Today was a gorgeous Memorial Day here in Northwestern Connecticut. For some reason I thought rain was in the forecast, so I had planned to work on my book. Instead, it was warm, bright and sunny and just a perfect day to go to Steep Rock. I actually groomed Snoopy and was all set to load him onto the trailer, when Mark’s sad, disbelieving gaze over the gate nearly broke my heart. So I groomed him up and off we went. I had originally planned to bring Snoopy because he’s a big black horse. I knew there’d be a lot of people in Steep Rock and the big black horse is so much cooler looking than the short, chubby grey horse with the idiosyncratic gait (and the manure stains on his forehead). But, as usual, I was glad I brought Mark. He was glad, too – nearly dragged me onto the trailer.
I had forgotten that there’s a Memorial Day parade in my town and when I got to the main road, it was closed, so I had to take a detour. I took a road that I used to drive all the time, but haven’t since my kids finished elementary school. I was so glad that I had been rerouted because it’s the more scenic drive. I took some photos from my window.
Ever since I got my new rig, I’ve enjoyed transporting my horses almost as much as riding them. I haven’t had a chance to figure out the radio settings, but it has satellite radio, and it has been preset to a station called “Classic Vinyl.” Now, “Classic Vinyl” is not a station I would choose when driving my car, but somehow, it’s the perfect music for driving a Ford diesel F-350 pick-up with a gooseneck trailer attached. About every ten minutes or so, they play something by the Rolling Stones. In between, today, they played the Kinks, Janice Joplin, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Eagles. I thought I heard “Tequila Sunrise” a hundred million times too many during the seventies, but bouncing along in your pick-up, on a winding country road, it’s sort of a perfect song. Fortunately, there were only cows on the roadside, so I didn’t disturb any humans with my caterwauling.
At Steep Rock, as I said there were many hikers and a few other riders. My friend Marina O’Malley went jogging past me and I said hello to her. She had to do a double take, as I was up on the horse with the helmet and everything. Then she said, “Hi Ann!” There were people jogging behind her, people behind me, people everywhere. Marina then pulled her earphones from one of her ears and (I thought) said, “It’s beautiful up there,” and I said, (thinking she meant up the hill ahead), “I know!”
Then, I realized that in fact she had said, “You look beautiful up there!”
AND I HAD SAID, “I KNOW!”
I jerked Mark to a halt and started screaming after her, “NO! NO! Marina, I thought you said ….” but she had stuck her earphones back in her ears and was running away, I’m sure, thinking that I’m just as vain as everybody has always said, so I actually turned to the woman walking her German Shephard behind me, and shouted, “I thought she said it looks beautiful up there …ahead, you know. ”
The woman scowled at me and then quickly looked away and I rode off, but Marina, if you happen to read this, I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL UP AHEAD!” I’m dying, still, over this. Marina, by the way, looks beautiful wherever she is.
Now I’m supposed to be making dinner but tomorrow I will tell you of another incident in which I misinterpreted what a person said and humiliated myself. Honestly, I could write volumes on this topic. I do it all the time. I just have some kind of social ADD where I get nervous/excited when talking to a person and I finish their sentences for them with my thoughts, and then I reply. Only afterwards do I realize what the person actually said. It’s a curse, I tell you.
I’ll leave you with these photos I took of some of the blooms around our house. I love flowers and plants but don’t know the names of any of them. So here are these guys:
And these creeping wonders:
Wisteria?
And these wonderfully mysterious irises. I know what an iris looks like, because they are one of my favorite flowers, but I always thought we couldn’t have them here because of all the deer. I’ve never planted them, but now, suddenly, we have irises blooming near a gate. We’ve lived here for 12 years and I’ve never seen them before.
This place is so haunted that way. Always with beauty.
Gorgeous gorgeous flowers, How odd those Irises just appeared…. I have to say i think it may be a Leo think i do the same thing, I get nervous/excited talking to people and finish their sentences and it was not what they meant to say…I do it all the time.. I also hate to speak infront of a crowd.
it is very infuriating !!
Oh well back to cleaning out the house for my yard sale…. stunning beautiful day! (wish i was riding)
Clematis…the climbing flowers. Wisteria looks almost like grapes hanging off a vine, but sort of a lighter shade of lavender.
