The Nights Are Creeping In

 Day 3 Take 2

September 16, 2022 

I made it to my promised workouts. It was close and I nearly didn’t but Punkin Pie needed her workout too and I couldn't let her down. 

The apple crunched between my teeth, and the juices filled my mouth. The sweet and salty creaminess of the peanut butter mixture blended into the sensation of the perfectly crisp and juicy after workout treat. 

This new concoction had taken my apples and peanut butter to a whole new level of amazing. 

I took the usual two big forkfuls of peanut butter used to dress my snappy apples and added a scoop of chocolate protein powder, the added just enough coconut milk to make it creamy. The snappy apples perfected sliced into 8 wedges act as a spoon to scoop the gooey mess into my face. 

Something was off. I was off. There was some sad news about a favorite acquaintance who wasn’t doing well. This saddened me but there was something else off. 

SLEEP I thought. I have been neglecting sleep. If I want to keep moving forward with my dreams I was going to have to set some tough boundaries with myself. These tough boundaries usually mean that I have to push myself a little harder to focus. Focusing is by far the hardest thing that I do in a day but it can be done with the right amount of routine and pressure. 

Pressure is incredibly necessary. It creates an absolute need to focus. The downside though is it also causes more stress. Having embraced my body's natural energy surges and worked with them to achieve my goals has helped tremendously.  

Unfortunately this means that Horse O’clock happens around 7:30 every night. 

Working the horses in the dark has been a bit of a fun adventure. Tonight was Punkin Pies' turn. It was our first night working in the dark and I have a lot of fine tuning to do as far as setting up the ground as an arena. We alternated lunging nice in and out spirals, with stopping to move around the arena and pick up rocks and filling holes in the hill next to the new riding space. 

She was able to keep the same cadence in her trot in a tiny circle as she did the big circle which I thought was truly impressive. But her attitude stank when it came to moving around and picking up rocks. A whole 1.07 km of moving rocks. What a bore. We are now at 34% complete for our Valkyrie challenge. 

The property is 2.5 acres, with pieces of other people's memories left behind to rot into the forest floor next to sinkholes and lost treasure. It has always been my dream to make trials and obstacles much like the ones in the trail horse competitions. I’m hoping that there will be enough stimulation by changing the routes and learning more than just the trails and the obstacles to keep it interesting for them during the dark months.

Combining all types of arena work, trail work and driving we might just be able to keep everyone fit and entertained while we work outside during the dark half of the year. 

*****

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