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How can you tell that the weather is better

because I am not blogging so much anymore.

Teaching season has begun again in earnest.

This weekend I head to Mass. for a clinic then come

home and head to the Californios!

For the first time in four years of trying I am finally

going to get there.

Can't wait!

And my book has gone to the printers so I am relieved of book duty

until it returns - hurrah!

Summer already?!

On Sunday we went to the Old Dominion Hunt Club races. The weather was fantastic. Light breeze, comfortable temps, no bugs! Nice day to be outside and not doing much of anything.

But the past two days it has been ninety plus degrees. The poor horses are still wearing their winter coats! I can't bear to get on their backs while they are trying to deal with this heat. A cold front is supposed to come through tomorrow and drop the temps by more than thirty degrees. Sure hope so!

The office in the basement is terrific since it stays pleasantly cool. The old office had great views of the mountains but the sun came streaming in. Even with the curtains closed it got hot and we would wind up sleepy. The other thing about being in the basement - you don't know what time it is so you work all day and have no idea what is happening in the rest of the world. That's good and bad. We get stuff done but I don't seem to get over to the barn. I think I will have to make that the first thing I do each day rather than email.

I have posted a gallery of photos from the Feb Safari. This is just the beginning. I took over 5800 photos and I have to show them to someone! This first batch is more about camp. Stay tuned for more.

Warm days, sunny skies

Spring is bursting forth here in Virigina. The flowers and trees are desperate to get their blossoms out. The sounds of lawnmowers is in the air along with the peepers chirping loudly at night.

I feel like I am surfacing after a long dive and emerging into the daylight.The book is in its final stages. Tuesday I received pdf proofs of the layout, it is like seeing an ultrasound of an embryo.

It is forming into a finished product but still in the developing stages. I will see it again soon once the designer finishes the final sections. I printed it out and "turned the pages" on my counter....

and it hit me - this is going to be a book! Somehow until now it was only words and images but not anything that looked like a finished product.

The excitement of Spring after such a long winter coinciding with this book project coming to fruition makes the season even more special.

Now the thing that will make it perfect is going out for a ride!

Spring is here!

I made it home from California in time for the weekend. The temps were warm and sunny with the smell of spring in the air. The flowers are definitely behind this year. My daffodils are just starting to bloom and the forsythia is just coming out.

I am not the only one who is really thrilled with the nice weather. Izzy is lazing around on the deck in her chair and sitting out in the lawn. The other day she caught and ate a mouse. Nothing like a little fresh meat to help shed fur all over the house.

In Africa the daylight varies by only 15 minutes from winter to summer. They do not think about the Spring and Autumn Equinox since there is so little difference in the amount of light. The Mara is just below the equator so theoretically it would be the Autumn Equinox at this time of year but that was hard to tell by watching the animals. We saw vultures, zebra, hippos and tortoise breeding. Maybe they don't care what season it is? Anyway, we did come across this gorgeous zebra foal who did not appear to be very old.

So for the moment I am happy to be home. This is my favorite time of year, when the earth renews itself by putting forth a show of color, sweet smells and sounds. I can hear the peepers peeping as I sit here and type. Tomorrow I head out for a road trip and a clinic in Arkansas on the weekend. I am sure this year the flowers will still be here when I get home.

Cattails Saga Part 4

Now that they have put FLAT SURFACES TO LAY ON in the BELOW DEN they need to be trained again. HE WHO MUST PLAY WITH ME (HWMPWM) is a quick study. I summoned him to the LET ME IN DOOR by staring at him through the VISIBLE WALL high up in the BELOW DEN.

Now I have to train him to FEED ME, LET ME OUT, and PLAY WITH ME when he is in the BELOW DEN. This is trying as it takes persistence to get through to him, but I will succeed! I make my presence known in the BELOW DEN and complain until he gets the message.

It is nice to have HWMPWM living in BELOW DEN during SUN IS SHINING time. I have more control and can go out and in whenever I like now. However, I need to work on SHE WHO MUST GROOM ME (SWMGM). She is AWAY again. This is disrupting my FUR REMOVAL PROGRAM and I might wind up with BALLS OF FUR in my stomach. Well maybe I should deposit them on her SLEEPING PLACE so she knows how displeased I am that she is AWAY.

In the mean time at least I have HWMPWM to answer to my beck and call.

Signs of Spring

Here in Calistoga there are definitely signs of spring. Although there is frost on the rooftops in the morning the flowers are blooming, daffodils, lavender, rosemary and more. My flowers at home are not willing to stick their heads up yet! It has been such a long winter I am hoping everything has survived - especially my fig tree!

We have been doing a series of Awareness Through Movement lessons around the spine. It is very interesting to learn how one vertebra moves in relation to another and not necessarily in the direction I thought! As always I learn so much from working with Mia and Leora - and this is just the beginning of day 3! I am already thinking about how to incorporate these lessons into my teaching when I get home.