What happened yesterday with Raudi, her getting her foot caught in the bottom portion of the fence, was a real wake-up call for me. I realized that she won’t be around forever, and that she’s past her prime. And so, if say I continue to put the majority of my time into the book project, I will have major regrets when she or any of the others pass.

I do wish that Raudi, Tyra, and Hrimmi had more pasturage, and that we had access to better and more lengthy trails. I have attempted to make this up to them all by letting them out in the yard twice a day. And up until recently, I rode them nearly every day.

Eagle hotel 8-29-23

Well, I am going to resume riding every day, and resume working in the playground of higher learning. I will ride when it rains. And I will ride when it snows, this year keeping the trails open. Yesterday and today, I rode all three horses. And this is what I am going to continue to do. I have been attempting to please others, by doing the things they want to do on nice days. I am now going to resume doing what I need to do, which is spend time with all the animals. They are a huge responsibility – they are also my responsibility. I’m okay with this.

I noticed tonight, when I took Raudi out (this was at 9:30 p.m.), that the sun was setting and it was getting dark. I barely had enough time when I came back, to get the pen cleaned. The darkness is now closing in on us, so I am going to have to ride earlier.

This isn’t going to be a problem. My job has gotten far easier because there are fewer space constraints, and all the books are in one place. Also, I am no longer restricted in terms of the days that I’m working. Today I first got books ready to go out, then finished sorting the nonfiction. After, I reorganized the boxes with the travel books in them. I next cleaned, stamped, and categorized the kids’ books, then did a distribution run, making sure that all the Palmer bookcases had books.

I got home at 5:30 p.m., which gave me enough time to get in the three rides. The horses were all glad to get out – Raudi even tolted. My hope is that I tired them out, so they won’t be going for the grass on the far side of the fence.

I took the dogs with me, once when I rode Hrimmi and once when I rode Tyra. This was because they also need their exercise. They were also glad to get out.

Tomorrow, I will again do the same. I also need to focus on doing things around here. It’s a jungle around here. We got no carrots this year, but we got a good cash crop of weeds.

I still think I’m a lucky person, having all these things to think about.

Next: 216. 8/8/23: Horses, Horses, Horses