Foolishness

Foolishness doesn't just come on April Fool's Day.  It happens all the time.  And who says you need to be young to act foolish?  There is March Madness, thrill seekers, and daredevil acts all the time, and the foolishness of a comedian who is just being silly or the folly of people playing tricks on others while joking around. 

 
I have found much to be said about foolishness.  It can either be considered a lack of good sense, poor judgment, and reckless, irresponsible behavior; or... it is folly, zany, crazy, silliness that is fun.  

 

I myself consider it comic relief, and usually know that I appear foolish while doing silly things and trying to be funny.






But, I do feel foolish when I get a little too carried away.  The type of foolishness that I especially regret, is when I have overreacted to something, and later feel stupid and regretful, when looking back at what I have said or done. 

Wise men say, "Only fools rush in."
Why can't I just keep my mouth shut or guard my actions?

Saturday morning I got a late start. It was sunny but still cold.  All of us (Joe, the critters, and I) had a lazy morning.




I finished my blog, ate an early lunch and then went out to do some planting in the yard.
  

These two yews went into the ground quickly because I had dug holes for them in the fall when I extended this flower bed.

I worked my 2-9 shift, helping train Wendy,who also works at Reds and had served us there the night before.  I was hoping to go for another night of singing and dancing, but Shirley's crew decided not to go.  It was just as well, I was tired and in bed before 10 pm.

 
I was at Church by 6 am for the Easter Sunrise Service.  It was a multi-denominational service for all Churches, at the Methodist Church, so I was surprised the Church was only 2/3rd's full. 
In the right photo, you can see all the daffodils in Brian's yard, our redbed starting to bloom, and the yews I had just planted.




I spent several hours in the yard planting three azalea and three Lenten Rose.  For my flower bed design, two of the azalea needed to go right on top of a large slab of rock.  I tried to move them some, but the rock had to be nearly four feet across with one crack down the middle.

There was 1 to 3 inches of soil on top of the rock, so I hauled in a lot more dirt, building up the bed, and stuck the azalea in the ground where I had planned for them to go.  Hope this wasn't foolishness, and that they grow.
My planting project came to a completion just in time to get cleaned up and headed to town with Joe and Brian.  We met Andy and Rita at Forte's for an Easter dinner Buffet at 2:30 



Big Time, Cat and dog wrestling.


 






These two continue to act foolish, wrestling.  And I continue to worry about Maggie accidentally getting too rough.  She has scratched the cat's back with her teeth a few times.

They will stop and take a break, but one of them usually starts it back up again.


 








Getting home at 4:30, and feeling quite full, I decided to take Maggie for a nice long walk.

Kim called me early Monday morning, and once I was dressed and ready to seize the day, I went in to talk with her about my work schedule frustrations.  I did feel a little foolish about letting it get to me, and she did assure me I would have a schedule more to my liking by the end of May.  I felt better about my lot, they need me where I'm scheduled, to help train the new gals. 
 
I swung by the house and grabbed the dog and Joe.  Maggie and I hit more FG roads, with Joe dropping us at the up-hill end of Westchester, and us walking down half a mile until we hit a neighborhood (where I had parked my car) and continued our walk (two hours total) of the side roads.

The upper left photo I took of us up on the ridge overlooking Glastowbury Dam.  Above photo, we are looking down at the creek leading from the spillway.  Seen left, Maggie enjoyed cooling off and getting a drink from the spillway.

 





I brought Maggie home and then went to the barn, getting a load of manure and also riding Amiga for over two hours.

 





Judy was leading a large group back from a trail ride, so I took Amiga into this field, to let them all pass.

Even though it was windy, Amiga did a great job out on the trail for me (video).

Heading back to the barn, Amiga went into high alert.  The stable horses had been moved, and were now grazing in the field where I often ride her.  She saw, before I did, that this change had occurred.

 


I got home well after dinner time, fed Maggie and unloaded the manure.  I got a fire going, because it was cold, and I have wanted to whittle down the log pile in back.  Joe was off playing cards in his weekly game.

