#i think i gave myself sun/heat poisoning riding today

[allylikethecat]

just wanted to let you know ive re-read make way for ducklings no joke like 10 times now lol. i checked for chapter 13 as soon as ao3 was stable again, since i saw you said it was done 😅. fictional matty fumbling the interview was very cute, and idk if this will be included or not but im interested to see when the fans start to figure it out 👀

(also thought using the durex shirt in the previous chapter was a nice touch lmao)

also been loving the kiss prompts! interested in the extended version of face down too, or anything more about migraines, or...well, anything angsty in general really haha...😅

anyway, looking forward to whatever you post next! ive very much enjoyed everything of yours so far <3

Oh my gosh. Thank you SO MUCH. I can't believe someone other than ME has read Make Way for Ducklings more than once, let alone TEN TIMES. You are absolutely amazing and I hope you didn't find too many plot holes that i have attempted to bandaid 😂 I feel like I was one of the last people to be able to access AO3 again, so I hope you weren't waiting too long after it came back up (huge shout out to the volunteer that fought off the attack, those are some real life rockstars.)

Meanwhile, Fictional!Matty is out there saying words that he is realizing after they leave his mouth that he probably should have kept to himself (reminds me of real life Matty there a little bit 🤔) except luckily, the only person he's hurting in my fic is himself! The fans are 100% going to think that Matty got some random girl pregnant and is now freaking out about it 😂 Though... they weren't the only ones listening to the broadcast and they don't have the same front row seat to Matty's erratic behavior as other people 👀

Thank you for commenting on the Durex shirt. I thought I was fucking hilarious with that one and was snickering as I wrote it haha

The kiss prompts have been so much fun! I posted another one today, and I have a few more in my inbox! I really needed them to kind of reset my brain I think!

Don't worry- there is lots more angst in the future! I will eventually finish the Ear Infection Fic™️ situation, and once that's finished I want to shift my "one shot" focus onto expanding Face Down- that whole thing has such a grip on me! I also have You Know Where the City Is - my Matty x Taylor 2014 Fake Dating AU... Matty is pretty miserable in that one as well 😂 I feel bad maybe I should write him into a happier situation?

I can't commit to migraines at the moment - but they're miserable so they will probably also make a reappearance at some point. I've also been really intrigued by Matty's experience getting LASIK...

Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and for reading (multiple times!!!) I was so excited when I saw this ask and probably just sent way too long responding to it- but I got really excited and here we are, I have written you a small novel in response. If you have made it this far, thank you so, so, much and I am always overly excited to chat about my fic if you are so inclined. Thank you again!!

❤️Ally

[pcttrailsidereader]

14 Lessons from theTrail

As the 2021 hiking season is well underway, the time is right to share wisdom from seasoned veterans of the trail.  Brett Fisher (Backtrack) – http://www.wanderabout.org/ – suggested that the five lessons from the PCT as articulated by Anna (North Star) and Chris (Shutterbug) – http://wanderingthewild.com/ – along with the five more added by Bobcat –  http://roamingbobcat.wordpress.com/ – and finished off with his own four, would be worthy of publishing.  I agreed.  Reflection is such an important part of the PCT experience.  

These 14 lessons are a powerful reminder to each of us long distance hikers.  I love the positive spirit reflected in their words. You may have your own to add and you may take issue with some (I’m still chewing on #8) … please let us know.

Brett ‘Backtrack’ Fisher

North Star and Shutterbug noted that their thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail taught them many things. Here are five of the most important lessons they learned on the trail.

1) Senses awaken in nature. After years of living in a city, our minds subconsciously created filters to deal with the contant  jumble of sensory information. It was thrilling to remove those mental filters and reawaken our senses in the great outdoors. The crack of a distant twig alerted us to an elk, almost hidden in the forest. We could smell day hikers’ deodorant and laundry detergent from several feet away. Our eyes tracked the subtle movements of a soaring hawk adjusting to shifting air currents. The longer we lived in the wild, the sharper our senses became.

2) People are good. On the trail, day hikers and trail angels gave us encouragement, kudos, and tasty food. Other thru hikers shared our joy during good times, and cheered us up during harder moments. Crews of volunteers labored to maintain the trail. The people we met in the small towns along the PCT were incredibly friendly and accommodating. Strangers went out of their way to give us rides, find us rooms, and some even offered us their homes for a night. The kindness and generosity we received went beyond anything we could have expected. We saw the fundamental goodness of people during our thru hike.

3) Hike your own hike. Hikers often tell each other to “Hike your own hike” (HYOH), recognizing a wide variety of backpacking preferences. We knew this phrase before starting the Pacific Crest Trail, but its meaning really sank in with a few hundred miles under our feet. HYOH worked for us in many small ways, such as our hiking pace — we walked slower than most thru hikers so we could take more pictures. But we also realized HYOH applied to larger life choices, such as our decision to continue hiking long trails, rather than immediately returning to desk jobs. To Hike Your Own Hike is to allow yourself to do what works best for you and your passions, and to support others in doing what works for them. The result is greater happiness for everyone.

4) Fewer possessions is freeing.  We found that the less we had, the happier we were. Each possession was not only physical weight to carry, but also mental weight. Carrying just one set of clothes meant no decisions about what to wear in the morning. Instead of carrying chairs, which could break or get left behind, we sat on the ground or on logs. Taking only the food we needed made meal choices simple. We didn’t bring bowls and plates, all of which we’d have to clean. Rather we ate right from our pot. With less items to think and fret about, our minds could relax and be open to all the beauty around us. The simple lifestyle is truly freeing.

5) Wilderness is home. As the weeks passed, we became more and more comfortable living in the desert, the mountains, and the forest. A primal part of us came to the forefront. Fresh air, clean water, and open space surrounded us and sustained us. As our relationship with the wilderness deepened, we felt more at home there than we did in civilization. We had not expected this, but it turned out to be one of the most powerful aspects of the hike.

                                                                     Photo Credit: Rees Hughes

These are the five added by Bobcat.

6) Joy is our natural state. On the trail life is reduced to its most basic necessities: water, food, sleep, shelter, safety from the elements and natural beauty. Because our minds are freed from having to handle what Northstar and Shutterbug call the constant jumble of sensory information, we are open to tackle deeper and deeper levels of thought. Because the trail is so long, at some point we run out of things to ponder, analyze, consider or solve. When that happens, the void that is left seems to immediately be filled with a sense of joy and peace. So, at our most basic level, underneath it all, this must be our natural state.

7) Life is a mirror (you get what you give). I have experienced this more than once on the trail: If I approach the road in a joyful and optimist state, I wait for a hitch less than five minutes; if I approach it with a bad attitude, it will be a long while before I get picked up. The kindness and generosity we received as hikers I believe is in direct correlation to our own state of open-mindedness. The opposite is true also. Fear attracts scary situation. People who feared bears had bear encounters. I started the trail worried about poisonous plants and managed to get poison oak on one leg and poodle-dog-bush on the other. When I became grateful for the cortisone cream two generous hikers gave me, the oozy mess cleared up over night.

8) All you need is love and gratitude. Somewhere in the first few hundred miles of the trail, I became so frustrated with my UV water purifier and so jacked up on iodine that I stopped using any sort of water treatment. Instead, I held the water to my heart and told it, sincerely, “I love you, please don’t make me sick, thank you”. The method proved excellent the whole trail, including with that one batch of “bear pooh water” (see “I believe in angels”). Inspired by my success, I also used this method as sunscreen (I love you Sun, please don’t burn me, thank you), bug-repellent (I love you spider, please stay off my tarp, thank you) and holographic deck (I love you trail, could I get a shady spot, mosquito free, by some water, thank you). Seriously, it works. Try it for yourself.

9) Freedom is an intrinsic quality. Before I left, a good friend told me that the PCT would likely be the one place where I could find enough space to accommodate my humongous need for freedom. All former thru-hikers I have met mention “freedom” as the greatest gift they received from the trail. All that fresh air, clean water and open space seeps into your soul and sticks. I think freedom is always in us, but sometimes our vision of it is clouded. Once we touch that quality within us, it remains wherever the end of the trail finds us. Some of us continue to wander, travel, explore or hike; others return to former lives and jobs from an expanded perspective. In all cases, you can take the hiker off the trail, but not the trail out of the hiker.

