I've been away from my blog for almost 3 months!  Periodically, I check in with a few of my favorite blogs from time to time, but for whatever reason, I've been remiss about posting on my own for a while now.  So, I thought maybe I'd better play a little "catch-up" just so ya'all don't think I've fallen off a bridge or something!  We've been fine.  We've been surviving the ending of winter and the beginning of spring and all it's wetness...squish, squish.  I'm soooo sick of the rain!!!  Enough already!!!  Even though, it's been one of the wettest winters/early springs on record, we did have a perfectly gorgeous Easter weekend!  It was perfection with a capital "P"!!  We absolutely wallowed in it.  Sunshine and 70 degrees - who could ask for anything more?  We mowed the lawn, edged, worked some flower beds, did a little planting, brushed some horses, lazed on the deck and soaked up some rays....aaahhh, sheer heaven!!  But yesterday and today, we're back to grey skies and rain.  Bah-humbug!!  I keep telling myself that soon, very soon, spring will arrive in its' perfection and then summer.  My favorite time of year.  Well, I do enjoy fall as well.  But winter and rain sucks!!

We haven't really done much in the last few months other than work on home-improvement projects, go to work, eat, sleep and endure the weather.  I guess I haven't really had much to blog about, or be inspired photographically either.  I haven't taken any pictures in quite some time.  So, sorry there will be no pictures to share today.  I'm pretty boring...aren't you glad I'm catching up my blog?  :)

We did take Ladde to a local inside arena last night and rode for an hour (maybe).  He was such a good boy! First ride since last May when he had a suspensory injury on a hind leg.  He's such a good horse.  Reliable and sensible most of the time.  He sure draws attention wherever he goes with people exclaiming over his size.  You'd think it wouldn't surprise me by now, but I guess I'm just used to his "largeness".  Anyway, it felt good.  Now I'm ready for my first ride on Eagle...prayers appreciated.  :)  Yep, I'm a big, fat chicken!!  I'm sure that after the initial ride, I'll feel much better and certainly less apprehensive.  I'm just not brave about riding new horses anymore.  But, very soon, maybe even tonight if it's not pouring down rain.  We'll start taking him to the arena too, but after we've had a few rides at home in the safety of the round pen.  I really don't think he's going to cause me much trouble, he's generally a very quiet, mellow horse who doesn't seem to allow other horses' behavior to influence him much, unless they spook - then he reacts very, very quickly.  Maybe I need to invest in some full-seat breeches, or some chinks perhaps...might be a good idea.  The influence of "sticking in the saddle" mustn't be overlooked.

All the horses have come through the winter fat, sassy and hairy.  Nothing to complain about there.  We've had no serious injuries, illnesses or anything to report.  We're so thankful for that.  Dogs are good, but within the last week, Ruby has developed a golf-ball sized lump in her throatlatch area.  Could be an abscessed lymph node, isolated abscess of unknown cause, or it could stem from a tooth root problem, or foreign body abscess...I'm thinking most likely a splinter from constant stick chewing.  We've got her on antibiotics and the cytology showed no trace of cancerous cells, so that's good.  We'll hope for a good outcome, and other than a lump, she's playful, energetic, has a good appetite and otherwise normal in every aspect.

So, in pretty much every way possible, our lives have been uneventful and rather boring.  How's life treating everyone out there in blogland?  Hopefully you're all feeling as blessed as we are here in the soggy pacific northwest...and yes, it's so green we can hardly stand it.  But the daffodils, tulips, daphne, azaleas and rhodies are blooming and thriving.  If anybody mentions drought this year, I just may go postal.

Until next time,
Lorie @ Cingspots