Ten Minutes

Ten minutes in the morning.
Ten minutes until you have to get out of bed.
Ten minutes to lay there and take stock of things.
Ten minutes to lie there with your eyes closed listening to morning sounds.
Ten minutes enjoying the silence knowing your kiddo is still sleeping.
Ten minutes trying to identify the birds you hear chirping in the pre-dawn morning.
Ten minutes wondering how the sound of big trucks can carry all the way to your ears from the highway.
Ten minutes feeling where your body needs to stretch and then stretching deeply.
Ten minutes to breath in and out. Breath in the light, exhale the darkness.
Ten minutes to enjoy the softness of the sheets still cool where your body was not.
Ten minutes to lie still and pretend you are still sleeping.
Ten minutes to try and remember the great dream you were having.
Ten minutes to contemplate calling in "well" to work.

slowly open your eyes
make the mental list
one big sigh
slide the legs over the edge
touch the feet on the floor
and wish for those ten minutes back

Evening Ride

In our neighborhood, we have meeting to plan the entertainment for holidays and random parties. There are all inclusive and usually pretty fun. The planning meetings themselves are valuable as we share information about the neighborhood and the residents, comings and goings, who is selling, whose dog ran away and was found by whom.

I look forward to these meeting and when I am going solo (without the kiddo) I try to walk to get a bit more exercise. I arrive sweaty but since it is just us girls...I really do not care.

Last night I decided to ride my horse Bailey. I have not ridden him in months. He is sure that he is retired and has no responsibility except steal food from the other two horses. I call him gramps, he protects the youngest horse from his half brother's jealous tendencies.

When I went to get him in the pasture, he saw the halter and walked away just out of reach. I take a few steps toward him, he takes a few step away. It is a lovely and frustrating dance that we do, until I decide to play dirty. I get some feed and pour it in the small feed pen that I have for them. Now usually when I open the gate, I know the chosen horse will run right in and eat without me putting on a halter or anything. Last night when I opened the gate Bailey ran out, past the feed pen, past me, past the house and way into the front yard.

I just stood there and shook my head. He beat me at my own game. He knew it too as he munched happily on the grass. I got the halter and the food and trekked across the yard to him. Put on his halter and let him eat a bit. We walked together back to the feed pen to I could groom him and put on his saddle. He finished his feed while I did this and was ready for the bridle. Got it on, packed the saddle bags with head lamps for the two of us, my calendar and camera.

I documented out ride to the meeting, taking film shorts as we rode along. Tough to do on most horses but Bailey is slow. We rode in a all purpose English saddle but used the reins Western, neck reining and filming. It made for bumpy video but it will be a fun short that I will post after it is produced. I filmed through his reluctance to walk towards construction workers making a racket by cleaning up a site. But I stopped filming when he spooked at a blowing pizza box from someone's overturned garbage can.

We made it to the meeting. I untacked and put him in the pasture next door. He galloped off to the far end. Whatever.

I left before the meeting ended so I could tack up before dark. I put a light on his headstall and one on my helmet. Later I read this was not the smartest idea because horses can see very well at night (which I knew) but can be temporarily blinded by flashlights (did not know). I sang my favorite riding songs to keep a nice pace and rythem. He did not spook at all but clearly was not going to stop when I saw fun neighbor David taking out the trash or neighbor Lee guarding his gate so their Mustang, who was unintentionally loose in the yard, would not run wild. We got home safe and sound. I fed the screaming Arabian half brothers and gave Bailey a little more too.

I like riding at night.

Mating Season

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat. What is that? I thought as I tried to catch a nap while my son watched cartoons in the bedroom. There it goes again! Then a noise that sounded like someone started heavy machinery to tear up concrete. Geez, this is insane!

I rolled out of bed and wandered downstairs to the hubby's office. He had the tunes going and the bass roaring. Ahhhh, that is it. I told him I could hear his bass upstairs. He grinned and nodded in bass heaven.

As I left his office, I heard the heavy machinery again. What was my neighbor doing? I went outside to be nosy. HE was just cutting his lawn. hmmmm.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat. There it was again!!

I looked up at the chimney where the noise was coming from. A woodpecker! I waved my arms and he flew away. As I was going back inside, he came back.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

Now I adore woodpeckers. I love the warbly chirp they use to call to each other. I like the chipper red heads. I love that they eat bugs. Did I have termites in my chimney? What had I been paying an exterminator for? Oh yeah, we terminated our service a month ago.

I scared him off again and went up to have my nap. No such luck.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

I opened the window and climbed onto the roof looking for something to throw at him. He hopped around to the other side of the chimney and discovered the chimney cover again.

