or mount, she often came out with various friends who agreed to help her and ride with her, because she was determined to keep riding as long as she could.
Sometimes, when I'm doing particularly difficult chores here on November Hill, I wonder what it might be like to manage things when I'm old and gray, and have to go more slowly, and more carefully than I do now.
I'm fortunate to have a husband who not only pitches in mightily on a daily basis, but is ten years younger than I am, and two children who I think will try to help as much as they can. But in the later years it could certainly be difficult for even an aged couple to do all the things that need doing.
I have in mind a retirement arrangement for horsewomen, where instead of struggling alone a group go in together, pooling resources so that everyone keeps their animals at "the home" and everyone pitches in to do what they can do. What can't be done could be hired out, which would be affordable if divided among the group. Wouldn't it be great for the grown children to know that aging parents have company and help and animals are safe and cared for?
Likely what set my mind on this course was the snow that fell here yesterday. We live in an area where the snow generally melts pretty quickly, but even one afternoon of trying to keep horses comfortable, especially Salina who can't go out on slippery footing but can't be stalled either due to her arthritic knees, set me thinking about my own body and abilities in the future.
While I walked around thinking about the future, the animals were all solidly in the present moment: horses and donkeys grazed their hay for half an hour as the snow fell, then made their way one by one to the barn where they went into clean, dry stalls full of hay. The Corgis ran wild, barking at the snow, Bear enjoying his very first snowfall ever. The Mystical Kit leaped into the air, capturing the snowflakes before they could hit the ground, and the other cats found baskets and boxes by the woodstove and poured themselves in like liquid fur.
I'd seen Keil Bay curl up like a kitten in the front field outside my window yesterday morning, soaking in the sun, as if he knew that later he would need that warmth. And last night, when we put blankets on, I realized that the first blanket I ever bought for Apache Moon, which was bought at the tack shop at the last minute on the day before a huge snowfall was forecast, and which was too big for him, now fits perfectly. I saved it as an extra all these years, but rarely used it because of how big it was. He's standing outside my window right this moment as I type, wearing the blanket, proving that I wasn't dreaming, or measuring wildly, when I taped him in October and discovered that he has grown an entire hand.
The snow is already gone, but we're in for a week of colder than usual temps for us. The wood stove is going strong, and I'm getting ready to take my daughter to a trail ride with her jumping classmates. While she rides out onto a 3000+ acre tract of trails, I'll sit in the truck and keep warm with a book.
The geldings just cantered past my window, reminding me that we are, for now, young and still full of beans on a cold morning.
When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book
And slowly read...
And in my head it morphed to this:
When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And mucking out five stalls...
It reminded me of an older woman I saw once while with my daughter at a Pony Club activity. She could walk, but not easily, and two women around my age were helping her from the car to the barn. I imagined she might be one of the women's mother, come to see a horse, but after a while the women and two saddled horses came out of the barn, and with a fair amount of struggle, they helped the older woman mount. Then one of the other women mounted and the two rode off together. The older woman seemed happy, and her horse was frisky, but settled down as they rounded a curve in the path and disappeared.
Someone told me later that the older woman boarded her horse there, and although she was barely able to walk or mount, she often came out with various friends who agreed to help her and ride with her, because she was determined to keep riding as long as she could.
Sometimes, when I'm doing particularly difficult chores here on November Hill, I wonder what it might be like to manage things when I'm old and gray, and have to go more slowly, and more carefully than I do now.
I'm fortunate to have a husband who not only pitches in mightily on a daily basis, but is ten years younger than I am, and two children who I think will try to help as much as they can. But in the later years it could certainly be difficult for even an aged couple to do all the things that need doing.
I have in mind a retirement arrangement for horsewomen, where instead of struggling alone a group go in together, pooling resources so that everyone keeps their animals at "the home" and everyone pitches in to do what they can do. What can't be done could be hired out, which would be affordable if divided among the group. Wouldn't it be great for the grown children to know that aging parents have company and help and animals are safe and cared for?
Likely what set my mind on this course was the snow that fell here yesterday. We live in an area where the snow generally melts pretty quickly, but even one afternoon of trying to keep horses comfortable, especially Salina who can't go out on slippery footing but can't be stalled either due to her arthritic knees, set me thinking about my own body and abilities in the future.
While I walked around thinking about the future, the animals were all solidly in the present moment: horses and donkeys grazed their hay for half an hour as the snow fell, then made their way one by one to the barn where they went into clean, dry stalls full of hay. The Corgis ran wild, barking at the snow, Bear enjoying his very first snowfall ever. The Mystical Kit leaped into the air, capturing the snowflakes before they could hit the ground, and the other cats found baskets and boxes by the woodstove and poured themselves in like liquid fur.
I'd seen Keil Bay curl up like a kitten in the front field outside my window yesterday morning, soaking in the sun, as if he knew that later he would need that warmth. And last night, when we put blankets on, I realized that the first blanket I ever bought for Apache Moon, which was bought at the tack shop at the last minute on the day before a huge snowfall was forecast, and which was too big for him, now fits perfectly. I saved it as an extra all these years, but rarely used it because of how big it was. He's standing outside my window right this moment as I type, wearing the blanket, proving that I wasn't dreaming, or measuring wildly, when I taped him in October and discovered that he has grown an entire hand.
The snow is already gone, but we're in for a week of colder than usual temps for us. The wood stove is going strong, and I'm getting ready to take my daughter to a trail ride with her jumping classmates. While she rides out onto a 3000+ acre tract of trails, I'll sit in the truck and keep warm with a book.
The geldings just cantered past my window, reminding me that we are, for now, young and still full of beans on a cold morning.
Friday, December 03, 2010
trim notes december 2010
Cody apparently had a small abscess blow recently in his right front! We never saw any soreness, lameness, or even slight offness. Trimmer says no treatment is needed - it is clear and healing already. My question is whether this might have been simmering in a low grade way and our turn-out routine brought it to a head, which imo would be a good thing. There's no way to know, but we'll keep watching and see how things go. Otherwise, his feet are fine.
Redford and Rafer Johnson have some thrush - we are probably going to treat them with CleanTrax to knock it out completely.
Salina has the most dramatic change this trim. Her concavity has gone from okay to great and all her frogs are particularly healthy. I definitely attribute this change to her increased movement in the turn-out routine, and to the diet change I made (from a senior mix 4x/day to an IR friendly mix 3x/day) - for the first time this fall I wondered if she might be getting slightly IR as she ages. I gave her a course of chaste-tree berry as we transitioned into fall, changed her diet, and increased the amount of turn-out. She is moving well and hooves are looking better than ever. Best news is that she is now able again to bend her knees for front hoof trims. I usually give her Bute the day before the trim only but have started a new course of treatment where I give her Bute am/pm Wed/Th/Fri then taper off with am/pm doses again on Sunday and Wed. I muddied the waters a bit by starting this at the same time I changed her diet and turn-out, so am not sure how necessary it is - but will tweak as needed and d/c the Bute if it turns out she doesn't need it for comfort during the trims. An additional note is that she used to do a minor amount of quidding with her hay, but I've noticed that has stopped - so between the fairly large amount of hay she's now eating (and chewing well) and the complete senior diet she was on, I suspect her trace mineral ratio was off - now I'm counting and balancing the hay for her, and this is likely making a difference too. A good example of how we must constantly monitor and be willing to tweak things with care and management.
Keil Bay's thrush is 95% better after his CleanTrax treatment. I may do one more treatment for him - would really like to see his frogs up front get to 100% - but he is moving well and not at all sore, so... will evaluate over the next couple of weeks and decide what to do. He also blew a section of hoof wall on his right rear - not sure if this is associated with his increased hoof wall growth this spring/summer/fall but my guess is again that the increased turn-out (which I should clarify - they now get access to the entire field about 20 hours/day, and their hay is spread all over the field so that they are in near constant movement as they forage and graze) has progressed the hoof wall "trimming" itself - our trimmer cleaned it up and his sole has created a thickened area to compensate. This should work itself out this next 6 weeks as his wall regrows.
