Summer Check In

Has this summer lasted a year already?

And then, this year has felt like a century so far and there have been so many parts of us that have been hanging so heavy on all of us.  The trees in our neighborhood and many in the city are bedecked with green ribbons, green ribbons that symbolize the loss in Central Texas and Camp Mystic just a few weeks ago so that we don’t forget and continue to honor their memories.

Doesn’t the world continue to turn though?

The family are all here and back in Texas.  We’ve enjoyed weekly family meals, a lot more time together, and getting to see each other isn’t as much of a production as it has been.  The nephews are adjusting very quickly to their new home, the neighborhood, and the heat.  They’ve both been splashing about in swim class and my older nephew starts school in a month.  Their dogs are less enamored with the heat and I don’t want to break it to them that the real summer in TX hasn’t even started yet.

The ponies had been enjoying the cooler than usual summer temps, as we got a lot more rain than is typical for this time of year.  Everyone is happy and healthy and very very sweaty.  At the beginning of July, I put Dalton on U-gard as an ulcer preventative, he was acting squirrely about his sides getting brushed.  Since the U-gard, no discomfort issues with his belly so hopefully that problem is nipped in the bud.  That’s really as exciting as it gets with them (besides Dalton throwing the odd shoe), which suits me fine.  They’re both doing great under saddle and keeping weight on (amazing).

Bowie's favourite place in the world

It’s deep summer at the Country Club.  We’ve made a few trips out there in the heat, mainly to mow and do general maintenance.  I’ve discovered my least favourite chore out there which is clearing out trees and branches that have fallen.  We also finally dragged the boat out of the barn and did a cruise around one of the nearby lakes.  It takes so few sentences to describe things that have taken so much time and sweat equity, which I think is the story of land management.  I know our projects will never be done out there and as we come up on a year of owning our piece of the countryside, the improvements we’ve made within that time are already apparent.  Time permitting, this deserves its own post and more expostulation.

I hope that all is well with you and you take a moment to sink / melt into the depth of the summer shadows and daydream a little.