Taking you for a ride

Today the weather was a bit chilly and overcast, although the sun did come out later in our ride. This morning we had brunch at Thyme Cafe with Mr and Mrs CT, which was fun and great food. I had salmon royale, which is like eggs benedict with salmon instead of bacon. Smoked salmon is right up there near the top of my favourite foods list. 

Zanny was very pleased to see me (and my carrot and apple treats). She seemed to be smiling the whole time we were together. Do you think she looks pregnant? Em said she was quite worried about her girth early in the pregnancy, but she has slowed down the expansion now. Her winter coat is fluffy but quite short, and because I am only grooming her once a week now, she isn't looking as shiny as she was in the holidays. Never mind. 

 Excuse the state of the saddle- it needs a good clean. This shows you how tall Zanny is compared to me because I pointed the camera directly from my face towards her. You are coming for a bit of a ride with me. I'm glad we've got a mounting block.

 Here we are, up in the saddle, ready to head out on our adventure. Look at those pricked ears. Zanny is excited too.

 This is the long driveway. I brushed that mane! What a scruff!

 Looking down. I thought you might get an idea how far up we are, but you can't really tell. It is a great view from way up here. I don't like to think about how far down it is because I know how much it hurts falling off. Don't worry, we're wearing a safety crash vest.

 We're off along the wide verges. There are roads like this all around the neighbourhood. You could safely canter along but we just did a bit of trotting and mostly walked.

 Well, we were out for over 1 1/2 hours because we headed past the crazy chicken lady's house and decided that we were having so much fun, so we just kept on going around the big huge block. I should have taken a photo outside the chicken place as well, but I was concentrating on all of the poultry everywhere, dogs rattling chains hidden under the trees, and flotsam and jetsam everywhere. Who would have a huge bin of potatoes just lying on it's side spilling rotting spuds everywhere on the side of the road? There is a tractor with trailer with three or four huge rolled bales of hay rotting on it. There were roosters engaging in cockfights, and a fleet of white hens strolling around on the road. Zanny was looking at everything but she didn't even twitch.

Anyway, when we got back I put her back in her paddock with a heavy heart. I won't see her for another week.

I got a little time to continue working on the fabric swimming pool. As usual, my loyal companion was right there. He does distract me from time to time by sitting up, kneading his paws and purring alluringly, and I can't resist a cuddle.

 The quilt is coming along. This one is so simple I feel like I'm cheating. The effect is rather glorious though.

My darling is off to camp for a couple of days this week. I will miss him sooooo much. I think he'll have a great time, and I can feel a bit independent managing without him. But I'll be really for a big hug when he returns.