30% Chance of Rain

Another beautiful early Fall day - I started on my wifely duties: laundry, bathroom cleaning, etc., and he spread manure and mowed a little grass. Then he comes in and says, "let's go riding." Don't have to ask me twice!

We took the LQ trailer because last evening he had started working on the old gooseneck trailer - pulling out the rotting plywood facing in the rear. He had power washed the mats and the flooring and it needs to dry, really dry, before proceeding with any restoration process. This trailer is 23 years old.

We loaded the boys in, went to the LOMH because that is easily negotiated with a large rig.

We picked the fastest way to the Woodstock Inn, if there was more time after our late lunch we could choose a longer trip back to the trailer.

NFL football was on the menu, and some were dressed in the team of their choice. I got no dogs in this fight.

After lunch we headed back and a black cloud covered the bright sky. We stopped at the Park's rest stop and felt a drop of rain. Then another. We wound our way down the narrow trail to the main trail. It started sprinkling and we booted it to the bridge. My glasses were covered in raindrops and KC was giving it up, flawlessly. Then I saw a flash of lightning, then several seconds later the thunder.

By the time we got to the roadway it was starting to come down pretty good. The lightning also persisted. We stayed under the bridge during the downpour. Vehicles were passing overhead, sounding like a "burner" in a hot air balloon. The thunder was now behind us. KC was falling asleep, Skip was dozing, too. We waited until the rain had mostly stopped.

Again, we were the last to leave, locking the gate behind us.

It continued to rain, off and on, until around 10:00 p.m. Everybody spent the night outside.

Full Harvest Moon

Another busy Saturday, dawned clear and chilly. Sarah the farrier was scheduled to come out early, Max has his last day of Bad Dog University.

After all that was done, we went for a 'quick' ride for several hours at Annapolis Rock and crossing over Hipsley Mill. We didn't get lost, but misplaced a little bit here and there. In the end he knew the way to get back to the trail we needed to find the trailer parking lot. As usual, we were the last to leave the Park.

Window Treatment

Finally, he is staining the windows on the barn. Hard to believe that we stained the entire barn last October and has taken all this time for the weather, available time, and where-with-all to take care of those windows!

He'll hang them upside down to get an even wear.

P.S. What a great surprise when I arrived home from work - he had stained the stockade fence he built that runs from the property line to the corner of the house, spanning the drive way, shed and patio. It looks awesome!

Sunday - Work on the Farm

We had so many things to do today, we decided it would not be a riding day. It was a glorious, sunny day and would have been a perfect day for a ride. But we had work to do.

He primed and painted most of the exterior of the house. I cleaned out the gutters and stopped by Todd's for another six bales of hay. We need to get a larger quantity of hay, but don't have the time to do that. Maybe next weekend?

Spent my day doing the house wife stuff: Laundry, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and a concerted effort to combat the stink bug invasion. I also found my keys, missing for over a month. I knew they were misplaced and not totally gone. Glad to have them back. Now I can't find my Wahl trimmer, and they all need to have that!

Yard work, straightening up the house, and playing with Max took up pretty much all day. A beautiful Sunday.

Saturday Ride

We had a couple things to do early at home, but rode later in the day out of Marriottsville and ran into two people on the trail at different places. We live in a crazy small world.

Glen:

Palomino Paint gelding named Casey 16

Casey is from Pimlico Race Track, a 'pony horse' and is pretty good on trails and he rides alone frequently. Boards on Driver Road, does not have a truck and trailer. Has been a LOMH member for several years. Most everything he knows about horses he's learned from Clinton Anderson and RFD-TV. He has an English saddle because it fits his horse.

Bernadette:

Gray Arabian Mare 21

She knew Diana, Richard, Nancy, Jane Huff, Maggie and several others. She used to board at Woodlands, but now also boards on Driver Road. Her husband pulled a bait-and-switch with the planned horse-life and now she rides alone and does not live on a farm. Sometimes you don't get exactly what you want, but you make do with what you have.

We hurried to Woodstock Inn for a very late lunch, getting there well after 3, and it started clouding up. We also traveled on a couple trails we haven't been on in several years, we didn't get lost. I swear I felt a drop or two, but did not announce it. We again snuck up on hikers out in the Park and while cutting through McKeldin there were several children that wanted to pet the horses. I can't say no, I know exactly how I felt when I was their age.

It started raining and we ducked into a Park shelter that KC was afraid of years ago. Here we are, standing inside with the rain hitting the roof. Down the hill came about a dozen riders on an organized trail ride from Misty Manor Farm. So many heels were not down, so I'm guessing there were not too many real riders among them.

We hurried back, running lots of the way back; after the initial rain at the shelter we did not get wet until we were untacked at the trailer.

We drove home in a misting rain, there was hardly any rain at home. Other locales got a soaking, but again we did not.

Autumnal Equinox

Rainy Tuesday

Rainy day - we definitely needed it after the fertilizer and seed distribution over the weekend. It was a good soaking rain, too. During the day and then again overnight we got a total of nearly three inches.

I went out to hay the gang around 10:00 p.m. Earlier in the evening the breeze picked up and the patio was dry, but it was raining again for last call. I went out with my green and white striped umbrella. Lil Fred did not like it at all, he was hiding from me, peeking out from the overhang.

KC and Skip were in the shed, and didn't want to move away, but the umbrella was giving them a little bit of an issue. They knew it was me under there, and I had a stack of hay on my shoulder. They decided to stand their ground in the shed and accept the flakes.