I’m sure regular readers of this blog will be very happy to hear that I can’t in all good conscience whine this week about not riding, since my saddle has come back to me in its new and improved form (air panels put in to replace the previous wool flocking, and so far it’s a big hit on the comfort and function front, especially with Alpac), and I’m not even going to bang on (much) about the weather, because while it isn’t exactly spring-like, it’s far from brutal, therefore doesn’t merit any attempt on my part to extract sympathy. All in all, things are perking along quite nicely.
There have been some quite warm days in the past week (by which I mean approaching or even getting a little above the freezing level) and I noticed on the way to the barn a couple of days ago that the level of the snow in the ditches has actually fallen a bit so that it is mostly lower than the road itself, rather than the reverse as it has been for the last months.
Grandson Mark had Friday off school (again!!I think they should just declare four school days a week to be the norm with five being the exception, since this seems to be the modus operandi of late) so we took the opportunity to head off to the zoo for a photo shoot. This wasn’t on the agenda originally, but there was an article in the Friday paper noting that the zoo was hosting two newly arrived juvenile lions, so Mark and I had to go check them out. We had a very jolly time trekking around to our various favourites for photo ops, and spent quite a bit of time being entertained by the young lions. The male is one year old, and the female is eight months. They are “on loan” from other zoos, one from Alberta and one from Ontario, and if I understand correctly, they will be here for the next year or two. We’ll be seeing big physical changes in them as they mature and put on size, so it’s kind of neat to have the “before” shots of their early days here.
This morning we awoke to falling snow which lasted until early afternoon and was quite heavy intermittently, with a bit of a wind to move it around but nothing much in the way of cold. I had to head downtown to pick up the “camera armor” that I had ordered a while back, with protection from the dust and rain (not usually simultaneous) of the upcoming summer horseshow season in mind. It will be handy in the snow as well, I’m sure, but by the time I got it picked up, the snow had stopped.
My ultimate destination after the shopping outing was to visit my favourite herd south of the city, so I carried on and got some shots there. By the time I arrived at the photo site, the sun was shining strongly and it was really quite pleasant. The mares were all standing in clusters out of the wind and just vegging out and soaking up the sun. I always think of these mares as being in “waiting” mode, certainly during the winter months. They are waiting for the weather to moderate, and most of them are waiting for the birth of their foals as well. Patience is the name of the game for them, but with time it will be rewarded with the dual benefits of the warmth of spring and with the new foal crop that will be appearing. I’m ready for both any time, and I think these mares are as well.
First shot today is of a very relaxed lynx in the new “hammock” that has appeared in its’ cage since the last time I was at the zoo. Seems like a popular item that will be well used and appreciated.
Shot number two is the young male lion. You can still see the remnants of his baby spots on his legs, but as a young “teen” he is also starting to generate his adult mane. I love his big clunky feet. He spent a fair amount of time indulging in fantasies of his heritage by stalking, crouching, and doing fierce attack rushes. This shot catches him in the midst of one of his charges across the enclosure.
Shot number three is the young female with her “scratching post”. She is quite small, weighing in at present at seventy pounds, which is about ten pounds less than either of my dogs, but while they have topped out for size and weight, this girl is just getting underway. I was happy to see how relaxed and settled both of these big cats were in their environment. The tigers that preceded them never really “played” (despite being much the same age when they arrived as the lions are now) and spent most of their time in somewhat tense motion. I think that tigers as a species are just generally more tightly-wound than lions. These youngsters spent a lot of time interacting with each other and with their “toys” and the entertainment options in the pen, and seem pretty content, all things considered.
Shot four is what it looked like out my front window this morning, and shot five is one of the mares relaxing and enjoying the sun and relative warmth of the afternoon.
Towards the end of the afternoon I was poking around in the studio when the doorbell rang. Once I beat the pack of dogs back (my own two and a small one we are tending while his owner is away) and got to the door, I discovered two youngsters with snow shovels on the front step. They were very cute boys, maybe nine or ten, and wanted to know if I would like my walk shovelled. My son-in-law usually does this job with the snow-blower, but we’ve been slacking off on that front lately, hoping it will just melt before we need to deal with it. In truth, it did need some attention, so I asked how much they were charging. They very earnestly said they didn’t have a set fee but would be happy with anything I wanted to pay for the job. Then they went on to say how glad they were that I was willing to employ them, as they had been to *thirteen* other homes in the neighbourhood and had been “rejected”(their word) at all of them.
Honestly, is there something wrong with this picture? Here are two enterprising (and very personable and cute) youngsters, who are out in the fresh air, willing to work and do a good job for whatever money might come their way, and everybody says “no”. Doubtless some of these are the very same people that crab about kids these days having no sense of a work ethic or of individual enterprise. Sometimes I just shake my head. They were very conscientious about doing their job well, and rang the bell at the end to explain with some concern that there were a couple of areas that were solid ice (I knew this, having almost gone down a few times) that they were unable to clear, but I assured them that this was just fine. They were thrilled and happy when they headed off, and I hope they are able to find other customers who will be as pleased with them as I was. We live on a corner lot, let it be noted, so there is a *lot* of sidewalk to clear. Have to give them high marks for persistence as well. I’m not sure I’d have it in me to keep on knocking on strangers’ doors after the first half dozen refusals!
One final thing–I can’t remember if I’ve posted the link for the second in my series of articles “Riding Lessons for the Artist“. If there is a somewhat odd image above the article, don’t panic, the article is mine, that image isn’t!
©Copyright 2009 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
