The sun sang a sweet song on the daffodils in the living room and I appreciated it. This weekend reminded me that life is a brew, a recipe, a stew, it is never just one thing or another. This weekend was a rich sampling of life. We went to a plant exchange, and got dahlias and a bush and a bunch of perennials and donated two buckets of Florence’s Irises. I went to Battenkill Books as Recommender-in-Chief and recommended some books. We took Maria’s mother to hear a local chorale perform Handel’s Messiah, music I often heard on Christmas Day in my other life.
Today I met with my students from the Hubbard Hall Workshop, and then, Maria and I planted a Dahlia garden in honor of Florence Walrath, and we made some new friends we very much enjoyed and went out to dinner with them. Friendships are a miracle for me, every time they occur, and I respect and treasure them. Good friends are coming into our lives. And then another interesting thing, Maria went with a friend to take a horseback riding lesson, a legacy, I think, of her affection for Rocky.
She was quiet and reflective about it, she said she enjoyed it very much, it just seemed comfortable and natural and she very much enjoyed her instructor and found the lesson instructive and pleasant. I don’t now if she’ll pursue this or not, I do have this fantasy of having a gentle horse here, we have a horse stall and acres of riding trails right behind the farm. Maria is athletic and has an intuitive way with animals. And she dearly loved Rocky.
But a horse is a big responsibility, and we have a lot of those. And it is expensive. It is not about what I might like, but what she might like. I think she will explore it a bit further, that is up to her. It isn’t something I want to dot. I was surprised by her interest and yet, when I thought about it, was not. Maria is very focused on her work and is wary of distractions, but I also saw her with Rocky and saw how much she loved him. When I close my eyes, I can see her and Lenore trotting through the beautiful woods behind the farm. Maria is quiet and steady, she is not into the drama of animals, she is very sane about them. She said she was impressed that she and the other students groomed the horses, and it was peaceful and quiet, nobody was excited or talking or chattering sweet nothings to the animals.
I know what she means, she is not looking for another soul mate, but a natural and satisfying experience. She said she was very impressed with her instructor and was explaining to me how you control a horse. I was impressed, her friend said she was a natural, she is ready for a trail ride. Horses are different than dogs, but I see that some of the same training principles apply.
Tomorrow, the rich stew continues. I am scheduled for a root canal at my dentist at 5 p.m. Root canals are much easier and simpler than they used to be but still, I will be happy when it’s done. I had one two years ago and it wasn’t much worse than having a cavity repaired. Life just keeps coming in all of its rich, satisfying and challenging ways and we spun the wheel this weekend. Our farm is surrounded by gardens – two out front, one by the back door, one by the stone wall at the edge of the pasture. I see it takes a lot of work to have a nice garden, ours is filling out. I’m ready.