February Melting Away

All is well here at Bronze Fox Farm, except that the days still have only 24 hours, and that is never enough, it seems. We have had some very Springlike weather, which is nice, though unusually early. No complaints! Perhaps March will enter like a lion. We are happy for every pleasant day here.

Not every day since I last wrote a blog post has been warm. One evening, I cleaned the bird bath and forgot to plug it back in. It was a very cold night.

I helped Jane get her new computer up and running last week, which was fun. Jane serves delicious tea, and has wonderful animals.

At last, Jane and I have been able to ride this week. Harry has to wait until he gets clearance from Dr. Cooper. So far, he has rebounded well from the ablation and has stayed in sinus rhythm. The horses were shocked to hear that their winter vacation is already over.

While we ride, Harry often comes down to the ring for a visit. The horses love to use his arrival as an excuse to spook, but he gives us fair warning, so we can hang on.

And speaking of spooking, the herds of deer provide frequent excuses for alarm, which is complete fun on the horses’ part, since they graze together in the pasture. They are not afraid of deer! However, they can be surprising sometimes, since they are so hard to see in the winter woods.

There was a strong wind, bringing in warm weather, that blew a large tree across the trail in the West Woods. I spent considerable time rerouting the trail, both to the east and to the west of the fallen tree. This way, we can keep the log as a jump, but those of us who do not jump can take a detour. Marilyn and Trigger rode with us and we tested it out. Roy was exuberant to be out and about. Before we departed our barn, Roy’s enthusiasm caused a big spook by Trigger, which Marilyn sat well, though it gave me some gray hair. When we came to a muddy ditch in the woods, Oisin, who had crossed it quietly the day before, leapt ten feet in the air, giving me more gray hair! A fun day indeed.

We are very fortunate to live next door to Jane. She helps us without fail, whenever we need something. Rarely does Jane need anything from us, but I was delighted to get the assignment to let the dogs out, while Jane was performing a mission for another friend.

Our cats are very grateful for mild weather. Rosie spends most days hunting mice along the edge of the woods. She does eat them, which is gross, but better than killing for sport.

We love the warm days on the porch in February. They are rare diamond days, never taken for granted.

We were surprised by a delivery of flowers from Jessica, which have filled the room with the scent of yellow roses, and have lasted for over a week, bringing Spring closer.

We missed Harlan, of course, last week, but I saw him briefly on my way out Tuesday to the dentist. He was very grateful for the coffee that Harry always fixes for him.

The birds are a delight, hungry even on warm days, famished in the colder weather.

Sunshine or cloudy, a little rain, a little snow, this has been a pleasant ten day patch of weather in a month that can be miserable. There is misery aplenty in the world, and we are incredibly lucky here. Not much news, but much gratitude.

Be safe, be well, be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace.