Sleepy Cuddly day

It rained just about all day, today.  So what is a cat to do if there is no sunshine?  Red Blanket!  Red Blanket is electric--perfect to keep cats and people warm on chilly days.

Thunder decided that the plan was to cuddle up and watch DVDs and read.  When I left the room, he came out to get me and bring me back.

He is very insistent.  He tells me what I want by crying.  I go to see what the problem is--and he takes off trotting as fast as his paws can carry him--back to the room with Red Blanket.

Who can resist?  I certainly can't.  I finally gave up and spent the rest of the evening in there with him.

I draw the line on sleeping in there, tonight.  We are sleeping in a bed--that is all there is to it.  Silly little cat.

Book Review: "Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

I liked this book and I liked how he wrote.  He kept me very engaged.  I didn't like the end, at all.  The last 20 pages just didn't work.  Not only did I not like what happened, I didn't like how it was presented--and it didn't go far enough to explain how the characters felt.
 
The rest of it was good.  Since Hemingway was an ambulance driver in WWI, it had a very real feel to it.  Both the war scenes and the scenes that took place away from the front.  I enjoyed the retreat, the most.  I don't know if he was involved in a retreat, or not, but it was well done.  The romance was all right.  The dialog was very realistic and simple.  We don't talk like most writers write.

I will read more Hemingway in the future.

Continuing Rides

Continuing Rides

As Ellen waits for the best time to start taking Dante on the trail, and as Bella is recovering from a leg injury, that only leaves me Starry to ride with.  The mornings have been bitterly cold through most of the month of March.  On those days, Kevin and I have been riding the loop behind the barn.  We have had mixed results with that.  Some days, the horses are just perfect--and the ride would be boring except for the good company.  Other days can be very challenging--like the day that Starry saw the tarp flapping in the wind...

Kevin and I have continued riding on the trail in the evenings.  Each ride, the horses seem a little better.  Starry has a new routine.  Remember how he never wanted to take the lead?  Well. there are still times that he doesn't want to, but all Kevin has to do is ask him to go forward, and  he does.  Here is the funny thing.  If he gets close to Cole at a walk, he wants to pass him!  We let him pass, but he walks so slow that Cole soon passes him.  We walk along, and when we get too far ahead, we stop and let him catch up.  If we let him get too close--he will speed pass Cole, again.

We are still trotting with only Starry in the lead.  He sets a slower and more sensible speed.  Cole is willing to follow.  When Cole is in the lead, he tends to go pretty fast.  In the summer, it doesn't matter.  Starry goes at his speed and doesn't care if Cole gets too far ahead.  That doesn't happen this time of year.  Starry gets very upset, and he will throw a tantrum and try to take off to catch up.  Not good.  Fortunately, we have an easy solution.  It is great that Starry is willing to lead, now.

We did try putting Cole in the lead once at a trot--and Starry acted as predicted, even though I kept Cole from going very fast. 

We are able to trot a little towards home if the horses aren't "in a mood."  On a few rides, we were able to trot home as much as we would in the summer.

The other night, the river looked low enough to cross the second river crossing.  I went first.  The way that I go has some large rocks under the water, but I just guide Cole through.  He is very manoeuvrable.  As long as I can see the rocks, I am happy.  The river was still a little high. 

Kevin has a different route.  He goes a little upstream where there is no rocks, but it is much deeper.  Cole is such a tiny horse compared to Starry.  I don't like taking him in water any deeper than necessary.  I was halfway across the river when Kevin realized that his way was much deeper than he wanted to go through.  He yelled over to me to turn around.  I wasn't in a good place to do that, so I kept going straight across.  The water was deeper than I liked, but Cole managed it like a champ.

I called over to Kevin, who was standing on the other side, to cross on the ford so we could continue our ride.  Wouldn't you know, that Starry wouldn't budge one bit.  Kevin tried, but gave up.  I didn't want to bring Cole back through the river, so I came back over the ford.  Starry was happy that Cole was back.  Cole thought he got away with something, somehow, so everyone was happy except Kevin.  Even he wasn't that upset.  He seemed to think it was more funny than anything else.  We think that Starry didn't understand that if he crossed the ford--he wouldn't be leaving Cole but going to him.

Over all, Starry is settling down faster than Cole, but that is to be expected.  Starry is just a quieter horse, by nature.  Our goal is to have 2 quiet horses to ride with Ellen and Dante.  She doesn't need our horses misbehaving when she is trying to settle Dante down.  We are getting very close to that time.  If only the weather would cooperate.

