In which we enjoy the sunny weather and ignore the calendar

This is a skill that my kids still haven't mastered:

looking out the window instead of looking at the calendar.

Sunshine?  In February?

The horses don't bother checking the calendar: they are already ramping up for springtime!

Blurry, but still obviously Swamp Tulips.  EARLY this year!

The major equine spring celebration is called "Let's Be Bad Day."  

Fiddle celebrated that on Friday.  Sorry, no photos.  

Actually, I'm not a bit sorry.  

She was awful.  

Balking in the arena--balking!  I thought we'd given that up years ago, but on Let's Be Bad Day, all knuckleheaded behavior is green light.

I had to borrow a dressage whip.  I *never* need a whip with her.  Sigh.  She was really horrible.

I was able to get her moving forward again before the lesson ended, and then I took her home and gave her the Annual Terrible Clip Job.

Many local horses are shedding, but not Fee:"It's still winter in Canada!"
The haircut is not pretty, but it is functional.

The Dragon would like to remind the world that her barber went to Library School, not Beauty School.

Sigh.

When the Usual Suspects met up on Sunday morning in the sunshine, I was ready for the worst.

Springtime = Knucklehead Weather

I dug out my crop (buried in the tack box at home, I wasn't even sure I still owned one!) hooked it to the saddle, and got ready for Rotten Dragon.

And...

She was fine.

A bit knuckleheaded at the very start of the ride, when the whole group headed out.  So, about a mile into it, I turned her away from the herd and we trotted !!alone!! back to the trailhead.

She caved, we moved forward, she was perfectly fine the rest of the day.  She even flirted with the trail crews we met.

"I'm pretty sure that guy will give me a cookie."
(He did.  I carry extras so people we meet can give the Dragon a treat.)

Not everybody was good, though.

Hana and Griffin were busily celebrating Let's Be Bad Day.  Casanova and Ariana celebrated a bit, but they got over it pretty fast.

Sunshine makes us all smile...but I think Griffin
is still considering badness in this photo...

Flower and Fee claimed to be ready for summer.  No more badness for them!

Hmmm.

Unconvinced, I took my Dragon out solo today for a nice long double-loop.

I brought the whip again, clipped to the saddle.
It stayed clipped there the whole time.

I dropped her bit after about twenty minutes.  Not a problem.

Fiddle was convinced that we would eventually catch up with Lori and Mel, who had left the trailhead 10 minutes before us, but finally gave it up and enjoyed the day without them..

You see a clearcut.  I see acres and acres of mounting blocks.

 Lori and Mel must have taken a different track, because we never did see them again.

In fact, we didn't see anybody else out there until we were almost back at the trailer.

It was just the Dragon and me

and the sunshine and the blue sky.

Our track.  About 16 miles in about 2.5hours, in beautiful sunshine!
(I forgot to turn off the timer when I got back to the trailer)

Who needs Let's Be Bad Day?

We had Let's Be Happy Day, instead.