Spring is coming...soon

Yes, the birds are singing and if the temperature gets above about 50 degrees, we see a few bugs and hear all the frogs croaking.    What is kind of fun is that the frogs are very temperature sensitive - we'll hear them for an hour or so and then, nothing.  I suppose they've crawled back into their little mud holes until the next burst of kind of warmth.

Of course, the other things that go along with birds, bugs and frogs - mud!   We pretty much have mud year round - last year I still found some spots in a few of the paddocks in August, but now we're in full-blown mud season.  Over the years though, we've come up with some coping strategies.  Several of the stalls have lovely runs on them now, with gravel and hoof grid, so they stay reasonably dry.  Every year we add more gravel to the bigger paddocks.  A few years back, we did a french drain in one and that has really helped.  I could easily use another 20 loads of gravel though...whenever I see commercials on TV for 'buy your woman this or that', I always think "Why would someone want a big, gaudy ring/bracelet/necklace  when they could have 10 loads of gravel?"  I know it's not just me - several of my horsey friends have gravel envy too when we go to barns with huge piles just sitting there!

So, among the bugs and mud, we have been getting some riding in.  I'm very slowly coming back; Monica and I went to Lord Hill yesterday and did a respectable ride without me wimping out.  I am being very careful, as I've set myself back several times by being a little too presumptuous.  sigh...the old body just doesn't heal like it used to!

Also, I have a young lady who is coming almost daily for lessons and is helping me out.  She's been riding Andre, who is really starting to bloom.  He's now cantering under saddle, although it's not quite confirmed yet.  He's also popped over a few tiny jumps (sans rider) and looks like he will be pretty cute.  Monica continues to ride Danny, who is looking very good.  They are now cantering several jumps in a row and I heard mention of working up to flying changes.  Whoo!

Mahri has had her first 'sit upon' and Ari continues to improve, so it's been busy here.  We will have two foals born here this year; Aya (Aishet) is due in July and we have a new mare in, Cady, who will foal in late April.  She is a sweet Arab-Hungarian mare and is bred to a Shagya.  It should be a cute little foal. 

Our plans for competing are up in the air, as I have a long way to go before I could even complete a trail ride, much less a Limited Distance ride.  But, I'll keep plugging away and if I end up volunteering at some rides, that is ok too.

So, stay tuned and see what adventures we get up to next!