Wicked old photo
Here in Connecticut, the weather has been beautiful and nobody loves glorious weather more than us (we?) New Englanders because it’s so cold in the winter, muggy in the summer and rainy, drizzly, foggy and muddy in between. But this past week has been warm and sunny, and last Saturday, I loaded Mark onto the trailer for our first trip back to Steep Rock.
Mark hadn’t been ridden since last spring and as I groomed him and tacked him up, he became excited, to put it mildly. He was doing a little tap-dance in the barn aisle, stepping this way and that, puffing and blowing air through his nostrils and trumpeting long, drawn-out and almost deafeningly loud bursts of flatulence every few minutes and apparently his nervous energy frightened Holly and she hightailed it down to the house. That little dog usually sticks to my side. I can’t go anywhere without her following me, including the bathroom. I don’t like going to the bathroom with a little terrier staring quizzically at me, her head cocked, ears perked, so I must push her out the door, which she takes very personally and I always have to be careful not to shut the door on her muzzle. She just doesn’t understand why she can’t enjoy EVERYTHING with me.
So last weekend, Denis was home with a very bad cold and was inside watching a game when Holly suddenly appeared at the screen door. So surprised was Denis to see Holly without me, that he thought that Holly had pulled a Lassie. He thought I was hurt and that Holly had run down to the house to get help. I’m choking with laughter right now at the very idea of this. My animals are very much of the every-man-for-himself mindset, and all would happily leave me in danger’s way to save their own hides.
So Denis came running up to the barn, God bless him, expecting to find me staggering around, drooling and grinning insipidly with a horse shoe embedded in my brain. Instead, he found me currying my little tap-dancing grey horse, drooling and grinning insipidly, brain perfectly intact.
Well, now I’ve run out of time to write about our adventures in Steep Rock.
Tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I’m sorry to report that poor Holly is under the weather. She spent the night before last throwing up and I took her to the vet yesterday. It’s a very irritated stomach, probably from something she ate. Some dogs are quite stoic. Our old Pongo barely whined when he was run over by a car and he tried to trot away with a broken pelvis. Other dogs like to have everyone know that they’re suffering and do all sorts of sad walking around with lowered head, sad eyes and tail tucked between their legs. Holly, we’ve discovered, is one of these. We have reinforced the sad-sack behavior by cuddling her constantly and gushing, “Oh, you poor puppy! You POOR, POOR, puppy!” We have no idea if she’s still sick or if we have just trained her to lie around looking like this, for extra kisses:
Hi Ann, Thank you for Day 2 of “The Cute Diaries.” If she lived with me, I’d gush, too!
Aw, poor Holly,hope she’s all better. Loved the incident of Denis coming to your rescue. He’s well trained from his tv show, using his expertise!
So glad you got out with Mark this past weekend, it certainly was lovely weather for a stroll on horseback.
Aww Great Blog Today! Good for Denis, with a game on and a cold! what a hero! Some hubbys would have waited for a commercial Break…. hehehe.
Holly is such a character!! I bet she is loving all the attention and will fake it way after she is better…..sweetheart!
looking forward to hearing about your ride with Mark….( the horse that is)…
Me thinks Holly is playing you like a fiddle, and it crackles me up that it takes Mark to bring down little Holly. Can anyone please post when RM starts up again, I can’t find on the website, anyone ??????
Poor Holly-she looks like she could use some extra loving. Glad you have been able to get out and enjoy the weather with Mark. It’s rainy and foggy here today in Milwaukee and it doesn’t look like the rest of the week is going to be much better. Have to take advantage of the great spring weather while you can! Sounds like Denis is trained quite well, especially with a game on. I’m afraid my husband would find me hours later if a game was on-especially the Red Sox game!
Poor little Holly. I hope she’s doing better today. Keep us posted.
What a guy that DL is. There is hope for mankind after all.
Love of photo of Mark’s mane looking like the parting of a foamy white sea, as you dance down the trail into verdant dreamery!
This blog has horses, dogs, and husbands! What more could an Ann fan want?
Glad you got out and enjoyed a nice ride….The picture in my head of Denis hauling down to see if you were hurt was pretty funny….
I hope little Holly feels better soon, poor little peanut!!!!
