Woodpecker Lane, Wedding Showers, and Vet Clinics

SO MANY WEDDINGS.  They're everywhere.  I believe I know more than ten people that have either recently gotten engaged or will be married in the next twelve months.  It's fantastic and an extremely hopeful experience to witness the love of all these people.  My second sister, my best friend since kindergarten, is getting married in two months and then frolicking off to vet school.  I couldn't be happier for her, and I've been absolutely honored to be a member of her wedding party. All of her plans are lovely, one hundred percent her and her fiance.  June 7th can't arrive soon enough.  A few weeks ago, some of my favorite people in the world gathered to celebrate their union and grace the beautiful bride with gifts to start their new life together in Mississippi.  These lovely ladies that were some of my closest friends in middle and high school have grown over the past five years into beautiful women that I'm absolutely honored to know. My weekend with them was unbelievably refreshing and exciting as we all talked about our plans for the future.

The weekend after the one spent with these "beautiful souls" (a phrase my friend used that I agree with) I made another trip to the panhandle, seeking a natural beauty.  I found it while visiting Sleepy Creek Lake.

 

While doing some easy hiking that included frequently stopping for a good photograph, I managed to pull a muscle in my upper leg when capturing a photo of a strange, small ice formation on the cement boat launch. I'm not sure the photo was worth not being able to walk for the next few days.  

Every now and then I like returning to nature for a day or a weekend to regain the peace that a world almost completely void of technology has to offer.  My day at Sleepy Creek with a friend did exactly that.  While trudging along, we talked about what felt like every topic under the sun.  There's something valuable about being able to talk with someone like that, a therapeutic feel after conversations like that. The best part of this day was when I made myself carsick from driving the curvy backroads around the lake to scout out some cabins available for rent.  It was quite an adventure--- we even passed through Hobbiton. :)  By the time we actually pulled up in front of the cabin near Woodpecker Lane (I can't remember if the cabin was on that street or one of the neighboring, fowl-christened streets), I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive us off that ridge without having to pull over. We managed to make it back to civilization in one piece.  That evening consisted of catching up with my Appalachian girl over pizza and a romantic comedy (that we light-heartedly criticized from start to finish).  The next day was a race to see everyone I wanted to see and then beat the snow home.  It got pretty dicey coming over the mountains.

Almost two weeks ago, my pony Kit attended her first ever veterinary clinic in Beverly.  I managed to rope in a horseman to trailering her tiny butt up to the arena at the 4H Camp Pioneer on a very cold, windy Saturday morning.  It was a little chaotic, what with no set schedule, a horse show running concurrent to the clinic, and horses milling about everywhere, but Kit was perfect.

I was a very proud horsewoman the entire day. I ended up riding her bareback down the gravel road to meed the trailer.  She made me look like a queen as I jumped off her back, pulled off her bridle, grabbed her lead rope and walked her right onto the trailer without a second of doubt.  She hadn't been in an enclosed space since I bought her four years ago.  The amazing guy who drove us over laughed when she jumped right on, and as he locked the door I hear him say, "Well, if I knew she was gonna load that easy...." 

When we arrived at the camp, the show was in full swing, and there were gorgeous horses everywhere, but a majority of the eyes seemed locked on Kit as she jumped from the trailer and over a nearby ditch with me as we walked to the examination pavilion.  Everyone kept saying how beautiful she was, how well she listened, how much she clearly adored me.  That was the best part-- the people could see our bond.  The ladies at the examination pavilion ooh-ed and aah-ed over her and baby-talked her through the whole experience (shots included).  They even forgot to take all of the pictures required for the coggins test, so I had to go get another set, hence the picture above.  One trainer said she was impressed by her ability to square her feet which made me laugh because I haven't worked with her on that for ages. 

Her third big hurtle was allowing a different farrier to give her hooves a much needed trim.  She was surprisingly well behaved (she reared on the last farrier the first time he worked with her).  The only time she tried the pull her hoof away, the farrier said in a calm voice, "Hey, put yer head down here."  At first I thought he was talking to me, but then I realized Kit had lowered her face to within an inch or two of his, and he quietly began to tell her that he needed her to leave her hoof where he placed it and the quieter she was, the faster he could work.  Her ears were tilted to catch EVERY. WORD.  I was amazed.  Where did all of these awesome horse people come from?!?!?!?

I had two people offer to buy her that day (the farrier told me I should have said my price was four million). I had an offer to buy her the previous work week, and when I visited my father a few days later he told me the guy who trailered her told his wife that he wouldn't mind buying her if I was every interested in selling.  I wouldn't dream of getting rid of this girl anymore (though I did more than once in the last four years), but I was proud that people were impressed by her.  The old men leaning against their pick-up trucks even came over to have a look at her.  I lost count of how many times I heard, "That's a nice little horse, a good-looking horse."

When we finally got home, I think Kit was just as thrilled as I was.  It was a big, long day.  I was, and still am, so proud of my little pony.