ponies, ponies + more ponies

Happy weekend, everyone! It's gonna be a sweltering hot day here in Maryland... BUT!! If everything goes to plan, we'll be heading out for our first post-quarantine horsey adventure!! Yay!!

Things in Maryland are slowly opening back up again. Like the Waredaca Brewery, that held an outdoors-only Charity Night in support of City Ranch last Thursday!!

Personally, tho, I admit to feeling faaaaairly pessimistic about whether we'll be able to keep it up. All the numbers in Maryland look pretty good right now after we were completely shut down for two full months. We've also been required to wear masks in places of business for just as long. 

And ya know, it's worked for us here. We've slowed the spread and new cases are down. 

Other states have taken different approaches and are experiencing very different (and alarming) trends, tho. And being totally honest here, I feel very little confidence that uncontrolled outbreaks won't spread again.

Which.... the prospect of potentially losing access to my horse AGAIN is.... really disheartening. We'll see what happens tho, I guess. 

In the meantime... I'm just focusing on making good choices and enjoying each moment with my horse at the farm. 

Which... Thankfully has been helped in large part by having NEW BEBE SHETLANDS at the farm OMG!!!!!

These ponies are so frickin cute and friendly and playful, omg, and Charlie and I just love walking past their pen before and after all our rides <3 <3 <3 

So obviously I had to catch a couple cute videos of them - including this second video where the little brown Hop A Long came over to try to touch noses with Charlie omg! 

Despite all the craziness and uncertainty happening elsewhere in the world, being able to come visit all these sweet animals is really the absolute best. Like the two little Shetland stallions (like new daddy TT, the black stallion!) who live in a pen right next to where I park. 

Getting out of my car after the ~40min drive to be immediately greeted by those noses is basically amazing haha. 

As is, obviously, new barn cat Mikey. This cat has settled in to barn life so freakin well. He's friendly, sociable, actually hunts mice, and basically immediately decided that the barn was indeed his home. And boy, does he own the place lol. Literally every time I see him, he's lounging around in some other new little nook or cranny lol. 

There are more than just domestic animals at the farm, too. It's entirely possible that I'm imagining things, but it really seems like there's been a distinct uptick in wild animal activity since quarantine. 

We've seen everything from birds, groundhogs, deer, and foxes omg allllll over the place. And gosh I just love them -- esp this little fox above who I guess has an evening commute that cuts through the jump ring, since I've encountered her a couple times during my rides lately lol. And she is bold omg. 

So ya know. Things around the farm are good haha. Charlie is good. We're having a good time right now. And who knows, maybe I'll be proved wrong in my pessimism about the fall lol.

But that pessimism has to be good for something, right?? So. As a little hint, here's a look at some recent crafting efforts that may or may not be related to today's planned outing. Yesssssssss.

Any guesses what we might be up to?? Virtual cookies to anyone / everyone who figures it out lol.

So yea. Here's hoping for a fun socially distant summery weekend of horsing. Are you getting into anything in particular? Any fun plans? Or maybe it's gonna be a quiet weekend for enjoying some down time?

Am I the only one feeling increasingly anxious about the prospects for another shutdown? Or maybe you're not even thinking that far ahead haha?