scarlets' blog

Oh my. I'm drooling

What wonderful photos

WOW, I'm green.

pen

green? that'll be the mildew azaria!

well i'm back in france again AND ITS NOT RAINING!!!! went out today for the first time in 5 wks fab ride . we went to st saveur lendelin where i know at least the disused railway is good going. however all the tracks we went on were just soft not muddy and not greasy , so no sliding around like we're on "dancing on ice". oscar was in fine form . lost a little weight over winter (not a bad thing!) and still got a winter coat but he really enjoyed his outing. i thought it was going to be a bit of a nightmare as i timed it wrong and got to the car park at school break time so the preschoolers were running all round the adjacent schoolyard screaming their heads off, which somewhat upset the boy. so on the walk to the picnic table to get on we had much snorting and bouncing on tiptoes. however he stood like a rock to get on (eyes firmly fixed on the schoolyard!) and we set off up the track. he quickly settled and we had what i call a very free walk on a loose rein down the track to the chemin and then up the chemin past 2 enormous newfoundlands which always race towards you barking and creating. they frighten me more than oscar. a nice trot up to the top of the hill by the mobile ph mast and then down the lane to the grand randonnee. through a little hamlet with a nice turreted house that looks like the adams family home, then a good trot up hill and down dale on the grand randonnee.
past the fields of shetlands - luckily they didnt spot us, so no racing over and winding Oscar up with their galloping up and down the fence line . Sharp right and another 1/2 k or so uphill . very tempted to go for a burn, but i generally play safe first ride out and just stick to walk and trot - even if he is behaving beautifully!
then a short bit of country lane with the primroses out on the banks . Then another chemin and back onto the lane then finally up the edge of the woods and abck onto the railway track for the ride back .
about 1 hr 45 and what a lovely ride. well worth waiting for. isnt it nice to have a horse who enjoys a trip out as much as you do. he loves looking at views - we often stop at view points and have a sit for a minute or two just enjoying the countryside.
back at the trailer the kids had gone in, so all was peace and harmony.
is it just me , or is getting off more painful these days. its the landing - however i try to slither off slowly, i still jar my knees. in addition to a picnic table to get on, i'm thinking i now need a trampoline or mattress to get off onto!
dont care tho. i will carry on riding till i'm physically incapable - then i could try carriage driving i suppose!
oscar was quite sweated up , but theres no point in clipping him as he gets ridden so infrequently in winter. thank goodness for sweat rugs.
anyones horse losing the winter coat yet? no sign of a a moult yet here.

Sounds a great ride, and all monsters coped with

Teepy & Bretty are moulting but Moss is holding on to his

Glad to see you back enjoying the beautiful country side (minus the chasse )

Yes, everything moulting here

pen

Loved your photos, so green, always wanted to go there. My Charlies just come back from visiting his brother in Singapore and that was so green and clean no litter any where he says when he got the train back from Manchester to Leeds , where his mam lives hes says it was a disgrace with rubbish all along the rail tracks. You just can`t understand some people. God knows what their houses are like.
Loved your hack I felt as if I was with you, your discription is so clear in my minds eye . Waiting for your next installment.

oh for goodness sake - has anyone seen the forcast - just when we were enjoying BIT OF SUN . the forcast now says minus 3 and snow next week.

Yep same here, in Dept 22... Tuesday accuweather have forecast 10-15 cms of the white stuff!
Hopefully then though we will get the nicer weather as this would appear to be a normal spring/end of winter... (always used to snow or hail at easter when I was a kid!) and my daughters birthday 1st April it used to guarantee to snow!
Ho HUm, another round of hay in the field on Monday then!

..... it's been a while scarlet how's everything going with you?
pen

pants

I'm afraid to ask??

pen

ok everyone sorry about the long silence. lots and lots happened in the last 6months.
after we returned from NZ in december, my mum went down hill quickly and sadly passed away just before xmas. so i had lots to do with organising the funeral , sorting out her estate, probate , putting her flat on the market etc etc etc.
in addition i needed to earn some pennies so was away a lot working in uk. i had the bright idea after reading glynis' posts re Bean that why not utilise my time away by sending oscar to school so he would have something to interest him, he'd get fit intime for my longed for summer break and he could get used to hacking out with others again. So i spoke to Alison and Bob and they kindly agreed to have oscar for some basic western training and thomas would go along too for companionship.
well i took them both over on seperate days and they settled in well. i went to watch Bob work oscar in the round pen on the second day just to see how they got along and B$#%^R me,  oscar was lame on the circle to the left. never been lame before except once on a hind leg when he slid in the paddock and that only lasted a day or 2.
long story short he became a paddock ornament for a few weeks till i could have him home. since then he's been totally sound ....the little sod. ANYWAYS
I finished work 1st week in june and came back to cold rainy weather , then all of a sudden we got a viewing on the house and they bought it there and then and wanted us out in 4 weeks , as their rental was up!!!!
since then we've been madly looking for rental property and also livery . my longed for summer break hacking through normandy is not to be ...again.
yes we are returning to the uk (and maybe NZ if we cant find anywhere we could bear to live in the uk) we were both terribly depressed the day after signing the compromis. the reasons we left the uk are still there , but Grahams mum is seriously ill and his dad has been diagnosed with Parkinsons . plus there is a grandchild and i'm fed up with not being home for weeks at a time.
so a big new adventure. we're going to move to a totally new area rather than return up north . i have been  teaching  oscar to walk on the "wrong" side of the road .... he's unimpressed.
we have been here 8 years and have loved it. but its time to move on.
if anyones interested i'm having the requisite clear out and have tons of books - hardbacks 2 euros , large papaerbacks 1 euro and ordinary papaerbacks 50cents. Loads of different authors and all sorts of genres. Lee child, kathy reichs, karin slaughter, james herbert, stephen king, charlaine harris , jilly cooper, jr ward to name a very small selection
ph me if you are interested ! 0233451055 between coutances and st lo 
and of course the weather has turned lovely again making normandy look so lovely. had some lovely hacks this last week . will really miss our favourite rides.

You have an exciting time ahead scarlet as you begin a new chapter in your life.

All the best to you and yours    pop in from time to time if you get a chance, and let us know how you and the "boys" are getting on.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]