10) Laugh it off. Never mind great truths and life-changing discoveries; we know nothing. Any labeled identity we create for ourselves will be destroyed as soon as it’s uttered. I once wrote that my feet hurt, the next day my feet stopped hurting. I once wrote that I preferred solitude, the next day I found myself  hiking with a small group of fun people and loving it. I once was very upset at the thought of no-longer being a “thru-hiker”. I think we all feel that way. That is in part why we seek the company of other thru-hikers post-trail. Am I still a hiker if I’m not hiking? Who cares! Each experience is worth its weight in gold. I think it’s important to not take ourselves too seriously and as Dacia so eloquently put, to get out of our own way, learn to surf the wave, revel in the power of it, and let it all come together.

                                                                         Photo credit: Jim Peacock

And the final four from Backtrack.

11) It’s not a race. Lightweight, a hiker who hadn’t yet escaped the vortex at Casa de Luna, started a list in the Anderson’s trail register, “How To Win the PCT.” First on the list: Be the last to Canada. If you’re hiking northbound that is. Hiking a long trail is not a competition. There aren’t winners and losers. All of us get there only one step at a time.

12) It’s not about the miles, but what happens between the miles. I heard this from my daughter, Dances With Lizards, the only member of Team No Hurries to get to Canada this year. Maybe this is a variation of “the journey is the destination.” We live between the miles. Not in how many miles we’ve walked today, all week, or the whole hiking season.

13) It is what it is. It’s 105 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s 18 miles to water. There’s a thunderstorm right on top of us. The snake ate the rabbit babies. I am very hungry. It isn’t good and it isn’t bad. It is what it is and has no need for meaning. I take a break in the shade in the heat of the day. I carry 4 liters of water. I hunker down from the rain and lightning and watch the display. A snake’s got to eat, too. I eat some food. It is what it is, now and in this moment.

14) There’s pain but that doesn’t mean there is suffering. A day hiker descending Mount Whitney says to me, “Are we having fun yet?” I am huffing and puffing and legs burning on the way up and pant out, “I think we do this for other reasons than fun.” Walking on blisters hurts. Legs and knees and ankles and feet sometimes ache, and sometimes all ache at the same time. Sometimes I am very hungry. Sometimes I smell very bad and so do all my companions. My socks have holes in them. Yet, I laugh at the pain and discomfort. We laugh together. There is joy out here on this trail. Between every step and every mile.

15) add yours here …

[dejametemostrar-blog]

These Chords Saved My Cheeks

(BlackBoxGuild e.g.)

    By CJ Stokes

     I’ve cried over three topics in my life: sports, death, and due to one or two special women crying; but all tears stopped due to music. 

     I lie; I’ve also cried during an a** whooping from my mother.  Music did not stop those tears but it did allow me to feel tranquil before her wrath.

     My first encounter with music’s power: Allegedly, I had done something wrong yet again in school.  See, my mother had prepared me all too well for elementary school.  From birth she wanted me to be advanced. 

     She even gave me a non-cultural, (possibly white-washed), name like Christopher Jared so my job application wouldn’t be skipped by hiring managers. 

     She placed me in a rather advanced private school in Charleston, SC which, I admit, placed much of my academic skills above most of the average South Carolina, (one of the worst education systems in the states), classroom competition.  As a result, the only child would grow bored and cause a little ruckus for the wise mouth elementary teachers he encountered. 

     Mind you, these classrooms were by far some of the comfiest I’ve ever come across.  Filled with carpet, (perfect sleep texture), and some dialogue that I’ve heard all before.  They even had the wooden desk with the cubby opening.

    I had everyone in there.  All the class clowns and even the girl whose race I couldn’t determine but her tone was sun kissed yet her hair stayed bronze.  She was beyond a crush.  I was considering marriage.