Clematis, the climbing flowers. Wysteria looks sort of like grapes hanging off a vine. I also love flowers, gardening, always amazed at what returns from a previous season. Sort of like unpacking your summer clothing..you always find something you forgot you had.
Last summer I had huge sunflowers, in an area of my small yard that I would not choose to plant such a flower, thanks to my dropping of a full to the brim bird feeder I ended up with quite the surprise!
We had a beautiful day here (northeast CT) as well. We had a BBQ, ate outside and went for a walk. It is so nice to see so much green, although my allergies are in full bloom as well! It was a great way to end a three-day weekend. Yesterday we had terrible storms and hail! We were in the car when we got caught in a wicked storm. The hail hit the car in such a way it felt like we were under attack. It was a little scary, but the drivers were all going slowly. It was the longest 30 minutes. So glad today turned out to be so gorgeous.
Christine
Ann
It is all soo beautiful… and now I know that it is the horse ridding that gives you the workout on the shoulders!. Has got to be.
Lovely pm weather in the south Bay.. and I have blisters on both foot from hiking the flater paths.. must practice more often so it does not happen, changing the terrain.
So, were you able to sell enough of the book(s)?. When is the third one coming up?.
How are the kids?
enough questions
Do you know that you ‘sound’ really happy after one of your ridding trips?
It is astonishly lush and green here too- northeast of you, Ann. The flowering shrubs are amazing, maybe because there has been lots of sun and brief intense rain the last few days. I have started to take an interest in gardening, which is one of the many activities I used to scorn as the province of old ladies, until, shockingly enough, I became an old lady. I did my gardening, my daughter was in a horse show and we went to many lacrosse games, concluding a weekend here my daughter called “Weekend Festival for White People”. She is headed to L.A. in September to work in comedy. I have no doubt that you DID look beautiful up there, Ann!
Do I really Guadalupe? Because it really does make me happy. Which reminds me that I was VERY interested in your comment on the affect/effect post. Your comment about moods. I thought I’d like to devote a blog post just to that topic. It was so interesting, those definitions you cited. It seems that moods are about anticipation, regret, dread, etc. Everything in the past and the future. I think that when I ride Mark, I am very tuned in with him, and he, being an animal, lives only in the present, so during that time, I am very much in the moment, I suppose in the way you are supposed to be in yoga. I smell the pine trees and the river, I hear the sound of the horse’s hooves. If something startles us, we both have an instant panic and then it’s over and we’re back in the present. It’s very therapeutic for me. On the ride home, I couldn’t stop running my fingers through his mane, and that’s all I thought about. The softness of the mane, the gentleness of the horse, the quiet path.
Clematis! Thank you Beth. Was driving myself crazy trying to think of that.
I’d like to plant Morning Glories along that fence. If I put seeds in the ground now, will they be covering the fence later this summer? Or is it too late?
Ann
Anytime (about the word thing)(blog).
http://allpsych.com/disorders/mood/index.html
this is the DSM-IV on line, and here you can get familiar with the terms
and their meanings, in a clinical setting (when one becomes a certified nut).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jReNeEHH2lQ
affect – he is normal! (the nurse is a bitch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKQcx1jzn4k&feature=related
AFFECT, the kid… see that? state of mind, just IS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPZZxxFCe0&feature=related
that nurse is a disgrace…. and is frustrating the patient, who isn’t a nut (he is only wild)
look at the affect of the person on the wheelchair, and the one watching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7dDK-YbrNo&feature=related
and some normalcy, Thank You God… at the Oscars
And remember, it was “my” Michael who dug that book from somewhere and peddled the lights out of it, and produced it. Nobody wanted to do the thing!.
Bellevue (spelling) was a Mental Hospital and I have watched many hours of interviews done there. I think that 9/11 destroyed the building or something. Again, if you wanted to get some visuals about how mental disorders look (for your libro), ask to visit the facility, do NOT take any of your family, but a burly fellow (like the ones at the White House tour)(not kidding). No earrings, no nothing that can be pulled out of you, flat shoes, able to run if need be, and observe them in a group. NO makeup, no fancy anything, and lots of patience for the staff who work there and deal with the patients on a daily basis for hours on end. Observe the eyes, and the affect.
