Distractions – November 9

I have been sleepwalking through this week. I went to Lowe’s to purchase fence posts for the never ending project, and managed to pop a rib, since there was no one to help an old lady in the lumber department. Solution to that was opioid pain pills at bedtime, which helped immensely, but did not lift my spirits. As luck would have it, Kristen and Susan are horse showing, which is fun, and niece Rachael stopped by today en route from Tennessee to Montana, so there are distractions from the dark hole into which I have stumbled.

Let me tell you a little bit about Kristen and Pockets. Fourteen years ago, I found a 5 year old Thoroughbred for sale on Craigslist four hours south of here. I had assured Kristen that we could find an inexpensive prospect for her, and luck was definitely with us, for once. Kristen took cash money when we went to try the chestnut race horse (Jockey Club name Gold Surprise). I will not go into the details, but after some anxious moments with a difficult seller, the horse was Kristen’s and she named him Pocketful Of Cash, hence “Pockets”. Boarding arrangements had fallen through, so Jane took Pockets and Kristen in at her Winford Farm for three years.

There have been many adventures since then, and Pockets now lives with Geri, who shares him with Kristen. For most of his career, he has been showing at local hunter / jumper shows and Eventing with Kristen. This week, Kristen has returned to the A rated Horse Show ring, the Zone Finals North, no less, to show in the .75 Outreach Jumper division. Pockets is a venerable 19 years old, His tail is still short, his ground manners still need work, and he is still a superstar jumper. I did not realize that Kristen herself has not shown at a recognized show for 19 years! She showed at the St. Louis Charity show 19 years ago, and stopped out in every class, by her telling. Kristen had some bad luck early, but Pockets has bestowed enough good luck to redeem it all. It has been a treat to watch them this week.

We did not stay long enough to watch Susan, but she continues her winning ways with Galatea. We are hoping to see them tomorrow, for the culmination of the show. The gallery deserved some pictures.

Today, we had a happy surprise visit from our niece, Rachael, who was driving from Tennessee, where she has been clearing up after hurricane Milton, and fighting a few fires. She is a heli-rappeller wildland firefighter, meaning she jumps out of helicopters to fight forest fires. The hurricane downed trees in Tennessee caused her crew to be sent there to help out. Their base is in Bozeman, Montana, so she is on a long road trip home, and we were lucky she made a stop here. It was a dreary November day, raining and gray – a perfect day for our first fire of the season.

Meanwhile, the world still offers beauty if we pay attention.

Be safe, be well, stay hopeful and strong for what lies ahead. Slava Ukraini! Peace.