Actually, it’s been only five days that feel like 5 months of misery. Much of that has been political abominations by the narrowly elected criminal occupying the highest office in the land. While we are not (yet) directly affected, we are stressed for people we care about, who are not as fortunate as we are. The weather has continued to be very cold, adding to misery, and then Harry fell ill. We have a friend in a community for the elderly, and he spent last weekend in lockdown because of a norovirus outbreak. Naturally, power of suggestion led us to presume that was Harry’s trouble, and Eddy and I went into quarantine upstairs. When the patient recovered quickly, we now suspect ordinary food poisoning.
At any rate, it still made for some misery here, and cancellation of two plans we had been looking forward to. Basically, January 2025 has been more dreadful than we could have imagined. Today, the sun is shining but the cold hangs on. Tomorrow is promised to begin a real thaw, and we are very ready for that.
For the most part, the animals are fine. Bart, though, has a swelling under his jaw that brought Marilyn over in her professional capacity, just to be safe. If we had contact with other horses, the thought of strangles would arise, but that seems very unlikely. Bart seems unconcerned, so I am poulticing the lump, which might be a strep abscess, but not strangles, Marilyn is confident. Phew! Bart is historically unlucky, so I am never complacent.
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On Thursday afternoon, Rebecca stopped by with eggs and we had a short, but fun, visit.
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Shortly after Rebecca’s departure, I had the misfortune of running over a deer antler in the driveway! That complicated the late afternoon. We could not budge the lug nuts, so had to have AAA come Friday morning to put our spare tire on. Luckily, Dobbs had the four new tires we needed in stock, so $1,000 and 24 hours later, problem solved. Dobbs added the antler to their “road hazard” collection. They had never seen such a thing!
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And just when I was thinking I was having a difficult day, I drove past a nearby barn. Luckily, it is empty. I guess the weight of snow and ice was just too much for its old bones to hold. The place has been on the market for a while. Homer, a western horse trainer, the owner, died several years ago.
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Birds are the brightest part of this miserable month, and the highlight of the week was a visit by half a dozen bluebirds of happiness. We needed that!
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And then, there is Mary Oliver. We took the train to see her in Chicago around the turn of the century. It was her furthest westward visit and we heard the poet reading her own genius words. She is gone now, alas, (September, 1935 – January, 2019) but her words remain, and rise often to the mind. Like her Starlings in Winter…
“Chunky and noisy, but with stars in their black feathers… they are acrobats in the freezing wind… full of gorgeous life…Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us, even in the leafless winter…I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings.” Mary Oliver
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We went to the Missouri Hunter Jumper Organization Awards Banquet yesterday evening. Susan and Galatea (Teah) won the Adult Jumper Championship, with Jane and Irish Amber (Derry) Reserve Champions. Jane also received the Sportsmanship Award! We had a wonderful time, with Louise and Pam and many friends. Susan could not bear to attend, of course, with Teah’s loss too devastating. These powerful, fragile creatures provide both joy and devastation if we are lucky enough to spend lifetimes around them. The good outweighs the bad on balance, but that is sometimes hard to believe at tragic times. Still, last night was a celebration of many friends and good horses.
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The dogs and cats are happy to have warm lodgings this month, as are we.
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And so, another cold day again denies our hope for a thaw, despite sunshine aplenty. Another night of disconnecting the hose and storing it in the tack room… I’m feeling worn out, but there are 50 degree days just ahead, so on we go! If I feel discouraged, all I need to do is call “Eddy!” and laughter ensues…
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Stay safe, stay well, stay grateful for laughter and poetry. Be strong, be kind, show mercy. Slava Ukraini! Peace.
Anne, no matter how bleak the weather, thankfully your blog gives us a silver lining of beauty in stories and pictures. See you soon!
Maybe I want to come back as eddy in my next life. he always makes me smile. and I love the bluebird party. antidote to the insanity of the criminal in charge. thank you anne. love your posts.
What a shame the MO Hunter Jumper Organization had their banquet the same night as the final MO Horse Shows Assn. one. There will be no more MHSA. I guess it was too expensive to operate, and no one wanted to serve on the board or as officers. SAD! I have many good memories of “back in the day” when we were all together. At least they had a great turn out for the grand finale! I’m glad Harry ONLY had food poisoning! I’m also glad you got some free eggs.
I find great comfort in Mary Oliver’s beautiful poetry. How wonderful to have all those bluebirds. I hope they do indeed bring much happiness. Your feeding station is such a success! I hope Bart’s jaw will decompress quickly!
It has indeed been a miserable month. Happy that Harry is OK, and that Bart doesn’t have strangles.
Your pictures are fantastic! Oh those bluebirds! and love the Mary Oliver, to which I can only respond, Me Too Me Too!!! Stay well.
It had been a miserable month here in southern Virginia, too. Significantly more days of cold down in the freezing temps, which is unusual. Your blogs and photos are indeed a bright spot in my day, as I try to cope with the unending barrage of felon 47’s ridiculously dangerous executive orders!