Apache Moon has "great feet" as usual. You just can't improve much on pony hooves!
Very interesting hoof notes this time - I love seeing what happens when I make a big change in the care routine.
Some additional diet/nutrition notes I want to document for my own self here:
1. I added 10g lysine to both Keil Bay's diet and Salina's - several months ago - with excellent results. Then I switched the source of lysine and the results seemed to fade. Back to my original lysine source last week and I have seen another huge improvement in Salina's top line and overall condition. Her muscling looks fantastic right now - she easily looks 10-12 years younger.
2. I increased the copper and zinc levels I supplement to account for the new hay and for the pasture (heretofore not tested since we generally feed hay year-round) - this year we had a richer/longer season of grass and I am sure that threw my ratios off. I had noticed some bleaching of color in coats, which corrected itself incredibly quickly once I upped the copper and zinc.
3. Getting ready to put Salina on her winter course of Phyto-Quench, which eases her through the winter months.
4. Getting ready to add glutamine supplement for Cody after work only to help with his PSSM/muscling issues.
**I highly recommend Eleanor Kellon's online nutrition courses if you are interested in learning more about equine nutrition, supplementation, and treating various equine conditions with a good understanding of the whys and hows.
Redford and Rafer Johnson have some thrush - we are probably going to treat them with CleanTrax to knock it out completely.
Salina has the most dramatic change this trim. Her concavity has gone from okay to great and all her frogs are particularly healthy. I definitely attribute this change to her increased movement in the turn-out routine, and to the diet change I made (from a senior mix 4x/day to an IR friendly mix 3x/day) - for the first time this fall I wondered if she might be getting slightly IR as she ages. I gave her a course of chaste-tree berry as we transitioned into fall, changed her diet, and increased the amount of turn-out. She is moving well and hooves are looking better than ever. Best news is that she is now able again to bend her knees for front hoof trims. I usually give her Bute the day before the trim only but have started a new course of treatment where I give her Bute am/pm Wed/Th/Fri then taper off with am/pm doses again on Sunday and Wed. I muddied the waters a bit by starting this at the same time I changed her diet and turn-out, so am not sure how necessary it is - but will tweak as needed and d/c the Bute if it turns out she doesn't need it for comfort during the trims. An additional note is that she used to do a minor amount of quidding with her hay, but I've noticed that has stopped - so between the fairly large amount of hay she's now eating (and chewing well) and the complete senior diet she was on, I suspect her trace mineral ratio was off - now I'm counting and balancing the hay for her, and this is likely making a difference too. A good example of how we must constantly monitor and be willing to tweak things with care and management.
Keil Bay's thrush is 95% better after his CleanTrax treatment. I may do one more treatment for him - would really like to see his frogs up front get to 100% - but he is moving well and not at all sore, so... will evaluate over the next couple of weeks and decide what to do. He also blew a section of hoof wall on his right rear - not sure if this is associated with his increased hoof wall growth this spring/summer/fall but my guess is again that the increased turn-out (which I should clarify - they now get access to the entire field about 20 hours/day, and their hay is spread all over the field so that they are in near constant movement as they forage and graze) has progressed the hoof wall "trimming" itself - our trimmer cleaned it up and his sole has created a thickened area to compensate. This should work itself out this next 6 weeks as his wall regrows.
Apache Moon has "great feet" as usual. You just can't improve much on pony hooves!
Very interesting hoof notes this time - I love seeing what happens when I make a big change in the care routine.
Some additional diet/nutrition notes I want to document for my own self here:
1. I added 10g lysine to both Keil Bay's diet and Salina's - several months ago - with excellent results. Then I switched the source of lysine and the results seemed to fade. Back to my original lysine source last week and I have seen another huge improvement in Salina's top line and overall condition. Her muscling looks fantastic right now - she easily looks 10-12 years younger.
