Spring Ahead

As we approach daylight-savings (aka sleep-depriving) weekend, spring has arrived. I know the calendar says it’s been here for about ten days, and the blooming jonquils have been proclaiming it’s spring for even longer. But, from my perspective, spring arrived Tuesday. On a college campus, the harbinger of spring is the first visible navel, and I saw the season’s first belly button on Tuesday, so spring is here.

There are also other signs of the season. One of the traditional symbols of Kentucky is the appearance of foals frolicking in the pastures. And, as long as I’ve lived in Kentucky, that’s still a sight that I can’t pass without slowing down and gawking like a damn Yankee tourist that’s never seen a friggin horse before.

And, speaking of horses, one of the sad things about spring is the end of hunting season, which has now apparently arrived. Officially, there’s one more hunt tomorrow, but the weather forecast makes it an almost certain washout. That means yesterday’s outing was probably our grand finale. The weather was really more appropriate for staying on campus and ogling co-eds, but it was a fine day to be on horseback with good friends even if it wasn’t much of a hunting day. I’m just glad I dragged myself out of bed Saturday morning, because rain on Sunday and Monday eliminated those options.

Now it’s time to start getting ready for the spring/summer pastimes of mowing, weed-eating, etc., and trying to find some time for a little occasional horseplay. I guess losing that hour of sleep on Sunday is a small price to pay for the extra hour of daylight for playing outside after work. I also need to find something worth taking pictures of to justify the new Canon. Maybe I can get lucky and catch Arthur and Shadowfax in one of their frequent romps. Or maybe I need to find another eventer to stalk, since there’s gossip that Linden has given up horses. Hmm …. I wonder if Anderoo is for sale.