Melinda left this afternoon, pulled out of here, with her trailer full of stuff. I presumed that she took the horses with her; either that or she stashed them in the swamp. A sad state of affairs. And it’s not over, it’s just gone elsewhere.

Melinda gives literal meaning to the words “horse crazy.” She has the horse gene, or pretends to have it. I don’t know. And I don’t know her. What I know about her is part hearsay, part based on how she treats her animals. Horses need food, water, shelter. Altogether too often, they’ve been lacking in these items.

Horse--I have the gene, for sure. Interesting, how the interest resurfaced, after many years of being sub-surface. If Melinda really does love horses, well then, we are kindred spirits. If she’s just using them to make a buck, well then, we are not kindred spirits. It’s as simple as that.

Crazy—Melinda has psychological problems, this is a given. This is why she hasn’t been able to keep her horse act together. I don’t know if I have psychological problems. But I have been able to keep my horse act together. This has been with a major assist from Pete.

Five horses IS a lot of horses. I’m sure my neighbors think that I’m nuts, for what they see is a woman like Melinda, small, unkempt, wearing outdoor clothes – going up and down the road on her ponies. And how my horses are doing is a subject that’s dear to my heart.

Today I got them all out. I first rode Raudi and ponied Signy – we went on a long trail ride. Then I rode Tinni and ponied Siggi – we went on a short trail ride. Then I rode and walked Signy and had Hrimmi come along. It was a beautiful, brisk, pre-winter day. The sun shone brightly – there was a bit of heat in the air. There was snow on the distant mountain tops, and at one point, there were snow flurries in the air. I counted my blessings, today there were five.

I am most pleased about my improving relations with Mr. Siggi. We had a go around a few weeks ago – he refused to be ponied and I got mad at him. But we’ve worked through our issues. His coming along with another horse is going to be good for him. It will enable him to get more non-rider exercise. See how my mind is working? I could go on and on and on. But I will spare you. Suffice to say, you shoulda been there!

Anyhow, the term Horse Crazy would be a good book topic. I think it’s a good topic because it merits further investigation. Like, why are some women this way, and some not? Is it a passion, an addiction? What parts of the brain are triggered when someone says the word horse to a horse-obsessed person? I just have to give this more thought. . . .

In the meantime, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing with my horses. It brings me great joy, even the cleanup part.

Next: 312. 10/18/12: Road Tripping