I couldn’t tell what exactly the weather was going to be like early this morning, when I first cleaned the horse pens and then milked the goat. My focus was exclusively on both tasks. I look around when tending to the horses. I look directly at an udder and two teats when milking Swampy. We have finally come to an understanding, of sorts. I keep her bowl filled with alfalfa pellets and hay cubes and she refrains from kicking. I can now milk both sides without her attempting to put her leg in the pail.

I next went for two rides; the first outing was on Tinni and the second was on Hrimmi. The sky was overcast, it was cold. It felt as though it could rain any minute. I was hoping that it would hold off until I finished riding all four horses.

Alys and Hrimmi on the bench

No such luck. I came in for lunch around 2 p.m., and Pete, looking out the window, said, “It’s really coming down.” I cursed inwardly because I was all set to get out and ride. Right now, the wild roses and the wild geraniums are in full bloom. And all the vegetation is green, really green. Vibrant green. It’s also buggy – Tinni was so bothered by them that he bolted a few times. It was not the Tinsi shuffle; rather, it was several all-out bolts. I, of course, put bug dope on Hrimmi before setting out. This enabled her to focus exclusively be on grabbing at vegetation. Grr, grr, grr.

Our new neighbor, Sebastian, has apparently finished his excavation efforts. Amazing, what men can do with big machines. The hill that for years has been an impediment, appears to have been flattened. I do wonder, does this mean that there will be an increasing number of motorized vehicles heading uphill?

It’s as difficult for me to shift my own gears as it is to shift the SAAB’s gears. (I now call the SAAB dog ‘n Pony). I really wanted to ride. Instead, I told myself that I had inside things to do, and ought to get them done now because when the sun again comes out, I’ll again make being outside my priority. I don’t know if this denotes a strong or a weak sense of discipline.

Maybe it means that I have foresight and am a good long-term planner.

Yes, let’s keep this dispatch on a positive line of thought.

So, after lunch I sent out several Bright Lights Book Project emails, and I put some of my books on shelves. If I was really ambitious, and I am not, I’d bring in my saddle and bridle and clean them. I will do this if the rain continues tomorrow.

And most importantly, I got this dispatch written before 10 p.m. It would be quite fortuitous if now the rain stopped, and the sun came out.

Next: 167. 6/17/21: Off the Grid, On the Clock