Sunday, October 6
Oct. 7th, 2024 02:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
A bright, sunny day with the most gorgeous show of autumn leaves.
Feeling good today mood wise, which is such a scarce emotion. I felt overall content and happy.
We had no burning rush to do anything in particular today, but after I ate and took care of chores we went to some of our "house work exchange friends" house to pick up a big bush mower. The kind you tow behind a tractor (we have an old one for stuff like this).
We need it to clear the horse pasture, since Hollywood was not here this year to eat down all the grass. The grass is waist high and cannot be left like that or it will become a yucky, matted mess next year. Also, the mower will cut down all the small trees that threaten to take over the pasture. Lots of people periodically mow their pasture if trees start growing in them where they are not wanted.
It was really nice visiting with this couple. My husband had said he was going to pick up the mower on his own, but I insisted on coming because I haven't really had a chance to visit with these people in forever, and this is, oddly enough, how we socialize. When we either work on something together, or pick something up from each other.
I talked with the "wife" about her goats, though our perspectives are different (she does raise hers for meat, sigh, in spite of what seems to me to be obvious affection and compassion for her animals) it's good to swap information and insights about them.
It's also nice to see the work they've done on their place. I haven't been to their yard for a couple of years, and they've put up some nice fence for their animals and developed their garden.
They own about 80 acres, some that they cut hay from for their goats, and some is in more or less native bush. They have cut trails through the bush, and today we went out in their truck to drive on the trails and see all the great work they've done.
It was so fun, in part because the "wife" and I rode in the back of the truck (driven quite slowly) which I haven't done in YEARS. It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, was ride in the back of the truck mostly on our own land or on a back road.
They showed us a spot in the trees where they are beginning to build a traditional Ukrainian cabin, half dug into the ground and partly above ground, very small, but it will be a fun place to sit inside in the winter with a little wood stove in it.
It was really great to visit with them today, and to see their property and see how much they've accomplished.
It makes me a bit sad, in that when my husband and I were looking for a place to live almost 20 years ago now, I had hoped to find something like this, with more land. Somewhere that we could have a nice bush area and walking trails, where maybe I could have ridden horses on our own land.
Our acreage (just over six acres) is just enough to have some animals and a bit of breathing room, but doesn't make me feel like we have a LOT of land. I do miss growing up on a huge farm, where you really couldn't even see other buildings, just wide open spaces and trees.
I do recognize though, we simply did not have the means to do so, and we did our best at every point with what we had. In fact, being able to buy our place and put a house on it was accomplished almost by wizardry, it was so dependent on things going exactly right for it to work. We did very well given our circumstances.
We brought the mower home, and our OTHER "work friends" met us in the yard, as the husband needed a tool. I didn't stay to talk very long, as I had to go see River, but I talked with them for a few minutes. They have been visiting a lot of family recently.
I went to see River, and K (R's husband) was around, and we chatted.
I know I've mentioned the rescue that they work with. Well, that rescue puts out a calendar every year as a fund raiser. It's kind of an odd calendar, and hard to explain, but it's called "farm daddies" and it's meant to be silly and funny, where the guys (I don't know if they are all friends of the women who run the rescue or what) pose with animals who were rescued by this group in "cute" poses, and the men dress, well, like a parody of sexy women? In cute sun dresses and cut off shorts, or a group of them in women's swim suits in a hot tub?
The whole idea was just to be outrageous and funny.
Well, K didn't know that's what the calendar was like. R kind of forcefully volunteered him to pose in it, and apparently HIS month was pretty tame, he was just Santa, and one of the horses R helped rescue got to be in the image.
Today, K got some of the calendars, and saw the REST of the images, all very, ahem "not manly at all".
He's not exactly homophobic, but..homo "I want nothing to do with any of that" ic.
He's kind of unhappy to be associated with something that is verging on being a "gay pride" calendar (to be fair, the women who run the rescue are indeed a lesbian couple, so maybe he's right), and is worried about what people will think about him being a part of it.
I hadn't really ever thought of it as being "gay", in spite of it having men posing in suggestively female roles. I just thought it was funny. I told him I wouldn't have made any assumptions about anyone's sexuality based on the calendar, and since his role was pretty tame, I doubt anyone would think anything like that of him.
At the same time, all of this felt like an episode of "Three's Company" or something (boy, really dating myself with that one), and I found it all funny as hell, once I got home to tell my Sweetie all about it.
River did okay, but I still have a lot of trouble getting him FORWARD. Just to move with any enthusiasm. He's really trying hard to do whatever I ask of him, no complaints there today, but just sluggish. Sigh.
He was really good with the giant "snake" prop today, not worried at all. So that's good.
I am really struggling to come up with a proper routine for this freestyle, I'm all over the place on what I want to do with it.
I'm just trying to figure out what River can do where he will do it in a way that doesn't make a mockery of the tempo of "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte.
I came home, we ate, and watched an episode of "Justified", after laughing our pants off at K thinking he's participated in a "gay pride calendar".
Roxy seemed comfortable today, pooped and ate well, and by tomorrow, the one drug that was protecting her stomach will have worn off (last one given yesterday) and we'll see how she does. She's still taking an antacid and a probiotic.
Seeing how happy and perky she's been the last couple of days really makes me wonder how long she's had "low grade" pancreatitis. She has seemed "less herself" for some time, but we chalked that up to the discomfort from her hind legs. Now I'm wondering if her discomfort was from gut problems.
Yes, she still has issues with her knees, but even that doesn't seem as bad right now. Perhaps the gut issues just made everything more sore and inflamed.
