Stormy Day

It's a bit of a stormy day today, in two ways actually.  AGM for our brigade tonight.  Phew, hope it goes more smoothly than the weather!

In the meantime, it's too late to make the bed now, someone has found it and settled in.

I don't mind an inside day, especially with a bit of a busy night to come, but we did do our dogwalk this morning, and I managed to get on my pink boots and go and cut up a few more bits of lucerne trees just before the storm arrived.

Of course as a druid I don't like to cut down trees, but if we were to let all the lucerne trees that self-seed go, they'd cover the place and they are a fire hazard once they get older.

My littlest sis, PJ, received her beanie in the mail all the way over in Queensland.  Hopefully she'll get some wear out of it before their hot weather returns.  She's so pretty!   

I had a nice outdoor weekend.  Saturday, I popped over the give Harley a walky around his property while his dad was off at a course.  He's a happy boy, but very dignified too.

The creek was looking lovely!

Not sure what mama wood-duck thought she was doing, but when she saw Harley she dived and then came up hiding under the weeds there in an, "I can't see you so you can't see me," pose.

 
Presumably she has a nest nearby and was being a distraction, but good boy Harley ignored her and her theoretical nest totally.

I'm a good boy, I am. 

On Sunday the local druids got together at the big oak tree to celebrate Imbolc.  We took turns reading some poetry about the season and the goddess Brigid, and I sang a song with my guitar.  That was a bit scary but it's good to challenge myself.

 The tree looked beautiful with most leaves gone.  You could see its amazing framework.

This one actually shows its scale. It is hard to capture how big it really is.

 

 We're so lucky to have it nearby!

This afternoon, youngest Niecey and I are watching Young Ones episodes and drawing at the same time.  I love corrupting my nieces!  :D     

Fly Free, Pegasus!

Our family lost a horsey stalwart this week.   Jerry, at 28 years old, who thought he was Pegasus, got his wings back. 

Of course I am fond of all my sister's family's horses just as I am the family dogs, but Jerry also spent some time living here with me as a companion pony, so I am especially attached to him.

He was particularly gorgeous, even for a pony, like a little Andalusian, with his high crest, showy action and frequent showing off. 

        
He so gently took Jen's kids from their first fascinated explorations into horses...

 To lead rein lessons...

To first ridden...

And on to more advanced riding.

 

 

 

 
Along the way, they had so much fun...

 

And extended themselves beyond what they thought they could achieve...

 

All the way, he always remained himself; naughty, cheeky, fiery, eager, wary of vets, and annoying to other horses.  He very much enjoyed attention and being fussed over...
 

 

And he was so loved.

He will be very missed. 










 

Better Late Than Never

It was a busy weekend and Monday.   It's late on Tuesday now and I only just remembered I hadn't done my Monday blog post!

Ah well, you get that.  Our weekend began with a lovely walk up the block.  The moss and lichen is looking lovely now we have had so much rain.

Isn't it amazing how it can grow over a whole little rock?

 

  

Universe-like constellations of life.

So beautiful!

The last few days have been very showery, with sunny spots in between, which makes for plenty of rainbow opportunities.

   

Gorgeous!  I like the juxtaposition of the power lines with the beauty of nature, though I know not why.

Saturday we went to a matinee of the concert, Scotland the Brave, with my mum.   It was fun and there was plenty of talent there,  but the best cheer of the night was for the members of the WA Police Pipe Band.

Pic pinched from their site.

Sunday we had a full day of a course for driving under operational conditions.   This is now me:

 I had both Andrew and Jen there with me, so it was good fun.

My darling Tigger sis, always fun to be out with!

We learned a lot.  Was particularly interesting to do the simulated test of your awareness using a video and a system that captures your eye movements.  Being, all three, motorbike riders, we did very well at this.  Motorbike riders know everyone is out to kill them, so they can drive very awarely indeed!

Main points that came out of the day for me:  Don't speed even a little bit because it adds to your chances of having an accident markedly, and also adds to your chances of killing or being killed if you are in an accident.  Try never to have to look away from the windscreen and mirrors for even a second (and definitely don't text!)

Monday I had my niece Niamh here for a lesson.  We looked at one of the journals that I have been keeping for years, with an eye to her making one too.  Mine are full of pictures I like, drawings and doodles I've made, quotes, poems, book reviews, ideas for songs, novels and poems, news, all that sort of thing.  I've kept them for years and years.  Not so much these days since I started blogging, but I still have one on the go.

Then Niamh picked out a quote she liked and she illustrated it, and then we painted together, me doing the one I'd drawn the other day:

I didn't remember to get a pic of Niamh's before she left but I'll blog it when I do.  Oh oh, this won't be happening, because the dog ate it, yes she really did!   Naughty Pippa!

Dog shaming.  :D   Of course she can be forgiven everything because she is just so squidgy and adorable!

The quote was the one that goes, "Life is a great big canvas.Throw all the paint on it that you can," by Danny Kaye.  A good one!     

Today, after bouts of my usual crappy health on Sunday and Monday nights (why must it always get worse at night, why!?)  this is about all I was good for, kitty snuggles:

But I did manage to do some work on learning about how to set up an automated newsletter for my author site, and reading about mast cell activation disorder, which I am beginning to suspect I may have and which will explain why I get triggered by so many foods, perfumes and chemicals, and by stress, and even by changes of temperature.

I hope learning this and finding a MCAD-aware doc to help will help me to avoid some of the anxiety, reactivity and nausea in the future.  I keep on trying to have a life, but it does make things very hard when every plan you make might see you ending the day over a bucket.