California Dreamin'

Thought I'd better pop you all a line or two before you erase me from your memory! There are about sixteen feeble attempts on my dashboard. Blogger dignifies them with the title "Drafts!" Hmm.....

So I thought " Drafts be damned! I'll just pretend I'm writing a letter!" Part of the "draft" problem is that there is nothing earthshaking or profound going on...... About which I'm certainly not complaining. I've had my fill of "earthshaking," and it's hard to be profound when you're going in five directions at once.

Speaking to the Little Blister on the phone the other day, I asked if she was still writing. It's not as if she has the time or anything, what with teaching yoga, and water aerobics, the recent death of her beloved Larry [R.I.P.] and the care and feeding of the queen in the aftermath. But still, she's good at it, was going to a writing group, but not at the moment, so the short answer was "no." And apart from time, she doesn't have inspiration.

 "Maybe I'll have to start blogging again," quoth she! I'm not holding my breath, but that is a direct quote! Maybe we'll inspire each other, when I see her in a few weeks. 

 There's a strange, white haired, older woman lurking in the mirror these days. I find that, if I pretend not to notice her, I can carry on being thirty five and she can carry on being whatever age she is, and nobody gets hurt..........I'm a year older now than when I last posted. I have reached that venerable age immortalized by the Beatles. God only knows if he "still needs me" but he does "still feed me," and even, once in a while, takes me out for an airing, most recently to California. Since the OC couldn't  be home for my birthday he hatched a plan. We'd meet in Sacramento, hop in a car and drive, drive, drive, north, to visit our California
Girl.

 Last time I saw her was seventeen months ago, so a visit was long overdue.

We accompanied CG on an expedition to the vet one day. And I do mean expedition. It reminded me of when our children were younger. At one time we had a van. It was quite an adventure if all the children had to be rounded up and taken somewhere together! The fact that this time it was a horse trailer, not a mini van hardly matters. The logistics were much the same. The stallion went in first, with longing glances back to the mare in the pasture-----

"Parting is such sweet sorrow!"

But he was a good boy and stood quietly while CG put his socks on.....

But then, Oh joy! She went and brought the mare, who had been whinnying after her man.....

Next into the trailer were her "teenagers" who seemed comfortable with the whole situation since their elders weren't kicking up a fuss!

Here's the vet with his arm buried up to the shoulder, James Herriot -style, inside Maggie, trying to ascertain if there's the beginnings of a foal in there. Sadly there was not.

All the grand-animals got their shots and while the OC helped CG load them into the trailer again, I had time for some random photographs...................This was the scene from the vet's parking lot..............

 The lilies at the top were growing in a ditch at the entrance to the farm where CG boards her horses. Such exquisite perfection growing unheeded in the ditch!

Alongside the lilies was a tangled profusion of wild flowers..........I happily risked falling into the rather wet and messy ditch to bring you this picture...........

 The OC is a restless man, though he would call it  "busy." We can agree to differ on that!  He likes to keep moving, likes to "leave'em begging for more," believes that "fish and visitors stink after a few days......" Well you know all that......

Bottom line: I was not ready to leave after the few days he had planned.

 Wail! "I just got here!"

I was back here before I was fully convinced I'd gone at all. I'd forgotten how beautiful, and vast, California is......

Next time I'm staying 'til I'm kicked out!

California Girl and I even picked out a cottage for our dotage.....but I'll keep that for another post!