The picture of Holly is enough to bring a tear to my eye. Poor wee thing. The picture of Mark’s gorgeous mane against the green woods – and there sure is a lot of green back east now – is just lovely. It’s a keeper for me.
We’re waiting for RM too. I just hope it doesn’t deal so much with all the broads this year. Of course, what else is as important to men, tell me.
I think Holly is suffering from separation anxiety and looking for some extra luvin after being left in the dust while you rode off with Mark. I think she is a trickster and pretty cagey!!
Oh, you can’t help but gush ! It is a beautiful picture of Mark going into the lovely green woods. And the thought of Denis thinking Holly had pulled “a Lassie”–I loved that expression !! How very sweet.
I am currrently listening to My Antonia by Willa Cather. I know that thisblogis filled with readers and writers, and onceagain I am amazed how a writer can paint a picture wit words. story is set in Nebraska and though have never been out there I can actually picture the landscape in my minds’ eye. I am so envious of those of you with the gift to write. My writing is such a bore. I was truly surprised that Dani Sharpio said it took her two to write her book, I can hardly sit thru getting my hair highlighted!
So sorry to hear that Holly is under the weather. Terriers are usually stoic, and she looks so depressed in this picture, I just want to kiss her little head. Poor, poor Puppy!
Great photo of Mark heading into the woods. Looks like a beautiful trail.
How sweet that DL went to check on you. That’s love!
Poor Holly definitely looks under the weather. Speedy recovery I hope!
I also hope you enjoyed your ride in the beautiful weather. Spring seems to be springing, eh?
What a beautiful sight that top photo is! Wow, that is a visual of a “happy place” if I’ve ever seen one!
On the other hand, the lower pic is very sad … poor little tiny Holly! Oh, how “heart-rendering” it is to see her feeling poorly! I hope she is already on the mend and feeling much better. {{{{Holly}}}}
Ann -
I love this photo – Mark’s white mane with the green woods in the background is lovely! Poor, sweet Holly with tummy trouble. She looks so sad, but I think she’s smart enough to be working it a bit for the attention.
I posted yesterday that, like Catherine, I was not able to log on to the livechat with Dani S. Is it possible to find out why we couldn’t get on so hopefully we will be able to participate in future liveblogs? I didn’t have any problem with the two previous.
Linda S.
Love the photos–all that green! Oh and the poor puppy–reminds me of sick toddler.
And yes, Does anyone know when RM starts again?
All things considered, perhaps it worked out best that Denis had the bad cold and Holly spent the night throwing up rather than the other way around.
Poor Puppy! This is Holly’s first tummy ache; you must record this in her baby book!
Ann, I do believe all your animals would come to your rescue if you needed help. I’m certain they would do a “Lassie” for you!
Alan: Hilarious!
Hi Everyone!
I had to stay away from the Blog for a few days, and apparently I should have stayed away longer.
Zeus and I parted ways on Saturday – he zoomed out of the ring, and I got impaled on the corner fence post on the way down. I think he took one of my ribs with him!
Seriously, I’ve got a cracked rib and my entire right side is one giant bruise/ laceration (the shirt I was wearing is toast) and I am very sorry I checked out your blog this soon.
Because I just about cracked another rib laughing so hard! Seriously, I had to stop and walk away (or hobble away, as it were) to control the little “snap snap” going on near my sternum. Sounds like fun, eh?
But of course, despite the fact that my kidney was hanging out, I got right back on and then rode 2 horses on Monday.
Oh, Mark. Oh, Holly! I can’t wait to hear about Steep Rock. Cynthia and I will hopefully get The Boys over there this year.
So sorry I missed the Devotion chat!
KC. So sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you weren’t more seriously hurt. Thinking of you and hoping you’re back in good shape real soon.
KC, I misunderstood the beginning of your comment and thought that you had sold Zeus. I’ll bet you were threatening him with the glue factory after that stunt.
Denis told me his tour dates and Rescue Me information are on his website. I seriously had no idea that he had a website until today. It’s http://www.denisleary.com. How original! He’s totally copying me with this website.
Candy, I have never read My Antonia and have always meant to. Today I was thinking about what book we should do next. I have some great nonfiction authors lined up but maybe we should throw in some classics and chat about them, like we did with Miss Jean Brodie. Do you guys want to do My Antonia next?