     I analyzed the wispy, white and gray hair of this middle-aged lady for the last time before I decided to entertain myself amongst a full classroom.  Additionally, who the hell wants to listen to English at 2:30 when they just left a football sized field with swing sets and no clouds?  The sun was beginning to crawl down and so would my eyes if I didn’t do something to entertain myself.  To add fuel to the fire my compadres thought I was extra humorous this day.  Whatever I did in the chair, from pretending/not pretending to sleep or fake singing songs, seemed to start a giggle trend and you know you laugh ten times as hard when you’re not supposed to be laughing.  The things that make second graders laugh.  I was full of adrenaline.  With all this motivation to spread laughter, you guessed it, I decided to cartwheel my way over to the pencil sharpener. 

     Before I could even complete 180 degrees of my wheel, I heard the sounds of pure joy.  Although some were laughing so hard that they were coughing, I knew this vibrant reaction was too loud to ignore. 

     My crush was laughing so hard that she had to cover her mouth and catch her breath, but my teacher was so displeased that she nearly gripped and ripped me out of my wheel.  Of course, I was a little tike at the time but this usually gingerly old woman couldn’t have been any taller than me and I felt a lot of muscle.  I felt like an ant under a hot magnifying glass as she stared me down through her glasses.

    Of course, I was placed in the principal’s office.  My friends giggles and the “oooouuu’s” of I’m in trouble faded like a passing car siren as she hauled me down the hallway.  Plus, this wasn’t my first encounter with the principal; we were well acquainted by now.  My mind was already elsewhere.

    Once they finally let me out of that office, I peddled my way home faster than ever. Faster than when that pit bull chased me off of his premises and faster than when I thought this stocky old man was staring at me.  I knew my mother would be home early today and she was bringing hell with her.  I felt and heard nothing but wind not even the spin of my bike chain.  I couldn’t even admire my tree lined route home like I usually do.

    I locked myself inside my aqua painted room all the way in the back of the house, even though no one was home yet.  I opened the blinds since the sun gave me some joy and hope that I wiggle my way out this a** whooping but I knew the inevitable was coming.  I had a widescreen flat screen Polaroid on top of my wooden dresser but I was too anxious to focus on any TV.

    On the opposite side of that dresser and my bed I had a series of three shelves hammered in by my mother and on that second shelf lay a radio also bought by mother. For some reason, I believed some reason would help me think of how to respond to the 100 questions my mother would ask me of why I decided to Cirque de Soleil my way to the pencil sharpener.

    At that time, some reggae was the most therapeutic genre I could think of and given the fact that my father had been burning CD’s of all the classics that I should listen to, I stumbled across some Bob Marley.  Three Little Birds was the first track and I didn’t leave that intro song for the next 2 hours and some change until she got home.

    There wasn’t a bird in sight but I could imagine three of them just through Bob’s voice and these wailer guitars.  

    I was pacing in my room before that song came on and after the third replay I was able to at least lie on my back on the carpet.  As I stated before, Bob didn’t save me from an a** whooping but it’s the first time that I felt like everyone would really be alright afterwards.  

    My second encounter with music’s power is far more brief.  My sun kissed crush didn’t last long.  I ended up repeating something I heard in Lil Wayne’s Lollipop to her and that was the first and last time I repeated that.  She told one of the teachers and it all went downhill from there.  I didn’t know what I was really saying.

    I believe that was my next a** whooping as well.  

    So, I found a new crush; about two years later another tan one, golden, chubby cheeks but with light brown eyes and curly light brown hair. Drew, and she had huge eyes that couldn’t even hide behind the glasses.

    This crush was different though.  I wasn’t just attracted to her.  I could talk to her for hours.  We walked each other home everyday.  I even used to practice riding this stupid skateboard every weekend just to impress her. I still remember the name of the little pug she had, “D.O.G.”, (pronounced deo-gee).  Though I thought I found my wife in second grade this was surely her, I’d just take my time with her.

    Our neighborhood was just two big cul-de-sacs, one inside of the other, and her house was just one cut through a neighbor’s yard away.

    She found me so funny.  Her laugh would make me laugh and she knew all of the music that I knew and more, which was the seal on the deal for me.