Well, it's not like we weren't trying.
A bright, sunny day with the most gorgeous show of autumn leaves.
Feeling good today mood wise, which is such a scarce emotion. I felt overall content and happy.
We had no burning rush to do anything in particular today, but after I ate and took care of chores we went to some of our "house work exchange friends" house to pick up a big bush mower. The kind you tow behind a tractor (we have an old one for stuff like this).
We need it to clear the horse pasture, since Hollywood was not here this year to eat down all the grass. The grass is waist high and cannot be left like that or it will become a yucky, matted mess next year. Also, the mower will cut down all the small trees that threaten to take over the pasture. Lots of people periodically mow their pasture if trees start growing in them where they are not wanted.
It was really nice visiting with this couple. My husband had said he was going to pick up the mower on his own, but I insisted on coming because I haven't really had a chance to visit with these people in forever, and this is, oddly enough, how we socialize. When we either work on something together, or pick something up from each other.
I talked with the "wife" about her goats, though our perspectives are different (she does raise hers for meat, sigh, in spite of what seems to me to be obvious affection and compassion for her animals) it's good to swap information and insights about them.
It's also nice to see the work they've done on their place. I haven't been to their yard for a couple of years, and they've put up some nice fence for their animals and developed their garden.
They own about 80 acres, some that they cut hay from for their goats, and some is in more or less native bush. They have cut trails through the bush, and today we went out in their truck to drive on the trails and see all the great work they've done.
It was so fun, in part because the "wife" and I rode in the back of the truck (driven quite slowly) which I haven't done in YEARS. It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, was ride in the back of the truck mostly on our own land or on a back road.
They showed us a spot in the trees where they are beginning to build a traditional Ukrainian cabin, half dug into the ground and partly above ground, very small, but it will be a fun place to sit inside in the winter with a little wood stove in it.
It was really great to visit with them today, and to see their property and see how much they've accomplished.
It makes me a bit sad, in that when my husband and I were looking for a place to live almost 20 years ago now, I had hoped to find something like this, with more land. Somewhere that we could have a nice bush area and walking trails, where maybe I could have ridden horses on our own land.
Our acreage (just over six acres) is just enough to have some animals and a bit of breathing room, but doesn't make me feel like we have a LOT of land. I do miss growing up on a huge farm, where you really couldn't even see other buildings, just wide open spaces and trees.
I do recognize though, we simply did not have the means to do so, and we did our best at every point with what we had. In fact, being able to buy our place and put a house on it was accomplished almost by wizardry, it was so dependent on things going exactly right for it to work. We did very well given our circumstances.
We brought the mower home, and our OTHER "work friends" met us in the yard, as the husband needed a tool. I didn't stay to talk very long, as I had to go see River, but I talked with them for a few minutes. They have been visiting a lot of family recently.
I went to see River, and K (R's husband) was around, and we chatted.
I know I've mentioned the rescue that they work with. Well, that rescue puts out a calendar every year as a fund raiser. It's kind of an odd calendar, and hard to explain, but it's called "farm daddies" and it's meant to be silly and funny, where the guys (I don't know if they are all friends of the women who run the rescue or what) pose with animals who were rescued by this group in "cute" poses, and the men dress, well, like a parody of sexy women? In cute sun dresses and cut off shorts, or a group of them in women's swim suits in a hot tub?
The whole idea was just to be outrageous and funny.
Well, K didn't know that's what the calendar was like. R kind of forcefully volunteered him to pose in it, and apparently HIS month was pretty tame, he was just Santa, and one of the horses R helped rescue got to be in the image.
Today, K got some of the calendars, and saw the REST of the images, all very, ahem "not manly at all".
He's not exactly homophobic, but..homo "I want nothing to do with any of that" ic.
He's kind of unhappy to be associated with something that is verging on being a "gay pride" calendar (to be fair, the women who run the rescue are indeed a lesbian couple, so maybe he's right), and is worried about what people will think about him being a part of it.
I hadn't really ever thought of it as being "gay", in spite of it having men posing in suggestively female roles. I just thought it was funny. I told him I wouldn't have made any assumptions about anyone's sexuality based on the calendar, and since his role was pretty tame, I doubt anyone would think anything like that of him.
At the same time, all of this felt like an episode of "Three's Company" or something (boy, really dating myself with that one), and I found it all funny as hell, once I got home to tell my Sweetie all about it.
River did okay, but I still have a lot of trouble getting him FORWARD. Just to move with any enthusiasm. He's really trying hard to do whatever I ask of him, no complaints there today, but just sluggish. Sigh.
He was really good with the giant "snake" prop today, not worried at all. So that's good.
I am really struggling to come up with a proper routine for this freestyle, I'm all over the place on what I want to do with it.
I'm just trying to figure out what River can do where he will do it in a way that doesn't make a mockery of the tempo of "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte.
I came home, we ate, and watched an episode of "Justified", after laughing our pants off at K thinking he's participated in a "gay pride calendar".
Roxy seemed comfortable today, pooped and ate well, and by tomorrow, the one drug that was protecting her stomach will have worn off (last one given yesterday) and we'll see how she does. She's still taking an antacid and a probiotic.
Seeing how happy and perky she's been the last couple of days really makes me wonder how long she's had "low grade" pancreatitis. She has seemed "less herself" for some time, but we chalked that up to the discomfort from her hind legs. Now I'm wondering if her discomfort was from gut problems.
Yes, she still has issues with her knees, but even that doesn't seem as bad right now. Perhaps the gut issues just made everything more sore and inflamed.
Well, it's not like we weren't trying.
