We are suddenly half way through September.  As far as things go around my place it still feels like June or August.  September has yet to really differentiate itself from the rest of summer, at least until I thought about it a little.

September always seems more like the start of the new year than New Year’s.  Things begin again.  School, clothing changes (even if temps do not), new TV shows start, days become shorter bit by bit and the horses either start growing that winter coat  or at least shedding out the summer one in preparation for the new one. There are two in the barn with their new winter coats already grown that are miserably sweating out the last of summer days.  

As an aside, coats are grown by horses in a response to decreased daylight, not temperature, so a horse in Montana starts growing a winter coat when his friends in Florida do. But I digress. 

I also have two grandchildren with early September birthdays so that always starts off the month in a fun way.  Lauren got Riley (7) a Lego-type kit of the PETRONAS Twin Tower building in Kuala Lumpur.  He is quite accomplished at these but this one is proving a bit challenging. 

Jordyn (9) had a fun swimming party this year with a Texan theme.  How great is that?  Two of her favorite things at one time.

And although it is 90+ degrees my friend Caroline and I, she has bought horses from me and I have bought horses from her, had our yearly blanket talk. We both have a variety of horses, old and young, small and big.  We both blanket all our horses when the days got cold (okay, cool) but with horses growing and changing we try to trade off with one another.  This year I am trading her Betty Sue’s blanket which she has out-grown to her for use on my old Piper pony that she now owns and she is giving me a horse sized blanket for Betty Sue.  Hard to think about all this while the sweat drips down your face, but one day soon it will be important. 

My summer flowers are looking a little tired at this point, all that growing and blooming. I think they are ready for a rest too.  But with all the rain and then sun, everything has grown well this summer. I like this shot taken through the jasmine I planted, which is now vining the fence as you look across to the arena. 

September was always a favorite month for me in both Chicago and Colorado.  I loved fall.  It was a time for change.  I have always loved change.  I loved starting a new grade, the new weather, the new clothes, the colors of the trees. It was a favorite time to go with my dad to Colorado for the family Aspen ride. Nothing is a breath-taking to me as the mountains on fire in their fall glory. 

I wish I had pictures still of those rides on my golden buckskin through the golden Aspens. I wish I had been able to save more of my family history. 

And of course fall is always the time to get back to the horse show ring. I am excited to see what the fall shows will bring to us. Lauren has been riding several horses a day and working hard at her trainer’s. So here is a riddle- Lauren will be back in the ring on a horse that Jordyn has ridden ( or at least sat upon) at a horse show but Lauren never has.  Huh, wonder who that can be.  I will post a picture of Jo on the horse in my next blog. Change is good. Change is upon us all. Embrace what you can and keep riding along!

———–

Congratulations to my daughter Amber and her family on their newest family member, Lola. She is a German Wirehaired Pointer.