 


We have had a pair of mallards hanging around and eating the corn.  The female is difficult to see in the right photo.  She is in the middle of the rock slab.

There is also a pair of wood ducks, seen below.



Tuesday morning we had a mandatory meeting at work. It helped clear up some issues we were having with North Star and we also all got our new schedules.  I will try to grin and bear it, working the next ten Saturday nights I am scheduled to work.  At least I only work two shifts now, the other being Thursday nights, which I am okay with. 

 
I went straight to the barn from work and got my next load of manure.  They have been very busy at the barn (this week and last week).  Seen right, another large group getting ready to head out, as I am waiting at the gate to walk Amiga into the barn. 
 





I rode Amiga for over an hour.  It was a perfect day to ride.  No wind, mid 60 degrees.


 


Once home, and after a late 2:00 lunch, I got busy in the yard.  I did some raking, spread some manure, and then applied grass seed and covered it all in another layer of barn "dirt" mix.  As the sun set, I ended the day watering everything.  I also needed Joe to help remove a tick from the middle of my back. 

I had to be at the barn Wednesday by 8 am and got there before anybody else.  During Zorro's trim, Tom pointed out a hole (from thrush) in his front hoof and it has cracked some.  Ugh... that will need regular care now.  Amiga got shoes on all four, so I can now ride the rocky trails.  I took her out bareback for 30 minutes and either the wind or the fact she hadn't been out of the barn since late afternoon the day before, had her all wound up.  I will tighten leg pressure to help me balance and stay on when she gets prancey, but that just makes her get more wound up.  She was challenging, but fun.

I brought home more manure and worked at seeding bare spots until I ran out of the rich "dirt" mix.  Having gotten up at 4 am, I debated napping, but decided with rain coming and me leaving town for the weekend, I wanted to complete my backyard seed job.  So I loaded up Maggie and head to the barn.  She had to ride with the manure bins and wasn't so sure about this.  I took her into the barn to visit people and horses.  She was great with the kids and barn dogs.  The adults and horses made her nervous and she made the barn cats nervous, but overall, it was a good experience for her.

We hiked the gravel and grass roads around Dorchester Golf Course, and were out for almost two hours.  Maggie was able to drink and cool off in the fresh running streams.  I was in shorts and t-shirt, and with the cool breeze, stayed comfortable. 

Once home, I needed to sit and rest, refuel with a snack and I drank two glasses of water.  Next, it was back to work on the seeding project.  I got it done!  And was finishing up by watering everything while Joe grilled barbecue pork chops and cooked tater tots and green beans for dinner.  He questions why all the additional grass, mostly because he doesn't want more to mow.  I think it will look so much nicer and help prevent erosion.  

We ended the night with Survivor.  One of the "contestants" was removed from the "game" because he had a bad infection that could possibly go into his knee joint.  He really wanted to stay, but such foolishness was not permitted.

The rains came Thursday morning (video), and so did Jeremy, to finally put up our cap tile.  I was concerned about it being too dark, and not quite matching the cabinets, but it ties in well with the counter tops and puts a nice finish between the tile and dry wall.

 




Once Jeremy was finished, I was a little rushed to get things cleaned up and eat lunch before heading to work.

The CC was quite busy.  I never had time for a break, to use the restroom, or grab a snack for dinner.  But the six hour shift flew by.

Friday was April Fool's Day.  We were hit by strong thunderstorms after I got home at 8:15 Thursday night.  And in the morning I went out to see how my seed job looked.  It had washed out in a few places, this (below) being the worst.

 





I was up at 4 am to get this blog finished.  During my second morning walk with Maggie, I took this photo of the flower bed out front.  One of the redbuds is blooming but the dogwood aren't yet.  The iris are up and the phlox are just starting to get pretty.  Well, I need to pack my bag(s) and hit the road by 10:30, heading to Courtney's and a fun weekend get-away with her.  More on that next week.