Book Review: "The Cossacks" by Leo Tolstoy

This was either a long short story or a short novella.  Doesn't matter which--it was wonderful.  I am really becoming a fan of Tolstoy.

A young, rich man decides to get away from it all by joining the military in the outskirts of the frontier.  There, he fell in love with land and the native Cossacks, and eventually fell in love with one particular one.

The characters were vivid--as real as could be.  The story was simple, but intense.  Can he win the girl?  Can he become like the Cossacks?  Is it the life for him?

I loved the horses, who were a minor part of the story, but nowhere in fiction have I ever read about the mythic Karbardin horses.  They are supposed to he the hardiest of horses.  I have seen pictures of them, but that is all.  Without a purpose in war, transportation or agriculture, I have to wonder if the breed still thrives?

Book Review: "The Complete Stories of Truman Capote"

Short Stories work well when I am walking Maggie.  I could get a story or 2 in during a walk.  I thought I would see what Capote's stories were like.  The best ones were the ones that took place in small, rural towns--particularly the autobiographical ones.  He brings growing up in the south during the depression to life.

The stories that took place in the cities were well written, but the endings always seemed disappointing to me.  It just seems like there should have been more to them.

I don't think he liked people very much.

Early March Rides

Kevin and I have been getting across the river and having some decent trail rides after a fairly long hiatus.  That means, starting all over.  I could see why Ellen only wants to do this once each spring.

The first ride was the toughest.  I went by myself, and Cole was so excited!  Early in the ride, I tried some short stretches of trotting to see if he would settle down--plus, it would keep me warm.  It didn't work.  Each time, he got more excited.  I decided we would just walk.  I had one Cole burst near the beginning of the ride and 2 more towards the end of the ride.  All of them were near the fence that parallels the street.  we often trot there, so I think he was just showing his enthusiasm.

It wasn't bad for our first solo ride in who knows when.

Since then, I have had Kevin and Starry join us.  Our first ride together felt like we were both riding sticks of TNT--with the fuses lit!  We both agree that it would be best just to walk.  Cole walks so much faster than Starry when he is hyper.  I kept having to stop and let Starry catch up.  Then, Starry would want to pass up Cole.  I would let him, but that would last for about 20 seconds and then Cole would pass up Starry and walk quickly ahead.  We just kept repeating it over and over.  I did have one Cole burst.

The next chance we got to cross the river went a little better.  We were able to tort the sections of the trail where I don't typically canter.  Once we got to those places, Cole really wanted to fly, so we kept it at a walk.  Surprisingly, we were able to trot a little bit on the way home.  I think it is because I don't canter Cole on the way home, so he was content to trot.  We only did short stretches.

At one point, we were walking and Starry was in the lead.  Suddenly, he leaped up into the air and tried to charge forward.  Cole decided it was a great idea and immediately joined him.  We stopped them both with ease.  Starry was probably spooked, but we don't know what from.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, but it sure was chilly.

Our following ride was a big improvement.  We were able to trot in most places that we usually trot on the way out.  Starry was quite calm.  Cole would get fractious, and we would stop.  Kevin and I have a system.  When Cole is good, I praise him profusely--and loud enough for Kevin to hear.  Kevin just listens to my dialog with Cole and knows when to stop.  When there was a loud airplane overhead, he purposely held off trotting because he wanted to hear us.

We were able to trot a little more on the way home--but we definitely walked at the fence.  Kevin didn't even trust Starry there.  Since we did more trotting and there was a little sunshine, were didn't get as cold.  That has been a problem.  The temps just can't seem to get out of the mid thirties.  Colder weather means silly horses.  Silly horse means more walking--and then we freeze because it is so cold.

Maybe Ellen has the right idea?

Sigh...when will spring arrive?
Ri

Book Review: "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce

I have heard here and there, over the years, about the greatness of James Joyce, so I thought I would give him a try.  Mistake.

Much of it was stream of conscience--my least favorite form of writing.  Still, it wasn't indeciperable as some.  He did manage to bog things down in multiple places.  Why would you put pages of a sermon that he hears in church in the book?  I know he had questions about his faith, but that was ridiculous.  I skipped over it.  I bet most people would.  There were a number of places that I skipped. 

Some parts I liked, and since this was his first novel, I could see bits of brilliance--but come on--does a person's stream of conscience come out as poetic?  No, humans are more simple than that.  When I walk the dog, I think, "Look, there are some ducks.  It is too cold for Maggie to swim after them.  I wish spring would arrive."  Does that seem poetic? 

