Oh, Happiness...

Remember this post?

I was so sad that Dixie looked old and sad.

Well, a few days after that, Dixie gave up all will to live and laid in her kennel for hours on end, nursing a paw that had some sort of abscess on it. In a panic, I took her to the vet because she had not gotten up to pee in about eight hours. With her bladder condition, this is not good news.

A hundred and thirty two dollars later, Dixie was diagnosed with an infection in her paw that had gone systemic and required antibiotics.

A week after that?

Dixie is back to her old self again! She is happy, full of life, and thrilled to terrify my horse by hunting small game in the ditch beside my riding ring.

She is still grey around her muzzle, but other than that she is bright eyed, eating like an overweight beagle should eat, and greeting me with more joy than she has been in the past few weeks.

Oh, happiness. My beagle is healthy once more.

Baby, Let's Go For a Drive...

I didn't feel like going straight home after work this morning, even though after a nineteen hour shift I'm typically ready to bond with my couch for a while. I drove down to Tim's and got myself a coffee and took the long way home.

I drove down the highway and toured around the the town my old church is in. There was a jolly farmer who had a huge junkyard just up from the church, and I wondered if he was still there. His junk yard has expanded and he was actually on the road in his tractor this morning, grinning and waving at me like he's done since I was about twelve. Just a happy farmer with a lot of neat stuff around.

I drove by the church where I received my first communion and where years ago I stood with the person who is now my ex husband. I still feel like that whole situation punched me in the face, but really, it didn't even make me sad. It just is what it is.

I drove through a more run down area of the country. I think it is what most people would call a rural ghetto. And since I was a child, the place has cleaned up quite nicely. The houses look less scary, better kept.

I drank my coffee and listened to the radio and the rain poured down. And me and my Jeep just kept going, wherever we felt like going with the rain pelting the rag top. I don't really know what I was thinking or if there was anything of value to bother taking up my thoughts. It was just a long ride in my trusty Jeep. Perhaps not the most economical way to spend a morning, or the most environmentally friendly...

I think there's just something about driving around in a vehicle you love that is good for the soul. I've got a term paper due, a project on the go at work that I can't begin to complrehend, berry season coming up, a horse who is out of shape, and a pair of dress riding boots that won't go around my legs.

Nothing like a little therapeutic driving to clear a person's head.

Happy Sixth Hundredth Post, Blog...

Zydeco and I had our first lesson of the season today. And oh, what a time we had.



We are currently working without the aid of a fenced in riding area and he has learned a neat little trick called "When she asks me to work, I simply run up onto the driveway."

For the first time in two years of working with Zydeco, I actually thumped him in the ribs while he was trying to escape my efforts. I can honestly say that I have never punished my horse before today. Those around me were thrilled that I have finally taken control of a situation and said what's what. I felt a little bit bad but did not enjoy the sensation of being stampeded into the trees across from the ring, so I don't feel too guilty.

Zydeco and I celebrated our first lesson of the season with quite the feat as well: Our first square halt.



Does the above horse have two legs, or four?

Oh, the dressage-y glory. Hopefully more framed work and square halts will follow through the season.