July Hurtles On – July 25

July has passed in a blur, with never enough time to do justice to all the things that need to be done. Blog posting has been sacrificed, along with many of the good intentions that pave my road toward Hell. Luckily, I do not actually believe in Hell.

Speaking of Hell, hellish heat gave way to an idyllic, unseasonably cool spell, which added riding to my list of things to do, now that my hand has healed.

I will randomly jump around what has happened in the past couple of weeks. First, on Tuesday, July 16 we were expecting a lunch visit from Joe Walsh (not the rockstar, but a good friend). It began to rain, pouring down, a deluge. I thought about calling Joe to reschedule, but figured he might already be on the way, and surely it was a cloudburst that would not last. Joe is a retired policeman, and he said it was the worst weather he has ever driven through! We had 4 inches of rain in 90 minutes here. Roads were closed, there was flash flooding, the town of Treloar on the Katy Trail was inundated with water and mud. But Joe arrived intact, and we had a nice day in spite of the extreme weather. It seems to be commonplace now to endure extreme weather. We are luckier than many.

It is mushroom season, as well as great weeding weather after all the rain. The pastures are Spring green in midsummer.

The other day, Eddy was hot, so we went out to his pool. As he jumped in, I noticed what I thought was algae and flipped it out of the pool. Then I realized it was moving slightly! I looked closer, and to my horror, it was an almost drowned bat. I have never seen such a thing! It wasn’t quite dead, so I wrapped in a towel and shook it downward to clear the lungs. It seemed a little bit more alive, but it was too wet to fly, so I put it in a tree and went back to check on it a couple of hours later. By then, it was gone, and there was no sign of carnage, so I hope it has survived. I love bats. I put a stick into the pool so that there is now a way to climb out, if it ever happens again.

Speaking of Eddy, he has made some significant progress. Our friend, Sheri, told us about a product called a SpotOn collar. It’s like an invisible fence operated by satellites. I haven’t time to go into detail, but after assiduously following the training instructions, Eddy has been able to run free within the several acres proscribed by the collar. It is wonderful. No more bolting, we hope!

Jane’s son, James, and his girlfriend, Jackie, have come east, taking the train from California. We had a short but nice visit with them.

We have been having many visitors, which has been fun. We are lucky to know so many interesting people. I often forget to take pictures.

It has been a particularly beautiful, if busy, summer.

Weedy is not keen on having his picture taken, while Eddy loves the camera.

Now that Bart is back in work, he is up to his naughty habit of escaping to graze. I gave him a nice bath a couple of days ago, and he vamoosed as I let him into his stall. He is very aware when I am not paying attention, the scoundrel. Today, he took off as soon as I removed his bridle, before I could get his halter on. But he got chased back into the barn by horseflies! Ha! First time I have ever appreciated a horse fly!

And finally, the bluebird eggs have hatched.

Be safe, be well. Slava Ukraini! Peace.