I try to do this, but like most people, my mind wanders back and forth, from the past to the future. The past – I often find myself thinking of past events, going way back and attempting to make sense of them. And I often find myself thinking of future events and trying to make sense of them.

Right now, I have my knots in a knicker because tomorrow there is a disruption of routine. When I leave here, I will turn left instead of right on the Glenn Highway and head to Sutton. The reason is that I am going to the clinic there and having my left foot examined. It’s sore. Yesterday, Natalie, a BLBP volunteer and doctor, took a look at my foot and said what that I’d be told, which is that I have arthritis in my toes, which is being caused by a bunion. She suggested that I bypass this examination and instead go directly to a podiatrist. I am going to Sutton because I want to get as much information as I can before making any decisions.

Bunion surgery – if I have this done, I will be laid up for a long time. I will do as Pete suggested and go to a chiropractor and then schedule a visit with a massage therapist.

So yeah, there is some angst here, but not as much angst as there is going to be next week when I go to the dentist. My angst level is going to be off the charts, oh yes. This is going to be the moment of reckoning for sure about my supposed infected implant. I also am going to have to have something done about a loose front bridge.

So if I chose, I have plenty to fear about what’s to come. Instead, I am mainly working very hard so that I don’t think about these things. I suppose that when I work hard that I’m in the present. Now, ideally, I should be able to be in the present when I’m not working hard.

I don’t work hard when I ride. Tonight I rode Hrimfara – we are making progress. She’s trotting more. She only grabbed for cow parsnip once tonight, a move that I think was out of desperation. Her brain was saying “gotta eat,” and the rest of her immediately followed suit.

But here’s the interesting thing – I had just one treat on me, and she didn’t get it until we got home and were through the gate. So perhaps less is going to be better.

I would like to train her to pull a cart. And to paint. I need more time.

Today was a very hectic day, with people and books coming and going all day long. It was yet another day in which I was wonderous about the fact that I started this project not knowing what it would become. And it really has become something. I will be over the certitude hump when, finally, I get paid for what I’m doing.

Next: 216. 8/13/26: Orange Alert