Tonka Gets Wet

 Day 2 Take 2

September 15, 2022

The weather stayed half decent most of the day and around 3:00 pm I finally made it back outside. This time Brent came with me and we wandered around the property making plans for all the wonderful things making their way into our future. 

Having finally outgrown the tiny arena at the bottom of the driveway it was time to start making the move into the top field. While the final resting place of the arena will be in the far Eastern corner of the property there is way too much work to be done before it reaches that spot. So for now the nice sandy almost flat spot that the horses so kindly over grazed on me this year will be the temporary home of the new and bigger arena. 

This thought not only excites me because I will finally be able to work on gait regulation with Punkin Pie, both on the ground and in the saddle but also because this is the only sandy piece of pasture on the property and the thought of sand colic terrifies me. Having it act as an arena instead of a pasture makes sense right now and I’m grateful for footing I don’t have to truck in. 

Brent and I continued to make our plans. There’s so many wonderful things that are about to happen here if we can manage to stay on track. The first of which involves some clearing of land that will open up new trails for me to ride on during the winter months. Trails that I dream of lighting with stings of soft white and golden Christmas lights. 

The nights have been coming a little earlier everyday and soon Horse O’clock will be 100% in the dark. 

The manure chore and the garden chore go hand in hand. The manure is layered into the garden as it’s cleared of the weeds then left to sit for the winter. Thankfully our wonderful house sitter left the garden in such a beautiful state. As if my fairy godmother had tidied it, breaking down the mental barriers that had made it so difficult for my ADHD brain to cope with. Instead of the garden being a place of guilt and failure, she transformed it into a place of love and beauty. Precious stones and shells were left in perfect places. All the little scraggly sticks and shrubs were removed. The garlic was harvested. It was a beautiful place that was welcoming and wonderful to work in. So that’s what I did.  

Preparing the soil to plant next years garlic I felt the dry sandy loam in my hands. I sifted out the moss and little bits of weeds thinking back to last year. Last year and the year before harvesting the garlic, tears in my eyes with frozen mud covered hands. This year felt like a special treat compared to last. Gardening and manure picking being two of my top shoulder trigger chores. Triggering a shoulder reaction could cause an abrupt and painful end to this cycle before it even gets going. I have come too far to waste any more time being in pain due to poor choices. So I did so sparingly. 

Tonka plodded along beside me. As slow and steady as you can imagine an old man trapped in molasses. I took a deep breath. Breathing in all the smells. There were so many. First there was mostly flowers and ocean with a hint of dirt, then the soft scent of rain. 

We continued to walk at a speed which you would expect Eore to walk to Piglet's birthday party. Nice and slow, nothing to get excited about. There was a reason that Tonka is my rest day pony. I relaxed, and worked at letting that feeling flow all the way to my bones.

The night grew darker as we walked on. The sound of rain on the leaves started to grow louder. I looked ahead at the streetlights in front of us only to see a wall of water headed in our direction. 

“I think it’s time to turn around buddy” I said out loud to Tonka. 

There was no refusal from him. As we turned and started towards home. The rain grew in size and came down harder the more we walked. My little pony who had been so slow only moments before begging to trot home. 

We made it home. Even though I was soaking wet I was happy and had a wonderful time. I turned off the workout on my watch and there was a congratulations message stating that was our longest walk yet. 2.39 soaking wet kilometers towards pur Pony Express challenge. 24.9 miles now achieved for the challenge. 

With the ponies fed I went into my gym, kicked off my soaking wet shoes and enjoyed my hula hoop, just like I promised my back I would.

*****

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