2. I increased the copper and zinc levels I supplement to account for the new hay and for the pasture (heretofore not tested since we generally feed hay year-round) - this year we had a richer/longer season of grass and I am sure that threw my ratios off. I had noticed some bleaching of color in coats, which corrected itself incredibly quickly once I upped the copper and zinc.
3. Getting ready to put Salina on her winter course of Phyto-Quench, which eases her through the winter months.
4. Getting ready to add glutamine supplement for Cody after work only to help with his PSSM/muscling issues.
**I highly recommend Eleanor Kellon's online nutrition courses if you are interested in learning more about equine nutrition, supplementation, and treating various equine conditions with a good understanding of the whys and hows.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
mowing meanders
Yesterday I was on a mission to get the back field mowed/mulched/harrowed before the big rain rolled through - wet leaves, especially that many, take forever to dry out, so I wanted to get it done. After feeding breakfast tubs, and making sure the equines were set up in the front with a nice long hay trail, I drove the mower out of the garage and headed out back.
As usual, I got sidetracked into a quick pass around the big barnyard. Although I've already done the front field, both barnyards, and both paddocks, there are still leaves falling and blowing, so it takes a few times over the course of the season to get everything mulched down nicely.
My problem is I love doing it and for some reason the big barnyard is especially fun to do - you can see the patterns so clearly there. I often do circles and Celtic knots but yesterday did a sort of cross-hatch pattern that became very mesmerizing as I drove along, but the impending storm (and darkening skies) fortunately kept me from getting completely lost in the chore.
I tend to drive the mower at a slower than usual speed because all of our different spaces have trees, tree roots, and in a few spots, large rock outcroppings. There are also a fair number of big rocks that seem to sprout up from the ground like mushrooms, so going slowly helps me keep my eyes on the ground so I can avoid anything that won't get along well with a mower blade.
In back, I was thrilled with the prospect of an entire area full of leaves, and immediately did an entire circuit of the perimeter just to enjoy the difference between mulched/harrowed and unmulched/harrowed. I suspect I am a hay farmer in a parallel life - one of my favorite things is seeing hay fields where the farmer has mowed a path around the edge. The contrast between the mowed path and the taller grass always makes me smile. Since I don't have hay fields to mow, I do the best I can with my leaves. But I couldn't "leave" the field with that lovely clean path around it, so I stopped for a moment to enjoy the way it looked and then chugged onward.
After that first pass around the perimeter I made the decision not to continue in the part of the back field we call the "canter chute." It's a very uneven, often rocky area where the donkey boys love playing king of the hill and where my daughter used to canter her pony up and down. Lately there are more rocks emerging there, and I leave it the way it is so that they get some hoof wear on that kind of terrain. There are trees too, and grape vines dripping down, so it's a favorite spot during summer months.
But the leaves in that back area were deep and I couldn't really see what I was mowing over, so I decided to let it be - will go back later with rake if necessary. I have a couple of paths I maintain - one is a sort of natural bank that is good for conditioning and just adding some challenge into a ride.
I spent about the same amount of time sitting on the mower pondering that section as I spent here writing about it. Another reason my chores end up taking longer than anticipated, because I never remember to count the "ponder time" I always end up inserting!
But back to the mowing. After mentally cutting that back corner off the circuit, I decided to divide the field into thirds. The first third is on a slope, and has the trickiest areas to mow, so I started with that one. I immediately noted that when I'm on a slightly precarious slope with the mower, I curl my left leg a little - which seemed to be my body's way of balancing. It's no surprise that I also do this when riding - though in the saddle it doesn't seem to serve as a balance aid as much as it reflects my level of concentration. If I'm doing something tricky or new, I have to actively relax my left leg so it doesn't curl up in an expression much like the squinting of an eye, or wrinkling of a forehead.
