Not Tax Day this year – we have a three month reprieve. I think I would rather pay taxes than live with fear of a novel coronavirus and the wrecked economy it has created. But we don’t always get to choose our stories, so we are stuck with this one and must make the most of it.
I was at the barn, preparing to get in the truck, when a car pulled in. It was Bill Collette, making a drive by drop off of Janis’ famous banana bread. Harry and I immediately postponed plans in favor of a mid morning treat. Bill literally brought the banana bread from the oven to us. It was warm and very delicious. We are lucky in so many ways, not least of which is having Janis baking nearby, with Bill cheerfully making deliveries. Jane also received a loaf. We shared with Marianne, who was lucky in her timing today. It was like Christmas, only better weather.
After that nice surprise, I ventured out. This time to Washington (Missouri) for fence posts. Our board fencing is beginning to show its age, so Nathan is going to replace some posts this weekend. The guy who loaded the posts into the truck is married to a nurse who works in a hospital in St. Clair, where there are covid patients (no deaths yet). His daughter was sent home from college, and went to work at a nursing home in Washington. Thirty patients have now tested positive. She is isolating, but is fine so far. I washed my hands like crazy after hearing those stories. It seems impossible that things will be opening up soon, as some politicians are predicting.
On the way out, I saw Jane walking with Gus, and our neighbors also walking, so I got a picture.
Distancing! 
Jane and Gus
To my delight, and to the relief of my ischial bursitis, The Tack Trunk came through with a beautiful sheepskin “seat saver”, less than 48 hours after I called Corinne. What difference it makes – thank you, Tack Trunk and Fleeceworks!
It was quite cool, but by the time we rode it was pleasant. Bart was on the edge of feeling a bit too good, but he was well behaved for an hour on the ring. Then, we moseyed back to the barn. Almost home, Derry spooked really hard, and Bart left the scene. I almost fell off, but survived. Jane said Derry’s heart was hammering against her sides. She hadn’t run as far as Bart, though. I rode back and looked into the woods to see what could have set them off. There was a deer bedded down, not far into the trees. “It’s a deer” I announced, which caused the deer to jump up, which in turn caused me to really almost get dumped, plus I got run through a cherry tree, and Bart leaped over a swale onto the gravel before I regained control. I am way too old for that maneuver! It was like being twelve years old again, on my nemesis, Goblin.
Headed to the ring 
Bart behaving well
Harry had a good day in the studio.
There is beauty everywhere…
Jane’s house – whitebud and redbud 
Prairie Fire crabapple 
A dandelion in catmint 
Bluebird house 
Stream 
The water feature
And the cats are always good photo subjects…
Rosie 
Tom Morris
And that’s another day. Stone thinks it’s really stupid that he can’t be out on the pasture day and night. He stares longingly at the green grass as evening falls…
Stay safe out there!
Believe me, I love reading about all the work being done…and not having to do any of it myself !😊
Ha! You do plenty of work!
Your ride sounds way too exciting. Deer, as if they don’t see them everyday, silly horses. Of course, it very well could have been cougar crouching in anticipation for its next meal. I am envious, as I always was of my mother, that you know the names of all these lovely flowers and trees Alas, my brain doesn’t feel it necessary to hold on to things like that. It’s Spring, Hold on! Horse here too are feeling their oats!
I was hoping, given their reactions initially, that I might see a bear or a cougar, which I was excited about! God help me if there had been one, if a deer created that amount of panic!
Nice ride (!) but still the plop plop fizz fizz picture is my take-away