I’m writing this, my Friday dispatch, on Thursday evening. Right now, what most blows me away is the fact that this dispatch now has readers. I have heard from many well-wishers in the past few days, both congratulating us and asking if I have yet gotten caught up on backlogged sleep.

Even my Little Sister Eleanor is reading what I’m writing. Or, at least, looking at the pictures. High praise indeed, because she is a very busy woman – second graders are running her ragged.

The words of well-wishers make the work all that much more enjoyable. I do the writing and take most of the photos. Pete then puts the dispatches up on our site. He also selects the photos. So this is a joint effort. As I said before, I hesitated before taking on photography because the writing takes up a great deal of my time. But I’m finding that matching words to images comes easy to me. As for the written part of the dispatches -- I have to set aside my belief that everything I write has to be the best ever and instead accept the fact that some dispatches are going to be so-so. This is the nature of the beast.

The latest on Hrimfara – today she got two sessions of pen time and taken for her first walk. And this did not tire her out. I put her and Signy back after their last romp thinking that she’d immediately sack out. Heck no, she swished her little white-brown tail vigorously a few times and then went over to see Uncle Tinni, who had his head over the partition. (He may be in love with her—I don’t know. He spends a lot of time watching her.) Anyhow, she ran over to him, and kicked the plywood. Then she ran back to her mother, who was looking concerned. Then she ran back to Tinni and kicked the plywood again. Made me wonder how she’d have behaved if I hadn’t let her exercise.

I got the other horses out this afternoon – Siggi was very much bothered by the fact that it was I, and not Pete riding him

– and a quarter mile out, he turned and bolted back in the direction of home. I walked him a ways down the road and then got on him. I took the other two out on a nearby trail – it was fairly dry. So the riding season has begun.

I’m now calling it a day. We are having a potluck here on Saturday – to celebrate the arrival of Hrimmi and the end of the semester. It’s been unseasonably cold, I hope that it warms up by then.

Next: 155. 05/12/12: Pre-Potluck