(no subject)

[endlessrarities]

Perhaps this is a sign that I'm suffering a mid-life crisis, but...  I made the mistake of looking up a Horses For Sale website last night.

I now wish I hadn't.  Because, almost inevitably, amongst the scruffy ranks of piebald cobs, something lovely caught my eye.  For the princely sum of £3,500 (the price of a reasonable second hand car...), I could purchase a very handsome 10 year old chestnut hunter gelding which bears more than a little resemblance to my poor old horse Squire.  It's a lovely looking animal, the sort of animal I could picture myself working with  long-term.

Make no mistake.  I would really love to join the ranks of horse ownership again.  Bumming around on a riding school beastie for half an hour each week just serves to fuel the fire.  But I know full well it's unrealistic.  The demands on your time, and the emotional and spiritual demands of being responsible for a huge and very labour-intensive animal are just too much for me these days, and that's without taking the financial implications into account.  If I was in a better paid job, and a more secure career, it would be a viable option.  But I'm not, and it isn't.  A horse would come first, and now as then, once the deal was struck, it would be until death us did part, as far as I'm concerned.

Ah, well.  If wishes were horses...

Today, I will attend to the wishes of the snowbound and frost-smitten and post some pictures of our spring garden.  We went to the garden centre today, and I came back with a handful of ranunculus plants.  I've always fancied trying ranunculus: they're up-market relations of the buttercup which have lovely buttercup-type flowers (these ones are double) in a variety of colours.  I've chosen reds, pinks, whites and picotees, and I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom.  I'll post some more pictures as they come out into bloom.

Here's the front border, with two ranunculus plants added to the primula which were planted there last year:-

 

And now here's a picture of what J describes as 'The Secret Garden'.  This is an area of what was originally dead space under our weeping silver pear tree (aka 'Cousin It').  J planted it up with snowdrops, crocus, anemone, wood anemone and daffodils the year before last, and I'd planted bluebells there previously:-

 

It's still got a bit of maturing to go, but it's making excellent progress. 

And lastly, because it's daffodil time, here's some daffodils:-

 

And tomorrow, I'd better post my 'Castle of The Month', since we're approaching the end of March and I still haven't featured any medieval fortifications yet...  I'll have to dredge the archives, but I'm sure I'll find something to entertain you!

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I keep wistfully looking at these little fellas. I used to dream of owing a Shetland and taking it for walks and/or driving in a little exercise cart.

I haven't totally ruled out the idea, but I'm not going to go the completely do-it-yourself route that I followed before when I had Rhodri (see icon) and I don't know whether there are any livery stables in the area that I could afford now I don't work full-time. Well, I don't know whether there are any full stop. There is a local farm, but their advert only mentions holiday liveries at £100 per week.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

The DIY route is the only thing I could afford right now, and I know full well it would half-kill me.

I have to be realistic. I can't dedicate myself to a horse now.

Much though I'm tempted...