Checking up on the horses at UA Campus Farms

Today we decided was a lovely morning to bicycle to the UA Campus Farms and see how the four mares and their foals were coming along.  They were gathered close to a green space, so we parked the bicycles and walked up to the fence.  The mountains and blue sky were at their panoramic best, and we took our time enjoying the rural scene, just over a mile from our home. 

Here are two of the mares and their babes.

 

Mark always asks me questions I can't answer, such as "how much does a foal weigh when it is born," how long do they nurse?", "how often are twins born?"  I tell him my experience is limited to one pony, Lightening, that my sister and I enjoyed, part-time, as kids.  My Grandparents Dice acquired the horse, belonging to a 12 year old girl who never visited him, through boarding it on their five-acre farm in Illinois.  My niece, Whitney, is the real horsewoman (so far) in the family.  But I have always had a fondness for horses, their warm, velvet noses, power and patience in their being who and what they are.  Look at this mom and babe--the photo suggests the gentle nuzzling that goes between them for a few sweet moments.

 

I try to guess the age of the four foals.  Sometimes I go by size or by the signs of dependence or independence each one displays.  This one is starting to go out on his/her own a bit more than the others.

 

 

Mark often gets the question, "what are you doing with your life these days?"  Between these photos and others I have shared on this blog and my other (http://anitawritesforyou.blogspot.com) , whether it is intentional or not, Mark is evolving into an impressive photographer, I think.  It may be part of his "encore career."  As for me, writing this and the other blog is going to morph into a third book! 

 

At the end of today's ride, we stopped at Ghini's Bakery to buy two soft, fresh croissants for lunch.  We agreed that, walking 3 miles (yesterday we did 4 miles) a day and these occasional bicycle rides, we are in the best overall physical shape we have been for some time and enjoying our "slow life" to the maximum. 

 

What about you?  Is your life going in the direction you want?  I hope so--whatever time we have, it's too brief for this glorious journey.