whew!

made it. i knew by the time i hit today a ton of stuff would have passed that i simply had to navigate.

my eyes burn now as i write and close them momentarily.

my girl is working on her bronze award for a big organization every morning this week before camp starts, so we are, without fail, going to be at the farm by 8am. though we banged it out so quickly today, we might show up at 8:30 tomorrow morning. (the difference an extra half hour of sleep makes in my life is huge!)

everyone fed, stalls mucked, water buckets scrubbed and we had close to an hour to kill.

walking out to bucky's paddock (how else do you think i'd pass the time?), a hawk cut across my path and roosted in the trees. i would never have seen him there except that he let me get a glimpse of him and watch him land. he stayed there most of the time i was with bucky, then flew around and across bucky's paddock to rest in an obliging tree. he was indiscernable at that location, i never would have known he was there, save the blackbird who kept diving at him. he ignored them and they gave up.

we wandered back to the minis and my girl is racing up and down the fenceline with one gorgeous little white mare.

look mom!

she grinned as she ran, the horse trotting along beside her.

did you see?

nope, missed it.

which sometimes, even if i've seen it, i say that just to get the kid moving.

again and again she did it, i "finally" caught one episode and the mangy cat rubbed up against me though i objected. he snuck up when i was watching the treelines.

i don't want what you're offering,

i said, as i pushed him away.

i feel bad for him. bald patches and mats so thick they feel like pom-poms.

so now, i've hours to kill and a good book to read. i was going to start leaning toward my next packet, but i can't. i just don't have it in me. and last night i punted two books to the next packet, so have plenty to do, just not the desire to do it just yet.

for now, i'll reward myself with a book which has caught my eye for some time, i finally broke down and bought it after having a dream of a dark horse.

perhaps there's something there for me.

and an obliging bench in the park at the center of this small town where i'll spend the week. i may try to nap in the breeze and sun. i hope that isn't a problem. we'll find out. i've got no where to go, and i need to rest up. hosting an open mic tonight with a featured speaker. so after nabbing my girl in a few hours, i must away and home to change then to the library for the read.

but i have three days off work and i will try, desperately, to forget about work for a while. they may call, but i won't answer. i've learned that lesson and a girl has to draw the line somewhere.

to the park, to nap like a homeless person.