It makes me wonder - is that why my left pelvis is the one that comes "out" and needs adjusting? Or do I curl it because I've had the joint out off and on for awhile? At this point it is pure habit and I just have to "manually" relax the leg, which immediately restores balance in the saddle, and on the mower immediately relaxed my mind.
I finished the first tricky third and moved on to the other area. That area I ended up doing as one big circuit. Half is on a slightly lesser slope and the other half is flat, but there are some tree roots and a couple of rock areas that have to be monitored. I realized that I'd spent so much time on the first third, I was going to have to speed up a little in order to get the whole thing done, so I refilled the gas tank and notched up my speed. Whoa!
Suddenly it felt like I had some impulsion! And interestingly, without even thinking about what I was doing, as I got to an area where the mower seemed to balk a little, I circled just as I would have done were I riding Keil Bay. That set me thinking that I could actually do a dressage test while mowing if I stuck to the lower part of the field instead of climbing up to the flat area, so that's exactly what I did.
There's a section of the back field that has a natural dressage arena layout - but it's on a slant. Which is pretty interesting if you're doing conditioning work - if you just ride a few dressage tests back there, you've effective worked both sides of the horse up and down in both directions. I often think of putting markers back there just to make it "official" - but even without markers it's easy enough to "enter at A" and proceed with a test. Even on the trusty mower. Very interesting. (some might say crazy)
I felt I was mowing at about what would be a trot in mower gait, so I did the first test that way. I got lost for a little while pondering metaphor and mowing and life, thinking the obvious things about the clean swath of ground behind me, mowing over (or around) obstacles, etc. And then suddenly it felt like I literally hit something big under the mower and we came to a very sudden stop. I backed up a little (the harrow was behind me) and inched my way around what I assumed must be a big rock. There was nothing there. I decided maybe the sudden stop was itself a metaphor - that I was woolgathering too much and needed to get back to the job at hand.
Somehow when I stopped my knee must have notched the speed gear up a few degrees, because when I put the mower into forward again I shot off like a rocket. Much like it feels to ask for trot and get a big canter - exciting, and ground covering. Wow! Why had I been going so slowly before? I flew around the circuit a time or two, and then realized there's a reason we don't do entire dressage tests in extended canter. Unlike the smooth downward transition on a horse, the mower requires some major left leg work to downshift, so I did that. And decided to finish the flat area, which had assumed a rather intriguing spiral shape that just begged to be whittled down to ... nothing.
As I got to the final area, which looked like it wouldn't take long at all to finish, rain drops began to fall. At this point I noticed that Salina and the donkeys had come to the barn shelter and were standing there watching me mow. Rafer Johnson is especially intrigued with machinery and he kept his eyes on me for a good long while as I went around and around. Sometimes when he watches me that way I wonder if he's making sure I'm okay, or if he's trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing. He always seems so deep in thought as he watches. I waved and went at the last remaining rectangle in the dressage area of the back, noticing that with each pass it seemed like I still had the exact same amount left to go. I realized that the wind was very methodically blowing leaves down the hill, so that the area I'd just covered was in fact covered over by new leaves each time I came around the path.
You'd think at this point I'd be ready to be done with all this, but I was so intrigued with the thought of going forward but making no progress, I happily went around and around, enjoying the phenomenon of what seemed like futility in action. Sometimes just going through the motions - going around and around the same path - has its charms.
When I saw the geldings come to the barn I knew the rain was getting ready to fall, so I quickly adjusted my route and finished off the final section, making some adjustments to clean up a few areas where the harrow had left clumps of leaves.
On my way back through the arena into the barnyard I couldn't resist doing a perimeter pass around the arena itself - at this point the entire herd were watching me, possibly wondering if I had completely lost my mind in this mowing frenzy. You could almost hear Cody saying to the Big Bay: is she going to keep driving that thing around and around right on through the storm? And the pony: as long as she stops to feed us, I don't care WHAT she does. Keil Bay: she has her quirks, but for the most part, she's okay. I feel sure Salina was clucking at them: you geldings just don't understand. Rafer, of course, does. I think Redford has his own little view of the world - still in formation as he gets older.