    Finally, the day came that I could no longer hold in my true feelings for this young lady and fresh out of my last class I decided to pop the question on our traditional walk home.  However, I was a little more mature this time around so no thoughts of marriage would be included even though they were in my head.  I left my bike on purpose and pulled out my new white polo shirt to match my Nike Air Force 1’s.  

    It was a little cloudier today so I should have known something was off.  There was even a contrast in how we were dressed.  Her jeans were dark grey.  I had on khaki’s and her shirt was black.  I should have predicted a response just as lifeless.  

    I waited that whole walk to ask; partly due to our friends deciding to walk with us yet again and partly waiting for our convo about this celebrity drama to end.  

    “Alright, CJ, I’ll see you tomorrow”.  No invitation, I should have caught the hint there.  It kind of seemed like she was tired from school too but I couldn’t resist any longer.  I had to know.  

    “Hey Drew, I gotta ask you a question”.  She turned around before heading up the step with the same look her dog usually has.  Eyebrows raised with the confusion.  The clouds masked the Carolina heat that day but my palms might as well have been dipped in a pool and thank God I didn’t have on a dark colored shirt.  

    A slightly shaky “Do you like me?” sputtered out and of course I had to clarify. “As a friend?” she puzzled.  “No, like, like-like.”  She chuckled in the most nervous, flattered, and disappointing way. “I don’t think so C.J., I like you so much as a friend and I don’t want to ruin that.”

    Is it sad to say that I was so poisoned with puppy love that I kind of believed her? This is the dreaded curse that Pops warned me about.  Of course, I played it off cool as a cucumber as she asked if that’s okay?  I chuckled too, you know to try and relax the tension and said “Nah, of course.  It’s cool. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

    I took the nice steady walk home to my mother whose presence was more comforting than ever. Though I will admit, I walked a little quickly from Drew’s house just in case she was watching and waiting for me to leave from the window.  

    I kicked my Nike’s off one foot at a time so hard that I almost scuffed my toe box against our hard wood floor.  My kicks were worthless now.  My mother was in her home office and I laid flat on my stomach on the floor next to her with my arms folded under my neck.  She couldn’t get what happened out of me for hours though she knew what the subject was during my smirk after her “Some girl, ain’t it?” question.  

   “It’ll be alright, buddy”.   “What’s her name, I’ll fight you know?”  She knew it would make me laugh but I knew I didn’t feel like laughing right now so I went just corner piece of sheet rock away into my room where I laid on the floor with the door shut once again.  

   I don’t know if it was my music teacher’s love for this song that made me play it or all those hours I spent playing Madden while hearing this song in the game’s playlist but This Love by Maroon 5 stayed on repeat and although it didn’t make everything alright it provided some comfort as well as the blueprint for all rejections moving forward.  

    I didn’t know what to do.  I wanted to cry and then I wanted to laugh because I wanted to cry because I swore my heart’s defense was impenetrable.  To this day, my mother swears I was crying in that room but I wasn’t thanks to Adam Levine.  I’m sure she got a kick out of it though.

[thegreenhorseman]

In the past 365 days a lot of blood sweat and tears have been shed.  We have officially been in our home for a year.  Since moving in you have come along with me on my journey to bring Blade home.  The work began in January; a warm spell allowed Zac and I to go outside and work in the yard.  Trees were prunes, the stream was raked, and we got to know our property.  This helped up lay our the ideas and plans for the busy year to come.  Zac and I spent time walking the property to get a solid plan.

  February blew in more winter.  The 2018 winter in New York was a snowy one.  We spent a lot of time snow-blowing, shoveling and roof raking.  In February I focused on projects in the house and learned to make my own hay nets.  March really was no better.  As the days became longer and warmer we began to emerge from the house and went back to exploring the backyard.  In March I set a goal to have Blade home by May and I simultaneously made plans with my trainer to bring Happy with him.  This helped motivate me to get things done.

