Sticks and Stones

Just weighing in on the Paula Deen kerfuffle. I think the Food Network is over-reacting by firing her for a racial slur admittedly used years ago. Paula's about my age and I'm sorry, young'uns, but language such as this used to be somewhat common.

Polite? Never. Derogatory? Depended on the situation. Hurtful? I'm not Black but it is a term they use on each other. Does who says it really make a difference?

I think the crowd should not be allowed to sing Dixie at the Kentucky Derby. After all, it references returning to a time and place when slavery was accepted:

"The song originated in the blackface minstrel shows of the 1850s and quickly grew famous across the United States. Its lyrics, written in a comic, exaggerated version of African American Vernacular English, tell the story of a freed black slave pining for the plantation of his birth. During the American Civil War, "Dixie" was adopted as a de facto anthem of the Confederacy. New versions appeared at this time that more explicitly tied the song to the events of the Civil War. Since the advent of the North American Civil Rights Movement, many have identified the lyrics of the song with the iconography and ideology of the Old South. Today, "Dixie" is sometimes considered offensive, and its critics link the act of singing it to sympathy for the concept of slavery in the American South. Its supporters, on the other hand, view it as a legitimate aspect of Southern culture and heritage and the campaigns against it as political correctness. The song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln- he had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee's surrender."

Time Flies

I've been staying very busy in a mundane way. We have just over an acre of land and a lot of it has been divided into garden beds that need maintenance. It took me two afternoons just to prune the dead branches off the rose bushes next to the driveway. I've planted quite a few perennials and annuals so watering takes about 90 minutes. I single-handedly pruned the branches off and dug up the roots of a dead Canadian hemlock. I planted a lilac in its place and another lilac in a different bed. I've only got about 1/3 of the dead canes cut from the raspberries and I'm afraid the grass has won the battle in the strawberry patch. Lots of blossoms, however, so I think we'll get berries. I'm not a vegetable gardener but our next door neighbors gave us broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes so I felt obligated to plant them. I also scattered some carrot seeds and zinnia seeds that came with a pair of Playtex gloves. One of my hollyhocks is blooming, even though it's only about six inches tall and my sweet peas seem to be doing well.

The mosquitos are fierce and congregate by the back door where the dogs go in and out and sneak into the house when the door is opened. I went to eight different stores in town on Thursday trying to find one of those electric bug zappers. A nice sales lady told me she had one that worked great in Colorado but our long daylight hours make it kind of ineffectual in Alaska. She suggested getting a model that also has some kind of odor attractant so I went home and ordered one from Amazon. It should arrive Tuesday. Die suckers, die!

My riding lessons have been going well. "My" horse was entered in a three day jumping show last weekend so I rode Thursday morning instead of Friday afternoon. I know darn well he is leery of the far side of the arena so I avoid riding there. For some reason I was feeling confident so I started long reining him over there. He spooked right and I fell off left. The base of my spine is still a little tender.

He had Tuesday off since he'd been jumped quite a bit plus participated in a clinic on Monday. I was headed to the barn Friday when out of nowhere a mallard hen and her tiny ducklings appeared in front of me on the road. I slammed on my brakes (fortunately no one was behind me) and they proceeded to start to cross. Then a big truck traveling the opposite direction threw them in a tizzy and they scattered every which way. I just sat there until I saw them off to the side of the road. I didn't see any roadkill on my way home so hopefully either they made it to the other side or gave up trying.

Heard Joan Baez singing, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down the other day and it has been running through my head ever since. Move on Virgil; I'm tired of hearing your name.

Ignore Previous Entry

Spring/summer has arrived with a vengeance. We went from naked trees to buds to full-blown leaves in about a two day period.

I didn't get to ride last week. My trainer wasn't going to be available on Tuesday but told me I could go ahead and ride if I wanted to. When I got to the barn the horse seemed lethargic and not his usual cheery self. I turned him loose in an arena and instead of rolling, he laid down for about 5-10 minutes. He never does that. He also turned down carrots so I knew he wasn't up to par. I gave him a good grooming and put him away after calling his owner to let her know what was up. Turns out he was running a temperature and at one point she thought she might not be bringing him home from the vet's. They think he picked up a ground contaminate from wild geese that had landed in the pastures. Anyway, he got meds and this week seems back to normal.

I spent Saturday and Sunday at the hunter/jumper horse show. It was fun but I decided to stay home Monday and start working on potting up plants and weeding. Yesterday I had just finished zippering up my half chaps when my trainer called to ask if she could move me from 2:00 until 4:00 as she'd had a flat tire that needed fixing. No problem. I just changed out of my riding clothes back into jeans and worked in the yard. Just as I was stepping out the door for the later lesson my trainer called to say she was running about 20 minutes late. Okie dokie, I'll give the horse an extra good grooming.

