Coming home, the washboard road is as close to a drumroll as we’ll get. We are bleary-eyed and dog-tired. I have a class to lead in three hours. Jolene needs to zoom in her yard like an Indy car. Mister sweeps the farm for stray cats who might need to be barked at. And the … Read more
Road trips have a feeling of being unstuck anyway, but this trip to the land of my people was like slingshot time travel. Glancing at a cloud, a memory starts foggy. Wait for the shy, buried parts to emerge. But then all the memories explode straight at you. Both slow motion and at blinding speed. … Read more
I can’t remember having leaves so early on our high desert prairie. Shade is scarce since losing our trees. There’s just enough room under the lilac bush for the dogs. The lack of lawn doesn’t change. Call it fire mitigation because I’m not watering sod meant to be living in Kentucky. It’s windy, of course, … Read more
Just a reminder, dear reader. I’m a horse trainer using all I know to raise a puppy. If your horse’s trainer uses methods that would be bad for a dog, please reconsider. It gets worse. I’m a horse trainer who believes we should train donkeys as a prerequisite to horses. Donkeys demand special skills that … Read more
Jolene says, hurry up, would ya? I am not dawdling. I’m getting my hearing aids, looking for my outside glasses and the remote mic. It’s Thursday. She has her harness on, and that means something. I’ll tell you what that harness means to me. It’s her eighth harness and the most expensive one. Also, the … Read more
Last week I raved about my beautiful but desolate riding arena at the front of my little farm. My other favorite place is the pond at the very back of my farm. Waterfront property on the high desert prairie of Colorado was a major selling point when I chose this dilapidated farm. It’s fed by … Read more
Ten days after solstice and it’s already staying light longer. Want to wish me a happy one-year-older? On January first, horses become one year older, regardless of their actual birthdate. Breed organizations do it for ease of record keeping, and I doubt the horses notice. As proud gray mare, that means I am a year … Read more
It’s the limbo week between Christmas and the New Year. The sunset of the year, if there is such a thing. Have you ever thought about how sunrise and sunset look alike? This photo is easy to place because Pikes Peak is on the western horizon here. But I know it’s an old photo because … Read more
It felt like a militant act of self care. Like cutting your hair really short or tossing out jeans for their inability to adapt to change. But those things are common to me. This was bigger. I found the life-altering drug that Mister and I needed. There is a puppy. She has a name. But … Read more
My horse sister called to ask how I was. It wasn’t small talk. We tell each other the truth and it took a beat to answer. There were so many parts. “I’m exhausted,” I said. “It’s been such a hard year.” “Anna, it’s only April,” she said. And we both chuckled and quickly slid into … Read more