Monday, February 6

Today would have been my brother Jamie’s 64th birthday. He was born at home in Rosyth, Scotland in 1959, the day after my grandmother (my mother’s mother) died in Chicago. Jamie himself died on the night of the Full Wolf Moon, and last night was the Full Snow Moon. In memory of Jamie, who was quite unforgettable, here are a few of my favorite pictures of him…

Anyway, there’s that, and now for today’s other big event… Harry had his third cardiac ablation procedure this morning. Jane and Marianne are caring for the family of horses, dogs and cats while I am at the hospital with Harry. He was under general anesthesia for 5 hours, so he will be a while recovering. Dr. Cooper said the first two ablation sites had held up well, but they found several more areas that seemed to be causing problems. He is cautiously optimistic that maybe this time Harry will stay in sinus rhythm. We will know in a few months. Meanwhile, he is now in a room on the cardiac floor, after a short stay in the Cardiac ICU (standard procedure). He is able to laugh and discuss serious subjects with much more erudition than I can. To our amazement, his nurse, Alla, is Ukrainian. She noticed my pin immediately. She has a family member refugee staying with her, and many relations remain in the midst of the invasion. We hope to stay in touch with Alla after we leave here, in hopes we can do something to help.

Well, enough about today, which has been no fun. The weekend was spent at the Flying Fox Horse Show. Our friend, Brett, has what is known in the horse world as a Unicorn. Minka (Thyraminka) is an irreplaceable horse of a lifetime. She is 23 this year, so Brett thought she should have an easier job than carrying him around courses. He has let her go to live with a Swedish family in Indiana. Jessica, the mother is a veterinarian, and she has fraternal twin daughters Elin and Leah (age 14) who share magical Minka. Brett couldn’t be here this weekend, but I said I would go over and take some pictures. Then, it turned out that they were unfamiliar with hunter / jumper shows, so I helped them figure it out. It is almost unheard of to cross between the hunter ring and the jumper ring, but they acquitted themselves well. It was a huge horse show, so the days were rather long, but very much fun.

Minka was a star, and Elin and Leah are wonderful riders. They get some help from Robert Mendoza, a talented trainer, rider, and a friend. He used to be based in Indiana, so whenever he is back, the girls get expert help with jumping. Meanwhile, Jessica manages all, and keeps Minka looking and feeling younger than her age. They do dressage with Lotta, another Swedish rider, who is based here, which is how paths crossed with Brett. Elin was double clear in the MOHJO Mini Prix, for third, a valuable primary color, and Leah did the Hunter Derby at 3′, without ever having seen a Derby before! She rode very well, and finished a respectable 6th of 20!! Both girls went home with big ribbons from the featured classes. It was great fun. Harry and Weedy even came to watch the Hunter Derby. I took some pictures around the show while waiting for the classes.

There are also plenty of dogs at horse shows.

Our dogs at home are greatly missed tonight. With Jane’s care, they will hardly notice we are gone, but they definitely miss adventuring!

Harry is recovering well from his arduous day. We will have a miserable night here, and will soon be back to Bronze Fox Farm.

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