Hello friends!
It has been one year (and a few days) since my fall off Ro that tore the ligament in my elbow, cracked a couple ribs, and ultimately left me with a pretty good concussion. I’ll remind you all that this fall was entirely and completely my fault, I made poor choices and acted before thinking things through. We got away lucky, coulda ended up so much worse.
Why am I bringing this up today? Well, because this week was fear facing week. I knew we were working on our solid foundations and we were working really well together. I also knew that with her sore hoof the last couple weeks that she was bored beyond belief of schooling the walk gently instead of working on new skills. So it felt like an appropriate time to try heading out into nature again.
We are taking it super slow, because both Ro and I have a new set of nerves around leaving the arena. But we need to face the music and get out there if we are going to move on. And we have.
Mostly we are just hanging around the property as I haven’t gotten permission from the neighbors to ride on their land yet. I try to ask every year. I know a lot of people don’t because the roads are considered shared, but it’s still theirs and worth respecting. I just haven’t seen them out and about yet and haven’t made a sweet to justify walking up to their house and knocking on their door, ya know?
Ro has been a total trooper but I can tell she’s nervous and feeding off my energy, whereas previously she liked being out and about. I feel so bad that fall wracked her confidence too. It shouldn’t surprise me though, she worried about me so much after the fall that she inadvertently made some farm chores harder. She’s an incredibly kind hearted little mare.
I think our kohlrabi might be just about ready for the first harvest. At least, that’s what Google says. Jury’s out, because I haven’t ever grown it so I haven’t a clue what to expect. I also have never cooked it so if you have kohlrabi recipes, please share them with me. Otherwise the plan is to roast it similarly to potatoes. Hoping that works.
We also have some very happy potatoes, another crop I haven’t tried before. I think they are just about ready, maybe another week just to put some weight on them. I was walking by today on my way to the barn and I noticed a fully grown potato just sitting there next to the plants. Kinda looks like it had gotten washed away from its parents and was just waiting to be found. I was quite excited to see it, although I will admit I am not sure what to cook with a single yellow potato haha.
Had an absolutely awesome birthday last week. Twenty six years around the sun, but i definitely still feel like a dumb teenager most of the time. I definitely don’t have it very together yet, despite serious attempts. But it was exactly the kind of relaxing birthday I had wanted. Slept in until about 6 am, lazily went down to the barn and had lots of fun with the girls, then had a lovely breakfast on the back porch while the dogs played. See, I had taken a few days off for my birthday. I’ve never done that, never bothered to take much of any time off unless I needed to help friends or family. I rarely schedule “lazy days”. But it has been so pleasant and made for such a warm and special birthday. It’s also why I am just getting around to writing about it now. My family picked up a yummy snickers flavored cake and they picked some truly thoughtful gifts. I told them not to worry about it, but they always manage to find the most heartfelt things. This year my parents picked up a couple things for my room (I’ve been working on it, a story for another post) that they knew I probably wouldn’t prioritize for myself and my brother got me some cute video game themed notions. Will always be a cozy video game nerd, with a soft spot for stuffed animals. I know, I know, it’s not the most adult thing ever, but I think I have officially stopped caring if I look immature, if my space makes me happy and is a nice retreat, who cares, right? We should all be able to indulge in our interests a little, as long as they aren’t hurting anyone, why should it matter? Very grateful to have a family that understands that and doesn’t judge me about my stuffed animals or video games or anything else for that matter.
Anyways, I digress, and I need to go check the water trough (I’m refilling it), so….
Until we chat again my friends!
The Farmer's Blogger 