I sometimes imagine myself on a big blue tractor, making much bigger circuits and more elaborate patterns in a huge hay field. There's something to be said for finding and doing chores that have repetition and even tedium involved, where our minds can let go and wander, and where we can clearly see the results of our labor, not only at the end of the day, but inch by inch.
It's a very satisfying, and not at all boring, way to pass half a day - and to await the storm. (which fortunately didn't turn out to be as severe as had been predicted - we had a little rain and some wind but no thunder and no tornadoes)
As usual, I got sidetracked into a quick pass around the big barnyard. Although I've already done the front field, both barnyards, and both paddocks, there are still leaves falling and blowing, so it takes a few times over the course of the season to get everything mulched down nicely.
My problem is I love doing it and for some reason the big barnyard is especially fun to do - you can see the patterns so clearly there. I often do circles and Celtic knots but yesterday did a sort of cross-hatch pattern that became very mesmerizing as I drove along, but the impending storm (and darkening skies) fortunately kept me from getting completely lost in the chore.
I tend to drive the mower at a slower than usual speed because all of our different spaces have trees, tree roots, and in a few spots, large rock outcroppings. There are also a fair number of big rocks that seem to sprout up from the ground like mushrooms, so going slowly helps me keep my eyes on the ground so I can avoid anything that won't get along well with a mower blade.
In back, I was thrilled with the prospect of an entire area full of leaves, and immediately did an entire circuit of the perimeter just to enjoy the difference between mulched/harrowed and unmulched/harrowed. I suspect I am a hay farmer in a parallel life - one of my favorite things is seeing hay fields where the farmer has mowed a path around the edge. The contrast between the mowed path and the taller grass always makes me smile. Since I don't have hay fields to mow, I do the best I can with my leaves. But I couldn't "leave" the field with that lovely clean path around it, so I stopped for a moment to enjoy the way it looked and then chugged onward.
After that first pass around the perimeter I made the decision not to continue in the part of the back field we call the "canter chute." It's a very uneven, often rocky area where the donkey boys love playing king of the hill and where my daughter used to canter her pony up and down. Lately there are more rocks emerging there, and I leave it the way it is so that they get some hoof wear on that kind of terrain. There are trees too, and grape vines dripping down, so it's a favorite spot during summer months.
But the leaves in that back area were deep and I couldn't really see what I was mowing over, so I decided to let it be - will go back later with rake if necessary. I have a couple of paths I maintain - one is a sort of natural bank that is good for conditioning and just adding some challenge into a ride.
I spent about the same amount of time sitting on the mower pondering that section as I spent here writing about it. Another reason my chores end up taking longer than anticipated, because I never remember to count the "ponder time" I always end up inserting!
But back to the mowing. After mentally cutting that back corner off the circuit, I decided to divide the field into thirds. The first third is on a slope, and has the trickiest areas to mow, so I started with that one. I immediately noted that when I'm on a slightly precarious slope with the mower, I curl my left leg a little - which seemed to be my body's way of balancing. It's no surprise that I also do this when riding - though in the saddle it doesn't seem to serve as a balance aid as much as it reflects my level of concentration. If I'm doing something tricky or new, I have to actively relax my left leg so it doesn't curl up in an expression much like the squinting of an eye, or wrinkling of a forehead.
It makes me wonder - is that why my left pelvis is the one that comes "out" and needs adjusting? Or do I curl it because I've had the joint out off and on for awhile? At this point it is pure habit and I just have to "manually" relax the leg, which immediately restores balance in the saddle, and on the mower immediately relaxed my mind.
I finished the first tricky third and moved on to the other area. That area I ended up doing as one big circuit. Half is on a slightly lesser slope and the other half is flat, but there are some tree roots and a couple of rock areas that have to be monitored. I realized that I'd spent so much time on the first third, I was going to have to speed up a little in order to get the whole thing done, so I refilled the gas tank and notched up my speed. Whoa!
