Long haul

RNB tells me I'm crazy. I probably am. (Probably?) I head out in a couple of days for Tennessee. I did this last June hauling one horse for a one week clinic. This year? Two for two. Double your pleasure, double your fun...

It speaks to the degree of admiration of and benefit derived from spending time with Harry Whitney and the students drawn to learn with him. And my enjoyment of adventure and willingness to suffer hotter, more humid weather than I can experience right here at home at no added cost.

The truck is partly packed. Buckets are ready and most decisions about tack are made. Which clothes and whether to plan for a trip to the laundramat are choices that weigh heavily on my mind.

Thank goodness for lists. Today mine starts with "camera and memory" and ends with "Palm Pilot and power". In my tired state this morning, I mixed Things To Do in with the Items To Bring list. It won't matter -- I'll bring what I remember to pack and do what I get around to doing. Although guided by lists has eased some stress of the past two days of focussing on preparing.

Top of my next list: take a nap.

Part of preparing for this trip includes setting up animal care here for RNB. He can do anything, even without any instructions from me -- I know this. But I like to leave things simple and easy because he's busy this time of year with work demands and seems that's the least I can do before I run off to have fun for two weeks without him. Things like clear all the 2005 hay from the top loft in case the hay gets cut and baled while I'm away.

You will think me crazy for wanting to be here for that.

I am fully convinced that how I stack hay is the best way, ensuring not only best use of space (more bales per cubic yard) but also best final drying so there are few or no bales lost to mold. We stacked "my way" in 2005, and indeed no bales were moldy. Our hay man and his teenage helpers stacked in 2004 and there were plenty of moldy bales. I could, in all fairness, mention that the 2004 season was much wetter, the grass was longer and older before being cut, and the floor boards in the loft were new hence wet themselves that summer. Guess what? I still think my way of stacking is the best. And I know if I'm not here to enforce it, the hay will be stacked not to my liking. But I ain't gonna stay home in the off chance the haying will be done these next two weeks. But it is tempting.