The darkness is beginning to descend earlier. It’s 9:57 p.m. and nearly dark. This is going to take some getting used to. I had been staying out until this hour and later, but now this is going to be less likely. And when I milk the goat in the evening, I need to have the shed light on. At least there is a shed light.

And it’s starting to get colder – putting on more layers and firing up the woodstove now and then. This summer we did have a few warm days, but the nights were (thankfully) always cool. Can’t recall what it’s like to sleep in blistering heat. Don’t want to recall what it’s like to sleep in blistering heat.

Ahh, was in my cabin a better part of the day (and it was the better part, the sun was shining brightly) working on my Bones for Life exercises; that is, the ones that I will be teaching on Saturday. I am dreading this. In a way, I feel like I’m being set up for failure in that I didn’t get a whole lot of time to prepare, and the lessons are lengthy. And the manuals are poorly written.

But there is a good side to this, and this good side is that I am now being forced to learn the material. And my method of learning it is actually pretty good. I will, on Saturday night, if this works, give myself a pat on the back.

I go through each lesson and type what I see as relevant information into the computer. Then I go through my computer notes and copy the material onto note cards. I have an introduction for each chapter (talking points) and an outline of the processes. We can’t use the manual, but we can use cheat sheets. The prospect of doing this is really making me nervous.

I would be less nervous if I hadn’t blown it before. I gave a lesson and left off half of it. I had not then come up with a system for recording and disseminating information.

I am dreading this so much that I hope that something happens and that class is cancelled. It is sort of like being a kid again and knowing that I am going to take a math test that I might fail. Some things never cease to be.

Well, I did get the horses out for a ride – ponied Tinni off Tyra (!). She did wonderfully, even returning to me when I dropped Tinni’s lead coming down a hill. I went to get him, left her behind and she followed me to him, for which she got a two fer – two treats.

Pete and I also took Raudi and Hrimmi for an identical ride. And they did just as well. Riding Tyra is like having a new horse. It’s sort of a novelty. But I must not forget about Raudi. And I do remember what a great horse she is when I am interacting with her and riding her.

Next: August 18, 2017: Pulling Tonsils