The word “busy” may very well be a state of mind, that state most likely being New Jersey. I have not been so busy that I haven’t had time to study – I simply abandoned doing other things for a bit. I will get caught up at the beginning of spring break, which for me will begin Wednesday evening. Unlike those who have children or others to take care of, I’m pretty much like a platelet, floating around in the bloodstream.

Riding lessons cancelled today – everyone was busy. This is to be expected since I’ve exclusively been working with trail riders. In fact there has not been an arena rider in the bunch. Trail riders use the arena with

the intent of getting their horses focused and to alleviate winter boredom. Arena riders use the arena with the intent of teaching their horses increasingly more complex maneuvers, with the goal of doing well in dressage and jumping events.

I know a woman who recently mentioned to me that she’s going down to the Knik River and riding – not on trails, but rather in a makeshift arena. She takes cones and marks off boundaries. This person is an avid dressage and jumping competitor; hence, her interest in working in a designated square-type area. And so, she does not take lessons from me.

So, no lessons today. The time that would have been spent working with riders was instead spent studying anatomy and physiology. It is now (as I write this) 7:34 p.m. Just got dark. We did get the horses out onto the trail today – it was a short but fairly good outing, though Tinni did get away from me when I was ponying him and ran part way back home. It was sunny out, in the 40s. I turned my head to the side and felt the heat of the sun warm up my cheek. This and lots of loose horse hair means that spring is on its way.

I’m pretty much studied out. I have just one more thing to do. About an hour ago I figured out the antigen/antibody relationship, something that for some time has been beyond my realm of immediate comprehension. I am now going to go back to the chapter on the blood and with what I just figured out, glean new physiological insights.

This course is a prerequisite for other courses that I’d like to take. So I realized today that I don’t need to get my knickers in a knot if I don’t get an A or B. This exists as distinct possibility, because there is far too much material for any one human to comprehend in what is a finite amount of learning time. So, now that I have the matter in proper perspective again its back to learning for the sake of having ahh haa moments, that is specific instances in which I figure certain things out, and take great satisfaction in knowing that I have them figured out. Life is too short to think any other way about such things.

Next: 65. 3/7/16: A Conversation with Ryder