Three days to go, then the Bright Lights Book Project Open House will take place. Four days to go, then the Bright Lights Reading will take place.

This is what I thought this morning as I took Raudi for an outing. The sun shone briefly. I now know to make hay when the sun shines/ride the horses when the sun shines. Yee haw and giddy up.

I walk the horses to the trail head. I know that if I rode them there that they’d be resistant. Another reason why I do this is so that they, and I, warm up our muscles. We also do a cool down by walking the last bit home.

The three mares at their targets

Today, when I came around the bend, a huge pick up truck (they’re all huge around here) came in my direction and then came to a stop. It was our neighbors Ron and Cathy. I hadn’t seen either one in three years. I’d assisted them in picking out their border collie/Australian shepherd mix. The dog’s name is bear.

Ron and Cathy are both in their 90s Bear is three. They told me he is a very, very wild dog, but doing well. Ron added they just took him to a groomers because he had hair mats behind his ears. I told them that they should bring him around here and let him play with Shadow. They said yes (as they’ve said in the past), but I doubt they will. I will have to go over there.

I moved on and went for a ride, thinking about the above. I am very anxious about this upcoming open house. We have a lot at stake here and now little time to get the remaining tasks done. I’ve done too good a job in keeping the big picture in mind. And right now, with so much left to do, I wish that I hadn’t proposed the very idea of this to the BLBP board. Too late. The Titanic is going down and we are all going down with it.

I also thought about something Ron said, which was that I am very lucky to have horses. I am glad that he reminded me of this. It simply brought to mind this very fact. I AM lucky – my ponies are the best ponies ever. I have even trained them to go into their shelter and wait to be fed.

I remember when I was in a quandary about how to go about doing this. I cannot now separate the steps involved. I know that I used targets and trained them to go and wait for treats in two places. And I used a clicker. This is all I remember. They figured out that they should go into the shelter.

We also have a morning routine. I grab some hay pellets, put the full hay bucket in the adjacent shelter, let them out the far gate, clean the pen, put the hay in their shelter and then let them all back into the shelter. Both they and I are familiar with and like this routine.

The horses are also all very trail savvy. And very agreeable.

So sometimes, when I feel overwhelmed, I bring Raudi, Tyra, and Hrimmi to mind. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

Next: 251. 9/13/23: What Happened to September 13th?