Posey

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Yesterday was one of those days when I was in the mood to lazily lean back in my rocking chair in front of the fireplace and enjoy the rain from our comfy living room. You have the picture, right? A throw around my shoulders, Sheltie at my feet, a little reading, some music, maybe a little television, and some time spent just watching the rain fall.

Switch the music, something allegretto now, and wipe that last image. Instead, I was working on the large order for my friend and client down south. Having printed proofs a week or so ago, I have spent some time each day, for the last few days, making those final tiny tweaks to all the images. This is definitely not therapy for my back. Quite the contrary. But, it is a labor of love.

Since these are the images on my mind, I thought I would share a couple of them with you. The horse in both of these pictures is one of her stallions, Posey. As you can see by the second image, My friend loves a fanciful approach. While she is a big fan of more straightforward, representational pictures, she also gets pretty excited about a few that are made into something outside reality. Early on in my processing of the files from that shoot last April, I had been playing in Photoshop one day and had fiddled around with this textured background made from a photo taken at her place. Later, when she viewed her sideshow to make selections, I showed her both versions of this one—the "straight" one with the out-of-focus background (same background as the one above) and this version. Without a second's hesitation, she went for the more fanciful treatment. 

Cub Lake

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Having been immersed in projects all day, my mind is darting about from thought to thought. I am writing this on Tuesday for publishing Wednesday morning, and I hope you will not expect anything more than random musings. Heck, it may not even be coherent.

I am missing my walks down at Cub Lake and out on Lower Valley Trail. Unfortunately, one of those boggy spots I mentioned Tuesday is right at the head of the walking path. Eventually, I will feel strong and stable enough to tromp right through the slick mud and slippery grass to pick up the path. Just not quite yet. The photo from Cub Lake was taken a couple of weeks ago and is indicative of my wishful thinking.

For now, I am still seeing quite a lot of our drive out to the road and today I ventured out along the road in front of neighbors' yards. The ground out there is uneven and wears me out faster than a level path, but that's good therapy for me.

Monday was a day for one of those hectic trips to Los Angeles. A medical appointment and some errands did not make for a romantic Valentine's Day, and there was no time for a trip to the camera store. However, we did enjoy lunch together at our favorite restaurant. I relished every bite of my pork taco and refried beans.  It was a low key and tiring day, but we spent it together and that's the best part of Valentine's Day.

Mostly Boggy, with Some Sunshine

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Since we moved here, the small pond at the BVS Equestrian Center has been nothing more than a hole in the ground. When I drove down there Thursday, I was quite surprised to see a real pond—full of water. Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. We have had quite a lot of rain this winter. All our trails are still slick and there are small sections of the walking paths at the Cub Lake recreation area that remain under water.

The Husband has had his share of frustration with the wet trails. A couple of days ago, he took the chestnut out for a trail ride and ventured off the valley floor. Unfortunately, at the end of a steep grade, Lancer hit one of those slick spots and, after a brief slide, ended up standing three-legged with a scraped hind leg. After being hand-walked for about half-an-hour to the Equestrian Center, where The Husband hosed off the leg with warm water, Lancer was ready to go again. After a couple of days off, I'm happy to report that neither is the worse for wear.

We have been enjoying a long, lovely stretch of sunny weather, but this week the forecast includes rain. Not much snow this winter, but plenty of the wet stuff. It may be a few months before I start doing part of my walking down at Cub Lake.