So, I get to the barn, let the horse loose and start to gather up tack. His bridle is missing. I knew she'd used it on a different horse at the show Sunday so I called her to let her know. She told me to look in her trailer as it must have gotten left in there. I couldn't find it. I decided to go ahead and groom the horse, saddle him and walk him around in his halter. Did I mention it was uncomfortably warm during all of this? 4:30 rolls around - still no trainer. I am dying from the heat so I untack the horse, put him away and go find a shady spot to wait for her. When she finally showed (after 5:00) I told her I still hadn't found the bridle so we both go to the trailer. Turns out it got put in a cubby on the opposite side of the trailer than the main tack area I had been looking in.

She had already postponed her next lesson to make time for mine so I got the horse ready, mounted and proceeded to have a lesson in the scorching heat. I think my brain was fried. I couldn't seem to remember how to do anything, although apparently the horse was covering for me as she kept saying how well I was doing. Maybe muscle memory? I know I didn't consciously do anything. There was another woman in the arena so I tried to stay to one side. She kept wandering into "my" area and I kept having to detour to avoid bumping into her horse. Anyway, did I mention it was hot? I don't think the horse liked it either because my trainer asked if there were bugs around his ears or if he was just twitching them in irritation? Unfortunately, it was the latter. When the other woman left the arena with her horse, mine did a little crow hop - I didn't fall off! He apparently thought that if the other horse was getting to leave he should be able to get me off his back also. Little did he know that there was another rider waiting in the wings for him.

I drove into Anchorage to have lunch with a friend today and then worked in the yard some more. As usual, I've purchased too many plants so am over planting all my containers. My hanging baskets won't be ready for pick up until next Wednesday. The nursery had told me to call three or four days in advance but they got slammed all at once due to the late spring and are taking longer than usual to accommodate all their customers. I plan to work in the yard all day tomorrow, ride Friday and then attend dressage shows in Anchorage this weekend.

What ever happened to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer?

Record Setting Snowfall

Ah yes, another first; snow starting yesterday and continuing today. Normally, Memorial Day is our big weekend for putting out plants. Last Saturday was warm, I had the windows open and was contemplating taking advantage of some coupons I had for a local nursery. It wasn't getting below freezing at night and surely I could safely start hardening off the tender young plants. The one thing that stopped me was that supposedly it is safe to plant once the leaves on the birch trees are as big as a squirrel's ear. I haven't even seen a glimpse of green yet. Then the temperature kept getting lower and I decided not to risk spending money on something just to have it killed off by frost. The forecast called for snow later in the week and darned if they weren't right for once. I did see several robins earlier in the day when it was still raining. I bet they're ready to fly south again.

I had switched over to my summer riding boots and my feet were cold yesterday for the first time ever, despite having on wool socks. On the positive side, the lesson was great and I got some extra riding time since the person who normally rides after me had canceled. My trainer put the horse on a lunge line and had me practice sitting trot both with and without stirrups. Surprisingly, I do better without stirrups; I think because I sit deeper in the saddle.

The first show of the season is supposed to be next weekend. Several events to be held over both this and last weekend have been canceled because the arenas aren't dry yet - one is being used by geese which should give you an idea of how wet it is. Good times...

Don't Fruit the Beer!

I just saw a commercial for a canned margarita made with beer. Come on, Budweiser. Don't stoop to this.

I Survived

I rode five days in a row last week. The clinician was great, however, she really wanted me to work on posting correctly and boy, did my legs feel it. I use my stirrups too much when I should be using the muscles in my thighs, so got to post without stirrups. I am to practice without stirrups in incremental steps until I can ride all the way around the arena. Um, yeah, we'll see. Fortunately, my regular trainer took pity on me for my two lessons with her and let me stay at a walk and work on collection, side passes and such. I did ride for about an extra half hour on Friday and felt great that evening. Saturday, not so much.

One of the other barns out here is holding a driving clinic in May. I thought I would go and watch for fun but another woman said she had a pony I could use to actually take a lesson with. I figure I can take up driving once I'm too feeble to get on the back of a horse. That day may be sooner than later.

Found another deal on Craigslist. A patio table, six chairs, two lounge chairs and a side table for $150. Not that I ever sit outside due to mosquitos but my husband thought we needed a new set. He will sit outside and smoke cigars which apparently keeps pests away (I know I won't come near) I wrote how the glass table top to our old set got shattered during a wind storm last fall. He wants to put in a plywood sheet and have me tile over it. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a replacement glass place...

Busy Week Ahead

Not that busy compared to when I held down a job, but more activity than is usual nowadays. I am going to ride five days in a row. I know lots of people ride several horses every day but this will be a first for me. I'm riding with a visiting clinician on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and decided to go ahead and have my regular riding lessons on Tuesday and Friday. Hope my old body is up for the challenge.

I noticed a corner of my pillowcase was soaking wet this morning with holes chewed in it. This particular set of sheets came with four pillowcases and I only use two. I had wondered what I'd do with the others, but am now glad that I've got them. Thanks Winston.