KC, so sorry to hear about your accident. A cracked rib sounds painful. Like Ann, at first I thought you had sold Zeus. Take good care of yourself!!
Ann, how is Holly doing? Can’t get that little dog out of my head, and hope she is back up on her skateboard soon!
So, I woke up this morning, and I had not dreamt of Gilles, Maksim, and Dmitri (not that I could remember, anyways) but I had the fabulous idea of hiring Maksim as the choreographer for my movie. Every musical needs lots of dance numbers, right? And who better than the bad boy of the dance floor to fill the bill?
As I was lying in bed, I had the incredible fantasy of not getting up and going to work, but getting up to meet with Maks to work out some dance sequences. I thought it would go a little like this.
Me – “So Maks I was thinking we could do a dance with you and Gilles, and Dmitri — something along these lines. . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1InfoCfipM&feature=related
And Maksim might say “Yes, I could do it . . . but I’m not sure about the other two.”
Sensing he was angling for a solo, I would say “I see your point, it would certainly be a stretch for Gilles, maybe we need to stay with something sultrier, and less technical for a trio. I do love the idea of tap dancing with an unusual prop, though . . . what do you think of this from the same movie?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aus1PA5-SyI
KC, so sorry to hear about your accident! I hope you heal quickly….!! xxxxx
KC
Sorry about Zeus acting up. Wonder what causes those sudden moves. Hopefully you will be all better soon.
And sorry to hear that little Holly must have eaten something that made her sick… and that she was puking and feeling sorry for herself. I hope that passes soon.
Do you ever have those email exchanges with friends that are so disjointed you can’t believe you ever thought that writing was perhaps a legitimate form of communication?
These are especially awkward at the formative stages, when you really don’t know someone all that well . . . and well, their odd replies make you re-evaluate the whole deal.
For instance, today I was invited (via email) to a Yoga class. Let me cut to the chase — I don’t do Yoga. I’ve never done Yoga, I never will do Yoga. I do eat Yogurt. Plain. With fresh fruit. That is as close to Yoga as I will get. Seriously. The thought of Yoga makes me do this. To sentences.
Even THIS GUY (KC – do not watch this video — seriously — not until the rib has healed) could make me do Yoga.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld4rPpYLYq0
Okay “How Now Sister Moo Cow” reminded me of “Caroline” from one of my favorite movie musicals “Gypsy” — I couldn’t find her big number on YouTube, but she does make an eerie appearance in the this famous scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYGMguS2dD8&feature=related
This is Rosalind’s own unvarnished voice singing this big song.
I got to work on my “big song”, or “showstopper” for my movie musical today. Let’s just say it is a work in progress, but I think I got a good start.
How is Holly today?
I am sitting in a Miami hotel room, waiting to go to a meeting, and just learned that the Department of Defense and Homeland Security are all in this hotel, having meetings. Without jeopardizing my chance at US citizenship, I think it’s safe to say that they all eat scrambled eggs and bacon like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe they know something…
Ann, I just looked up My Antonia. It looks interesting to me and I like the idea of switching back and forth between the classics and current literature.
And good news for Kindle folk, there’s a free edition. I also enjoy comparing the writing styles of the books published so many years ago. My Antonia was published in 1918. Can you imagine what it would feel like, to have written something that many years ago, and know that it would still be in print today?
I think My Antonia is a wonderful idea. It’s been on my reading list for years as well.
Looking forward to reading the book selection this time. Ann, for the chat date, it is listed as Thursday, May 15th, but did you mean Thursday, May 13th? May 15th is a Saturday. Thanks for the clarification.
KC, so sorry to hear about your accident-hope you are doing well and on the mend!
Picked up my tickets to the RM Comedy Tour yesterday-5th row!
Hope Holly is feeling better and will be back to doing tricks soon!
Awwwwww. . . He came to see if you were alright! big time points for the husband!
Went on Denis’ website. Got such a kick out of his song. He expresses so many of my views.
KC – Sorry about your accident. Hope you’re feeling better.
Ann – Hope Holly’s tummy is all better.
Since I’m a non-fiction reader I am very curious as to which non-fiction authors you might have in mind, Ann.
Ann, the photo of Mark & the woods reminds me of ee cummings
All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.
Hope Holly is better. What a sad face. So glad Denis was prepared to rescue YOU!
KC, OUCH!