Our long winter began almost at this precise spot in the pasture, when Simon had a stroke and fell over and was soon gone. The next day, the awful snow and cold descended on us and stayed for months, and then Lenore and Frieda died also. Ken Norman was in the hospital recovering from knee surgery that day and his wife Eli came over to help us say goodbye to Simon. It was fitting that Ken and Eli and their daughter returned to the farm today. They brought us Chloe, the 20 year-old pony that Maria has been grooming and riding for the past few months.

Chloe arrived about 4:30, chased Lulu and Fanny around the pasture for about a half an hour, (it looked like she was trying to say hello, they were having none of it.) Then things settled down. Maria is thrilled, I am a bit bewildered, there is just a lot going on her right now.

But the important thing to me is that life has returned to Bedlam Farm. We love our mad puppy, she is a whirling dervish, bright, loving and intense. Red is simply the rock, he took one look at Chloe, lay down next to her and kept an eye on the sheep, nothing ever seems to throw or rattle him out in the pasture. So another chapter at Bedlam Farm. Maria plans to ride Chloe around our pasture tomorrow, we are thrilled to have her. She seems a sweet, steady and gentle creature, she and the donkeys were grazing near one another by dark. She is enjoying our fresh grass, we will have to keep her off of it for much of the day.

We are grateful to Ken and Eli for connecting us with this pony and bringing her to us. Chloe is 20 years old, I think she has seen it all, she already seems quite happy here, and why not? If I could come back in my next life as anything in the world, it would be as Maria’s next pony. I don’t think any creature, human or animal, could do better than that.

We had a pony we loved for a couple of years – Rocky. He was blind and  sweet. We have missed having a horse ever since, the farm seems whole again.