Bleak Fall Day and Thinking Ahead to Spring

Yes, Fall is here and Winter is coming. I can see it getting closer today. The skies are gray. It‘s trying to rain, and we had a mist all morning. There is that feel in the air. There is a dampness.

Most of the leaves are off the trees. There is a lot of brown in the fields. When the wind blows, it is cool. When the sun goes down, it is cool. It is cooler doing morning chores. I need gloves some mornings, but no all of them. So far, I’ve only seen frost 1 time on the grass. And none of the water hoses, that are still laying out on the ground, are frozen when I want to use them.

We had 70 degrees on Sunday and Monday. Unseasonable warm. Unbelievable for November. I took full advantage of one of the warm days, laying on the lounge chair, enjoying the afternoon. I even mowed a small patch of grass that looked high. I have never done that in November! I made a jug on ice tea again.

This weather makes me want to get inside as soon as I can and curl up on the couch. I just told someone yesterday that I really start to hibernate as the days get shorter. And when they get cooler, I’m in sweats. When the wind starts to blow and howl, you’ll know where to find me.

Now is the time to get ready for winter. We have turned on the heaters in the barn. We have the tank water heaters ready to install. I better work on that this weekend. I better drain water hoses too. I hate trying to coil frozen hoses. For those who never had the opportunity to do that, it doesn’t work! I better close the big barn doors, too, before the north wind blows so hard that I can’t budge the doors by myself!

But now is also the time to start thinking and preparing for Spring riding too! I just talked to someone about who in my area gives dressage lessons, and she thought this person may come to my barn! That would save hauling, and I would actually stay committed! If I want to further improve my Centered Riding, I need dressage lessons to give me a better understanding of Sally Swift’s philosophies. I love the idea of knowing exactly how to move with the horse when the horse moves a certain way. My goal is to become one with my horse, whichever horse I happen to be riding. I’m sure that goal is going to take longer with some of my horses!

I’m almost done reading the Centered Riding Book 2. My winter time will be dedicated to making a curriculum that I will follow for my lesson times. I have outlined book 1, and will soon be done with book 2. Now I want to put my outline into the computer. During a lesson, I’ll have all the exercises listed. When a rider wants to work on a certain area of Centered Riding, I can go to my outline for guidance. And I’ll have a handout ready to give the rider as a summary of the day’s lesson. I’ll have a summary of exercises to share after my horsemanship clinics, where I’ll teach the Centered Riding exercises.

I want to give more Horsemanship clinics next year. I want to help as many people as I can. I want to teach about the relationship and the experiences that you can have with your horse.

It’s time to start promoting what I have to offer. I’ll start with outlining the Centered Riding books and exercises on the computer. That is what I’m going to be working on this winter. That, and trying to exercise a little. Maybe I’ll have a woman’s exercise group meet once a month!

How about you? What will you do to get ready for winter and ready for next spring?