I read that his later books are more so, so I don't think they are for me. 

Book Review: "The Innocence of Father Brown" by G. K. Chesterton

Kevin and I love the PBS series, "Father Brown" so I thought I would see what the books were like.  This book is composed of a bunch of short stories--much like Sherlock Holmes--bu so much better.  Sherlock was a little cleverer, but these are better written and much more charming stories.  Each one would take about half of a dog walk to read--and it made my dreary winter dog walks much brighter.

The TV series has the same tone, but there isn't much else in common with the stories.

Thunder Waking Up

Doesn't he still look sleepy?  When I worked, apparently, Thunder scheduled his naps around my job.  Now that I am retired, I schedule my day around Thunder's naps.

He likes to nap after breakfast.  I can get the most things done in the morning.  This is my best time to work in the yard.  He doesn't even care.

Around lunch, he wakes up. He wants something to eat--and then he hangs out with me.  Poor Maggie, she doesn't get her walk until he settles down for his afternoon catnap.

We walk; he naps.  When I get back, he is ready to hang out with me.  He probably won't nap until late afternoon or evening--and that is for only about an hour--then he demands my attention, again.  He is a very demanding cat.T

Fall and Arbez

Here is Fall and Arbez.  They are Kevin's precious ones.  Sorry about the quality of the photo--it is from my cheap phone and there wasn't enough light.  They were just so cute, there, I couldn't resist.

Arbez is a very sensitive cat, and we have to be very careful with her.  If you pet too far down her back, you may need stitches.  She loves being pet around her head, though.

Fall is the exact opposite.  You can do anything to her, and she will just keep purring.  Kevin suspects that I only go over his house to spend time with his lovely cats.

Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love

I have heard that the reason we have pets is for their "unconditional love."  That must have come from dog lovers.  Dogs can act like they love us unconditionally, but I think it is more that they are pre-programmed to act that way.  Over the eons, they have evolved to act like they love us, so that they can get what they want.

They couldn't have been talking about cats!  With most cats, we have to earn their love.  That is well demonstrated by our barn cats.  They will act loving when it is time for food, but once their bellies are full, they pretty much ignore us.  (Except for Princess--she has decided I am the greatest person in the world.)  With cats, we have to build relationships and then love comes to us.  I wouldn't say it was unconditional.  Our Siamese, Indi, loved Ellen and tolerated me.  Ellen started to stay out past Indi's bedtime, and Indi got mad at her.  All of her affection transferred to me.  She didn't love unconditionally.  We had to follow her rules.  (Cats can be such tyrants.)

I think we love our animals, because we can love them unconditionally.  Love between people can often become complicated.  Loving our animals is simple.  We just love them for who they are--all their good and bad parts.  They don't have to be perfect to have our love.  They don't even have to love us back--and we will still love them.  We can spoil them, we can dote on them--we can love them with all our hearts.  It feels good to love our animal friends.  The unconditional love comes from us.

Solar Charging

I'm starting to think that Thunder has solar cells under his fur.  Once he charges up in the morning sun, he gets so playful, even wild.  On the cloudy days, he is more concerned with cuddling than playing.

In the morning, the sun is in the dining room.  It is particularly good this time of year because there are no leaves on the trees to block any of it.

  On a sunny morning, he is seldom alone...

Book Review: "Life of Charlotte Bronte" by Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Bronte, and wrote a very loving biography of her.  I really enjoyed it.  Of course, it included the other 2 sisters, too. 

Hers was a sad a tragic life filled with loss.  She was terribly shy, yet was able to overcome so much to become a successful author.  I could see how all 3 sisters based their books much after their personal experiences--which is why they seem so authentic. 

She lived in a rather remote area with little contact with the rest of the world, so her family became very close.  Sadly, she lost both sisters and her brother within a year.  Her grief was intense and it was really heartbreaking to read her letters.

This is a must read for any fans of the Brontes.

March Snow Storm

We had a terrible snowstorm last night.  It rained all day, and then changed over.  It was the wet, heavy snow that sticks to everything.  Kevin was out rollerskating, and the power went out at the rink.  He went home--figuring he could watch the Cavs game--and the power was out at his house.  He drove around and listened to the game on the radio.

The wind never seemed to stop.  It wasn't very cold, and I am sure a lot of the snow melted when it hit the ground.  I had about 5 inches this morning.

This is what I woke up to:

By the time I took Maggie around the yard, the sun came out and everything changed.  This is how I like snow.

I hope this is the last we see of snow, this year.