  Morning Leaving Work and Heading to the Farm

Spring began at the end of March when the snows melted and left us with a shockingly we backyard.  We were so saturated you could hear the water trickling.  Equipment was rented and materials were purchased.  In the four weeks of April we cleared land (by hand), installed 300 feet of french drains, and set up one full paddock complete with the electric fencing setup.  I had also set up my new round-pen and corral shelter.  In these four busy weeks Zac and I got to know our neighbors much better.  They saw how hard we were working and we grew close.  We learned quickly that we have the best neighbors anyone could ever hope to have.

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May was the month Blade and Happy came home and we officially became a horse property.  We also adopted Bardi, our fluffy Icelandic Sheepdog who has proven to be THE MOST AMAZING DOG EVER (seriously, even non-dog people want to take him home). I continued to work hard and added the second paddock.  I also had the confidence to go try something new all on my own: mounted archery. This led to the discovery of a whole new fire within me.

  The heat of June combined with dietary changes and major life changes threw Blade for a whirlwind.  He suffered mild colic a few times which led me to suspect he was experiencing gastric issues yet again.  I spent a lot of time monitoring Blade, attending mounted archery practice, and preparing the site of our new run-in shed.

  July came and we began the big build.  My incredible friends and family teamed up to make my dreams and Zac’s carefully thought out plans a reality.  The days were long and the sun was hot.  We enjoyed the pool often.  At the end of the month two of my girlfriends made some bucket-list dreams comes true.  Borrowing a friend’s horse I went along with them to Lake Luzerne and camped.  We trail rode and even took the horses swimming.  I couldn’t stop smiling even if I wanted to.

  Facebook is a wonderful thing and in August I found an ad for some old polytape fencing.  It wasn’t in the best condition but two strands easily covered four acres.  The gentleman advertising it gave me all plus some hardware for only $25.  I put it up two weeks later; it’s not charged and runs in and around trees but the horses have a fantastic turnout pasture at the top of our hill.  This has been tremendous in keeping them out of the mud during wet weather.  I also explored another new-to-me activity, cattle sorting!

  Time got away from me in the later summer months.  Taking advantage of the weather was of the upmost importance.  I am only realizing now that I never posted about several events including our housewarming party!  We hosted nearly 60 people at our home for a wonderful barbecue.  Blade gave pony rides to my cousins and hugged my grandma.  Blade has improved so significantly that I began to desensitize him and train him for mounted archery.  Surprisingly enough he took to it quickly.  In our second session we were trotting around shooting the target on our own.  We also purchased our new ATV which has made life so much easier.  At the end of September I had to sadly say goodbye to Happy as she left my home, returning to riding at my trainer’s farm.  Before she left I made a wonderful connection with Susan Kayne, founder of Unbridled Thoroughbred Foundation.  I began fostering Zeno Bay and Vai Via a week before Happy went home allowing for Blade to become acquainted with the boys before losing his girlfriend.

  October rolled in and brought with it some cooler weather.  The boys got to know each-other and I was collecting donated blankets from some amazing supporters.  November was a great month for indoor activities.  Cornell hosted a seminar where we learned to run our own fecal floats to look for parasites.  I attended Equine Affaire again and I spent most of October and November getting to know Vai Via and Zeno Bay.  The personalities have made them both shine.  The months have been wet, however, so it’s been very inconvenient for riding and making much progress on that end.  Due to financial reasons I stopped taking lessons.  Now, at the end of December I am very much missing them especially when I want to ride and it’s either dark, too frozen, or too muddy.

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I don’t know what the coming year has in store for me.  I sense more big changes on the horizon.  Depending on how these changes play out the year can unfold into several different directions.  Right this moment I can say I would love to earn enough money to get back to taking lessons.  I hope to finally find a routine that works to help me lose weight and stay active with the balancing of horses and working out.  Unfortunately my mounted archery club is on shaky ground but I hope to practice at home.  I also hope to become a stronger more active voice for thoroughbreds by making a place for myself within the Unbridled Thoroughbred Foundation.

Also, something very important to me, is The Green Horseman.  I want to know how you think I can improve.  This year I posted 81 articles.  What did you like?  What didn’t you like?  Most of my articles are posted Thursday mornings.

Do you want to see more educational posts?

Do you prefer my journey?

…or do you like the mix?

