I wish right now that everything climate-wise would stay the way it is. I mean, the wild roses, now in full bloom, would hold their own, and that we continued to have as much daylight as we now do.

Alas, in a week the roses will have started their decline, and as well, we’ll be on the flip side of daylight. This is why I have ambivalent feelings about the solstice – I know that from then until December 21, it will be all downhill. Downhill is okay when on a sled ride, but not okay when dealing with light.

It does amaze me, that it’s light at 8 p.m. when we eat. Then its light at 11 p.m. when I finish up outside. I’m also getting up earlier.

The most interesting thing about this time of year is how easy it is to get around. I don’t have to spend time getting into my Refrigirware suit, putting on boots, and a hat, or looking for a headlight and gloves. Out the door I go.

There is also more to be done outside, so inside, my immediate environs are a mess, which is a mess I ignore. There is also an inverse relationship going on. The more light there is, the less reading I get done.

Shadow heading through the tunnel

Pete has spent over a month working on the gardens. He now has nearly everything planted and is moving into the weeding phase. This year, I really did want to help him, but I never got to it. And he didn’t do much riding. I instead put my energies into riding horses and tending to them. Perhaps in the future, we might do both activities together.

For Pete, working on fencing is next. Maybe we can do both, together.

Today we went to dog agility class. Last week Pete went solo because I had an important meeting. This week, he took Shadow through her paces and I watched.

I learned as much watching as I do working directly with Shadow. The group of five was working on sequencing – going from obstacle to obstacle. Shadow did very well – I could tell that the neurons in her brain were on rapid fire. She jumped over hoops, ran through tunnels, and raced across the dog walk. Even her instructor was impressed. And Pete, who has a strong sense of body awareness, pretty much gave Shadow the right cues so that she knew where to go when.

I could tell that the dogs also enjoyed the shade breaks. The temperatures were in the high seventies and the sun was shining brightly.

Agility is one of those things, it looks a lot easier to do than it actually is. I have been watching these dogs for some time, and today I was struck by the fact that for a dog and handler to do well requires quite a bit of training. Also, considerable patience.

What I most like about agility is that the training is based on positive reinforcement principles. Scolding or disciplining a dog is not seen as being as effective as substituting another behavior.

More daylight tomorrow. Something to look forward to.

Next: June 15, 2021: It’s tired and I’m getting late