Take a good hard look at yourself

8 June 2016

Will-O’-the-Wisp is shocked and appalled by his own behaviour in the dressage arena yesterday that saw him display some spontaneous, self-motivated energy. He has made a pledge that this will never occur again. Today in the dressage arena he stuck rigorously to his commitment. 

The kindness of strangers

3 June 2016

Thank you to the nice man in Woollies who stopped to tell me that he admired my long (paddock) boots (worn on my shopping trip because they are warm and practical) and that they looked hot!! (..I don’t think he was referring to their thermal insulation properties). He then proceeded to ask, unprompted, if I rode horses, and didn’t express surprise when I answered in the affirmative (ok I know the breeches accompanying the boots may have been a give-away – worn because I couldn’t be bothered changing). This unexpected exchange was a boost to my recently dented ageing ego. With this pleasant stranger’s ability to raise the self-esteem of the older person in society, I very much doubt he would be able to get a job with Service NSW – nor as a superannuation adviser.

Note to self: Spend more time at Woollies and less at certain service and advice facilities.

Post script: I am now to be seen swaggering around the paddocks in my boots like a poor imitation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider…the paddock occupants remain singularly unimpressed and just hope this bizarre behaviour won’t result in later meal times. 

I Just Don’t Like Mondays (*chicken sound track provided free of charge)

31 May 2016

That moment when you wake in the morning from a deep and restful slumber (possibly filled with dreams of carrots ) and it dawns on you with growing horror that what confronts you is MONDAY.

Senior moment

27 May 2016

The dwindling self-esteem that accompanies my descent into incredibly old age continues apace. During a meeting with a (young) superannuation adviser (..a pointless exercise, as it turns out I will very likely have to work until I am approximately 97), I explained my (rather expensive) lifestyle included supporting my horses in the manner to which they have become accustomed. At the end of the meeting he politely asked who rode these horses of mine…and almost managed to hide his disbelief when I told it was me. He was clearly under the impression that someone of my advanced years would be incapable of even clambering aboard a horse, let alone embark on steering this long-suffering horse around a dressage arena. I was tempted to show him the video of me and Willo galloping flat out…but thankfully  realised in time that this may just have cemented his view of the unlikelihood of a person of my advanced years having any abilities at all in the equestrian sphere. 

Pink on pink

22 May 2016

The visiting galahs have set out to demonstrate that, similar to bling, you can never have too much pink. Thoroughly convinced by their display, the Joyfallee plovers can be heard enthusiastically engaged in flinging down a new insult from the realms of their rooftop eyrie – “Not pink enough!”. 

Location x3

14 May 2016

Willo’s fears about the motives of his erstwhile egret friend have come to fruition – he is only grateful that the final choice of an above-ground dwelling site was influenced by the colourfulness of the location. 

Friends

13 May 2016

Willo is rather fond of his new paddock chum. She is to be seen in close proximity for most of the daylight hours. He did, however, ask Hildegard to look up the nesting habits of the Cattle Egret in her bird identification App, being a little suspicious that his new mate may be eyeing him off as a handy location for above-ground dwelling. He was less than flattered with the information that the Cattle Egret is often to be found (perhaps unsurprisingly) with cattle. He also found little comfort in the entry on nesting habits which recorded “shallow platform nests in trees and shrubs”. With Willo’s past history of trying to camouflage himself as a tree, for the purposes of avoiding work, he is concerned that he will be mistaken for a perfect nesting site.