Seeing the sights

After we got through a rainy Sunday and Monday, last week turned into a gorgeous week of sun and blue skies. Yesterday morning I walked the loop from our house and around through Underhill Flats. I've been on the treadmill too much this summer, and it felt good to be outside. 

A couple of years ago, for Underhill's 250th anniversary, a local artist led a flag painting project that was open to anyone who wanted to participate. I had never noticed this horsey flag before; it's right on the Underhill Flats green. All the flags are very cheery and I love seeing them as I drive back and forth between home and work along Route 15. It's really fun to see the variety produced by creative people of all ages.

Friday night I rode Bestie. There was a lesson going on in the old indoor arena, so we went down to the new one. The retractable shades have been down all summer, which keeps a nice breeze going through. She was a little distracted, even though nothing much was going on outside. I think it was because we generally don't ride down there much, and she's just not accustomed to the bigger and brighter space. With the shades down, the road and the fields are visible, so there's a lot to check out. It was such a beautiful bright early evening, I definitely was a little rubber necky too, checking out the sights outdoors as we circled around. It was a pleasant ride. It always makes me laugh when we finish and if I don't dismount right away, she turns her head around to nudge my left foot, like "c'mon, we're done."

A spectacular night

Let me start by saying that these pictures don't do tonight justice. AT ALL.

All day it rained. Probably the most rain we've had in weeks.

Then, right as I was leaving the barn, the weather front started moving through from the west.

That meant that the setting sun slowly emerged and was shining toward the black clouds still in the east. 

It completely lit up the hillside across from the barn.

I thought I would hear some sort of triumphant fanfare from the heavens, it was so beautiful.

Then, driving home with one eye on the road and the other on my rear view mirror,

I kept seeing the edge of the front shifting ... and shifting.

The sun emerged completely from the cloud cover as it was setting.

Wow.

I wasn't the only one leaping out of their car with iPhone in hand.

Vermonters love capturing weather drama.

This was  much  more exciting than my plan A for a post - Dude's latest injury, which I'm thinking might be chapter 4 of his autobiography, "101 classic ways to hurt yourself and drive your owner crazy." Chapter 4 would cover going down for a good roll, getting carried away when leaping up, and somehow 1) kicking yourself or 2) kicking up rocks that nick you.


A brief recap from earlier this afternoon...
Text from barn manager Paula: Just letting you know, I put Dude out this morning in the round pen by himself with 4 other horses in the small paddocks. He got excited and did some acrobatics scratching both front legs. I washed him off and applied antibiotic ointment. :(

My reply: Thanks very much. Will he ever just chill???? :)

Reply by barn manager Paula, in person, after I arrived at the barn: "No. He's Dude."

Cleaned him up with Betadine  and poofed a generous cloud of Wonder Dust on his scrapes.

This week at the barn ...

... Dude spotted a hot air balloon. Actually, he didn't spot it, since he couldn't actually look up that high. But as he was grazing and the balloon approached, he definitely noticed the Darth Vader-like muted roar of the burner, and the tiny voices of the people in the basket. This is his "hmmn, what IS that" pose. 

There is actually another balloon just outside of this shot. It was a gorgeous night; no surprise that two of the balloons were coming up the valley as they probably have both mountain and lake views from this flight path. But since the second one was approaching really low to the ground, much lower than the one in this photo, I decided it might be prudent not to tempt fate. Dude and I went back into the barn.