I would like to become a more structured blogger and revamp my website to be more user friendly.

Do you want to see product reviews?

You voice is what matters most!

Below is a COMPLETE listing of 2018’s articles by month.  I thank you for being with me on this journey and hope you will continue to support me in the new year.

  [contact-form]

January (6 Posts)

01/03 – RESOLUTION TIME

01/08 – Equine 101: POP QUIZ (#2)!

01/22 – Heart to Horse Box – January 2018

01/23 – Weekly Photo Challenge: Silence

01/24 – Every Barn Needs…

01/28 – Weekend Projects

February (5 Posts)

02/01 – Will Delta Dental Cover My Horse?

02/08 – The 5Ws of an Equine Dental Float

02/10 – Playing on a Friday Afternoon

02/15 – The Power Argument in Dentistry

02/17 – When You Fall Off a Horse…

March (9 Posts)

03/01 – Protecting Our Four Hooved Friends

03/04 – Afternoon Naps

03/13 – Blame It On Heartland

03/15 – Progress

03/18 – Weekly Photo Challenge

03/19 – Poison Prevention Week: Mind Your Feed

03/22 – Don’t Judge!

03/29 – Night and Day, There’s a Difference

03/31 – I’m Drowning

April (12 Posts)

04/02 – It’s Someone’s Birthday

04/03 – Barn Cat Arnie Again

04/05 – Update on the Homemade Hay Net

04/07 – Farm Updates: French Drains

04/08 – Who Said Having Fun Can’t Be Productive?

04/09 – Busy Brain = Lack of Sleep

04/12 – Fencing Update

04/18 – Absorbine Liniment For My Shoulders, Please

04/19 – Did You Catch Me?

04/23 – What’s That Burning Smell?

04/26 – Backyard Critters

04/30 – Weekend Update 

May (7 Posts)

05/02 – T Minus 24 Hours

05/03 – We Have Arrived! 

05/08 – Farm Update

05/10 – When the Going Gets Tough

05/17 – New Experiences

05/24 – Shout-Out For the Trainers

05/31 – Overdue Update Part 1

June (11 Posts)

06/01 – Overdue Update: Part 2

06/02 – Overdue Update Part 3

06/03 – Overdue Update Part 4

06/04 – Overdue Update Part 5

06/05 – Overdue Update Part 6

06/08 – Equine 101: Horse Vitals

06/09 – Putting the Vitals to Use

06/11 – The Aftermath of Last Week

06/14 – Recovering From The Stress Dump

06/21 – On to the Next One

06/22 – Quick Fun Update 

July (1 Post)

07/31 – Summertime Slump

August (2 Posts)

08/02 – Bucket List!

08/09 – Cross Training On The Weekend

September (8 Posts)

09/13 – Horses Update

09/15 – Barn Progress

09/16 – Bad News and Good News Squared

09/19 – Mounted Archery Update

09/21 – Day 1 for Two…

09/22 – Mounted Archery at Home

09/23 – New Toys, New Tools, New Fun

09/27 – The Ups and Downs of the Weekend

October (6 Posts)

10/11 – I’m Cold Therefore My Horse is Cold

10/18 – A Needed Night Away

10/22 – Celebrate the Wins

10/23 – Everyone’s Talking About It

10/25 – Happy Birthday and Thank You

10/26 – Spending Money Like Ouch

November (9 Posts)

11/01 – A Joyful Noise

11/07 – Poop, Yes I Said It. POOP

11/14 – The Green Horseman at the Affaire

11/15 – Clinicians of Equine Affaire 2018

11/16 – The Green Horseman at Fantasia

11/22 – Happy Thanksgiving

11/26 – Blade’s Resolutions

11/27 – Tis The Season to Be Giving

11/29 – The Green Horseman’s Recommended Gifts Under $50

December (5 Posts including today) 

12/06 – Update On The Three Amigos

12/13 – The Green Horseman on Another Project: Winter Prep

12/20 – Hay, Hay You! What’s New?

12/27 –Christmas Festivities

  2018 Recap In the past 365 days a lot of blood sweat and tears have been shed.  We have officially been in our home for a year.