Suddenly it felt like I had some impulsion! And interestingly, without even thinking about what I was doing, as I got to an area where the mower seemed to balk a little, I circled just as I would have done were I riding Keil Bay. That set me thinking that I could actually do a dressage test while mowing if I stuck to the lower part of the field instead of climbing up to the flat area, so that's exactly what I did.
There's a section of the back field that has a natural dressage arena layout - but it's on a slant. Which is pretty interesting if you're doing conditioning work - if you just ride a few dressage tests back there, you've effective worked both sides of the horse up and down in both directions. I often think of putting markers back there just to make it "official" - but even without markers it's easy enough to "enter at A" and proceed with a test. Even on the trusty mower. Very interesting. (some might say crazy)
I felt I was mowing at about what would be a trot in mower gait, so I did the first test that way. I got lost for a little while pondering metaphor and mowing and life, thinking the obvious things about the clean swath of ground behind me, mowing over (or around) obstacles, etc. And then suddenly it felt like I literally hit something big under the mower and we came to a very sudden stop. I backed up a little (the harrow was behind me) and inched my way around what I assumed must be a big rock. There was nothing there. I decided maybe the sudden stop was itself a metaphor - that I was woolgathering too much and needed to get back to the job at hand.
Somehow when I stopped my knee must have notched the speed gear up a few degrees, because when I put the mower into forward again I shot off like a rocket. Much like it feels to ask for trot and get a big canter - exciting, and ground covering. Wow! Why had I been going so slowly before? I flew around the circuit a time or two, and then realized there's a reason we don't do entire dressage tests in extended canter. Unlike the smooth downward transition on a horse, the mower requires some major left leg work to downshift, so I did that. And decided to finish the flat area, which had assumed a rather intriguing spiral shape that just begged to be whittled down to ... nothing.
As I got to the final area, which looked like it wouldn't take long at all to finish, rain drops began to fall. At this point I noticed that Salina and the donkeys had come to the barn shelter and were standing there watching me mow. Rafer Johnson is especially intrigued with machinery and he kept his eyes on me for a good long while as I went around and around. Sometimes when he watches me that way I wonder if he's making sure I'm okay, or if he's trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing. He always seems so deep in thought as he watches. I waved and went at the last remaining rectangle in the dressage area of the back, noticing that with each pass it seemed like I still had the exact same amount left to go. I realized that the wind was very methodically blowing leaves down the hill, so that the area I'd just covered was in fact covered over by new leaves each time I came around the path.
You'd think at this point I'd be ready to be done with all this, but I was so intrigued with the thought of going forward but making no progress, I happily went around and around, enjoying the phenomenon of what seemed like futility in action. Sometimes just going through the motions - going around and around the same path - has its charms.
When I saw the geldings come to the barn I knew the rain was getting ready to fall, so I quickly adjusted my route and finished off the final section, making some adjustments to clean up a few areas where the harrow had left clumps of leaves.
On my way back through the arena into the barnyard I couldn't resist doing a perimeter pass around the arena itself - at this point the entire herd were watching me, possibly wondering if I had completely lost my mind in this mowing frenzy. You could almost hear Cody saying to the Big Bay: is she going to keep driving that thing around and around right on through the storm? And the pony: as long as she stops to feed us, I don't care WHAT she does. Keil Bay: she has her quirks, but for the most part, she's okay. I feel sure Salina was clucking at them: you geldings just don't understand. Rafer, of course, does. I think Redford has his own little view of the world - still in formation as he gets older.
I sometimes imagine myself on a big blue tractor, making much bigger circuits and more elaborate patterns in a huge hay field. There's something to be said for finding and doing chores that have repetition and even tedium involved, where our minds can let go and wander, and where we can clearly see the results of our labor, not only at the end of the day, but inch by inch.
It's a very satisfying, and not at all boring, way to pass half a day - and to await the storm. (which fortunately didn't turn out to be as severe as had been predicted - we had a little rain and some wind but no thunder and no tornadoes)
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