Bang bang bang...heavy machinery when you are inside. Cymbals when you are outside.

Well the nap was not going to happen. I let the cat out on the roof. He meowed and was curious but the woodpecker was too high to be bothered.

Went outside to weed in the shade. Between weed pulling I was throwing ricks at the chimney. It was enough to scare him away but he always came back. I was starting to see where he was tearing up the trim. I have a bad arm so there is no chance that I would actually hit him. I starting thinking about making a slingshot, something I have not done since I was about 11. Finally after an hour of our feud, he took off.

This morning he was back.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

SIGH

I went online to see what folks have done in my case. I learned that you need a Federal permit to "control" them. They use the hammering to claim territory and attract a mate. They look for things that resonate and carry the sound. Once established, they go back to finding bugs in trees.

My only thought was, "So find a girlfriend already!!"

I got on the roof and scared him away a few more time but it was time to go to work. I needed to get going.

I think I need to buy a fake owl and some rubber snakes to fling onto the roof. Maybe that will help. I truly understand the Woody Woodpecker cartoons now. He was such a pest and knew it!! I am convinced this little guy and his buddy who likes the chimney flashing, know exactly what they are doing. I am just happy I will not hear that laugh.

Happy Mother's Day

I am writing this on Friday because I really do not want to be too near a computer on Sunday for Mother's Day. As crazy as this may sound, I would like to celebrate the day by having breakfast with my guys, a nice big breakfast/brunch kind of thing at home. I would like if we all cooked together and had fun with it.

Then I would like to weed and work in the garden until it gets too hot. This would also be fun to do as a family. Of course Jake could play in his sandbox while we work outside. Next Daddy would take little man into town for an ice cream and grocery shopping while I rode a horse or two.

We would end the day with friends we have not seen in awhile, because they moved to the east coast. Our kids would play together and we would chat about how our lives have changed since we have become moms. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the frustrating, sometimes learning that we still have tons to learn.

That would be a great day for me. Not rushing to get anywhere, not doing the chores that need to be done, just having a day with those do whatchalike days.

The greatest gift my family could give me would not be flowers or jewelry, it would be time. Time together mixed with a little no stress time for me. I am taking the me time Saturday am, going to spa to hang with the girls. Well not girls I know well, but the organizer is visiting from out of town so it is important to her to see her Austin connections. I am happy to go. I miss her. Her friends are all very nice so I know it will be fun and relaxing.

My own mom will be coming back from visiting friends in California with Dad. I'm not sure what my sister's are up to but I suspect their kids will be around. I know my brother will do something nice with the kids for his wife. I wish all moms out there a happy Mothers Day, whether you do something or not. Oh and call your mom if you are able.

Time Flies!!!

Holy Crap! I look at the date of the last post and wonder how all this time has flown by.

I have been tremendously busy at work with flu coverage. It seems silly to me in a way because more folks have died of influenza than this strain but I am not a doctor just a mom with some common sense. At our daycare, hand washing has become more stringent although it was always the norm. The hysteria seems to be dying down even though the cases are rising.

At home we have gotten rain. Mixed blessing because while we really need it, the lawn has really gotten lush. I just have not had time to mow. So Thursday night, I roped off certain parts of the front yard and let Bailey loose on the front lawn. He is a voracious eater but not an even cut (as far as lawn mowing goes). He also does not eat the weeds.

Friday went so well, I put Bailey and Sahil on the lawn. Sahil has matured quite a bit so even when the dogs barked and ran after their imaginary rabbits, he ignored them and continued to eat. He and Bailey stuck together, heads down, munching grass. Chop, rip chew, chomp, rip, chew. Very rhythmic when you listen to them.

Later in the afternoon, I walked out the front door to see Sahil standing on the walkway to the front, looking as if he was contemplating walking up the stairs onto the front porch. I moved him away but not ten minutes later he was peering in the screen porch windows. Does he have a "not so secret" desire to come in the house and hang out? Being an Arabian, he probably does.

Dewey in the meantime just jogged up and down the fence line screaming for his friends. They flipped him the horse equivalent of the middle finger and ignored him, noses buried in the lush green grass.

Last night, I went to put them back in the pasture after dark. I couldn't see them in the light of the moon but all of a sudden, I heard the clatter of hooves on the driveway as they went flying by. I walked to the gate and heard them running back. Why they were running on the driveway and not the grass is beyond me. Drama queens! I think they just like the noise of the hooves on pavement. They were happy to get back into the pasture with a very "put out" Dewey. Dewey was angry because he did not get to partake in the feast. He is too young and I did not want to be chasing horses around the 'hood at 11pm at night.