Definitely Clematis vines- they are hanging on my fence and they lay about 6 feet wide and look amazingly like a huge pink blanket. We purchased 2 more this weekend – one in purple and the other crimson. They grow like wildfire and they climb,climb, climb. We also have a Wisteria tree in our yard (it is really a weed – don’t ever baby it) and yes, they have beautiful purple, very fragrant plumes that do resemble grapes. I layed down Morning Glorys 2 weeks ago and they are just coming up now so yes you can plant them. They LOVE the hot weather and lots of sun. We planted “our first” vegetable garden this weekend in pots. I was SO excited! Lots of herbs, lettuce, beans, broccoli, peppers and it all came out wonderful!!! We fenced it off so our shepherds don’t crash into it when they go into Saratoga racing mode. Ann – “Sirius” radio going all the time, in the house, the cars – we either have the blues, the Dead or the Classic Vinyl station going on. We can’t figure out why there isn’t a Beatles station. It was a lay low weekend for us. We did take two out of our 3 shepherds into Port Jefferson which is a 5 minute ride from our home on Long Island. Port is an adorable seaport town with great shops. One of our shepherds is pure white and our newest one is black as night so we did not count on a circle of people wanting to pet them whereever we walked. Good socialization. We also thought it was going to rain but we had none – in fact, it was totally gorgeous the entire weekend. Hope everyone had a great time doing whatever. I must agree with Lupe – you always do sound very much at peace when you return from a ride and I can actually visualize how you describe each adventure as if I’m riding on the back. Oh…and I’m quite sure you did look beautiful up there no matter what was really said!
To Ann &Bev
I agree, it must be a “Leo” thing..I do the same thing. The more you try to “fix” this..the worst it gets..I prefer to call it open mouth, insert foot. On occasion I have exchanged feet.
Ann, I’m sure you WERE beautiful sitting up there with Mark. The part about the woman walking the shepherd was funny.
Spent the morning picking up the debris from the storm, and retrieving my lawn furniture from my neighbors yard. Did the “cookout” thing with my best friend’s family. Nice relaxing afternoon.
Guadalupe,
I enjoy reading your posts…always something interesting.
Ann,
This blog ROCKS! And Ann ROCKS ! 
I love the photos and the tales from your day. It makes me laugh about your “I know” statement.
The flowers are beautiful and reading about moods being in the past or future is very interesting. After reading what you said about the only time you are in the present is when you ride, makes me want to go out and take some riding lessons. I was in “Pony Club” as a kid, but after my first ride, I got bucked off the horse and never got back on. I think it’s time to get over that and give it another go, because I love horses.
This week has been a very challenging one as my mom went into the hospital. I had to step in and run her business (Frozen Banana Shop), which for a makeup artist is so different, but really fun. Anyway, I can feel myself about to ramble on and on, because I am exhausted, SO my point is, checking in on your blog this week at night when I get home, brings a smile to my face and a laugh. Thanks to all of you for the smiles.
I’m pretty sure “these guys” are rhododendrons.
Bev and Rose, interesting that you think this is a Leo thing, as Denis is also a Leo and rarely does this. Maybe it’s only the lionesses.
Courtney, so sorry about your mom. Hope she’s better soon. How nice for her that you’re close and can help out with the shop.
Kim, I’m buying those seeds today.
Hi Ann,
Yes, go for the morning glory! You may not get too many flowers this year but they will return next. I have a well established climber but decided to add more plants this year. I started them in pots and just put them in the ground yesterday. I mixed in all different colors, we will see what happens. Another climbing plant I added, and a favorite, is Moon Flower. The flower is white, looks very similar to morning glory, but blooms only in the evening, love it.
Some other plants you may want to add…that are very easy and tolerate quite a bit..lilac bushes (blooms early spring) and butterfly plants (will bloom mid June). Believe it or not, I purchased my lilac at the Christmas Tree Shop 3 years ago, 12 inches high in the box, only 1 flower the first year. This year it is about 10 feet high and loaded with the most wonderful smelling flowers.
Every year I seem to be removing more grass and adding more planting beds, soon there will be no grass!
I did forget to add, Hilarious that you misunderstood your friend and then proceeded to tell everyone you misunderstood!!!! LOL!!! I wonder if she will blog on here telling everyone you think your beautiful….hahahahahaha! ok enough fun now I have not had enough coffee for that, it’s early
I have now laughed about 50 times at your “you look beautiful up there” miscombobble! You are such a hootenanny! I keep waiting for someone to throw me a random compliment as I trot by on my skinny old Norman, but I will keep holding my breath while you live the dream!