A Miscellanous Week...

I had a good ride on Beau and Ranger today. Beau and I practiced the same exercises that Jen had me doing with Ranger to prepare him for flying changes. It has really helped Beau's balance. He has started to give me nice, thoughtful canter departures, instead of scrabbling to get going. His canter was slow and controlled; sometimes he almost gets frightened of being asked to canter, so I really appreciate it when he is able to be slow and calm. The woman who gave him to me used a bigger bit, bigger spurs and bigger whip to get results, so Beau can be a mental wreck when asked for speed of any sort. Feeling him calm and relaxed when trotting and cantering was a gift.

Ranger and I did more flying changes. I almost thought that he didn't change, and had to look down to see that he DID--they were THAT smooth! He's an amazing boy!

Both horses got their feet trimmed, too. My farrier, Daniel, does a terrific job. Good farriers are HARD to find, and he's a gem--I get a lot of compliments about how healthy and well-shaped my horses's feet are. Neither are shod, although Beau has had front shoes to help him through an injury. He's barefoot now, and as long as his feet stay healthy, he can stay barefoot. Ranger's feet are as tough and hard as they come. I doubt that he'll ever have to have shoes. I do need to invent an Easy Boot that incorporates sliders, so that he can slide when we compete in reining!

My young orchid is getting ready to bloom. It still has those sap beads on it. Compare this with May 10th's blog--it's interesting to see how orchid blooms develop.
I thought I'd leave you with some photos from work--Half Dome in Yosemite last week:
Sunset in Chicago on Wednesday, May 21st:
The southwestern desert is so lovely. This is just north of the Grand Canyon; in fact, you can see the beginning of Lake Powell and Navajo Mountain.
Here's the Grand Canyon:
This is a thunderstorm over Illinois on the 20th:
Have a Happy Memorial Day--and please remember what the holiday represents!