New Scenery

The newish aquarium at the YVR international terminal. Definitely helps to pass the time.

New News

David is currently in Barcelona visiting his sister, and we will regroup in London on Wednesday morning to start our short camping tour of England and Ireland (including some presentation that I am supposed to make at some conference). Through all of this Tess (rather than Melissa, who wasn't available) will be looking after Farcical Farm and its denizens. So far none of this is new news.

This is a trial run of sorts for Tess. If everything works out well for her and for us she will take the helm of Farcical Farm from November 2009 through May 2010 while David and I are in Tasmania. Yes, Tasmania. David is on sabbatical for the next eight months, and I have jumped at the opportunity to do a post-doctoral fellowship between UTAS and UBC. All the details are still in the wash, but Tess would bring her Canadian gelding Justin to keep Tonka company. So thanks to those of you who have been so *cough* subtly *cough* suggesting other horses for me to consider, but that's not in the cards until next summer. I secretly suspect that Maddie will save herself for me (sorry EvenSong).

A Peck of Purple Peppers

David bought and installed our pepper and tomato plants this summer, so I am only vaguely aware of the varieties. There are some skinny, spicy-looking green peppers that I look forward to cooking with, and there are these pretty little purple ones. I'm not sure whether they are sweet or spicy, and I have no idea how big they are supposed to get. In all honesty, I don't really care because they are so cute.

On the redder side of the visible spectrum we have tomatoes. So. Many. Tomatoes. Until this morning I had thought they were all small varieties, until I found this monster hiding in the tomato jungle.

One of the problems I'm having with the tomatoes is accessing the obviously ripe ones. I can *see* them, but actually getting my hand through the foliage to grab them takes some careful planning and unusual contortion. It saddens me that we will be away as most of these ripen, but I am hoping that our house-sitter (a new girl named Tess -- more on that later) will pick them and toss them into the freezer for us.

Hitching Post

While I was in Toronto last month our neighbour's daughter got married in a big 'ol Deroche hootenanny. I was very sorry to miss the festivities, but David was able to attend. However, he never mentioned that the lovely Erin and her handsome Darryn had done a photo shoot with our pygmies. I think this is the best wedding picture of all time:

On The Road Again

Since returning to Farcical Farm I've had plenty of time an inclination to do something that I've been otherwise unable to do for months: ride Tonka. I could never take him out alone while Raven was failing for fear that she would hurt herself in his absence. For a while she was able to pony around with him, but even that became too much for her in the final weeks. So they basically stood at the feeder day and night, eating and eating. I watched Raven get mysteriously thin (another symptom of DSLD) while Tonka got downright plump. Now that he's on his own he is moving around a lot, getting leaner, and able to take me on some light conditioning rides. Yesterday we did an hour along the road at a walk (plus 60 seconds of a very nice pace, even though I asked for a trot) and he was a little sweaty when we got back, but not breathing hard at all. I took care of the sweat by asking him to walk over the sprinkler several times, which he was doing quite gamely by the end of it.

Note the super cool saddle pad that Georgia (owner of Pepper and Scooby) gave me. She made it several years ago when she used to ride english...it's a regular pad, but with a large pocket sewn on either side and straps at the back. I love it!

Doggy Farts Gladden My Heart

Well, not really. But I did love that line from the whimsical film A Very Long Engagement. Right now doggy farts are saddening my heart, and I think that Tilley is to blame. Time to get outside and start working on the garage cleanup, which is my project for today. After 3+ weeks away followed by a week of house guests it is time to get back to my regularly scheduled life around Farcical Farm for a few days. Next week I am off to jolly old England/Ireland for an extended working vacation. It’s a rough life.

Who me?

Being Watched

My mother’s birthday was in early February and someone gave her a helium-filled balloon. Quite remarkably it remained completely buoyant until sometime yesterday evening when it dropped to 36” off the ground and started a tour of the house. It just scared the bejeezus out of me by creeping up and peeking over my shoulder while I was working at my computer. I think it’s actually trying to say “goodbye” but is thwarted by its limited vocabulary.