Medium Dawn Felagund of the Fountain

Another successful ride on Firefly with my friend Kim riding Raja.  I was a little worried, the wind was blowing, coastal fog (rare this time of year) had cooled things off, and Firefly was objecting to everything from being groomed (normally she loves this) to having the bridle put on.  I walked for the first 1/2 mile of our "ride" because it was all downhill. Downhill invites faster speed and that isn't what I wanted.  Uphills usually follow downhills, so I mounted up and we went up for the next most of a mile, which calmed things down a lot.  She was never "bad" just a little snorty at first.  We worked on confidence, she did great, and only once needed Raja to take the lead and show her that the scary downhill with an eroded trail was perfectly safe.  We also worked on refining our cues.  The times that I have to use big gestures and insist on where I want to go are getting fewer and the times I can give a tiny squeeze of leg, or tightening of my fingers are getting more frequent.  At one point I leaned over a little, grabbed a gate and pushed it open a little further. It took some pressure to push, and I could see Firefly thinking hard about what was going on, but she stood perfectly still.  Oh, and we picked up trail ribbons from April's event. Firefly only once looked scared of the ribbon, and that was a big 3 color one with 18" streamers.  Like usual she thought about it, sniffed it and relaxed. If I can ride, at least a little, three or four times a week, we will make really fast progress.  Sorry, snuck out before M took any pics, but here is one of Firefly today being very, very serious about eating her evening meal.


P.S.  Yes, she has changed colors again.   In my last post, on June 19th, she was dark grey.  

Hotter weather is on its way. We have been luxuriating in temperatures from the low 80's to the mid-90's for the past couple of months.  Sadly that is ending and a week of 100F + is coming up.  The hot day is forecast at 104F.  By last year's standards that is cool, last year this time it was running up to 117F.   Oh well, the cool was nice while it lasted, and it resulted in the tomato plants setting huge amounts of fruit. 
100F +  means I have to get busy and finish up the shade cloth supports.  I --was-- finished with the main part of the garden.  But that didn't include the bed and tanks behind the main area, or the apple trees and it doesn't include side panels on the west side.   
This morning I walked out and took a hard look at:  measurements, paths and how everything lines up.  Turns out I did a rotten job of advanced planning in half the garden. The shade cloth worked great on the raised beds, but I really needed different post spacing in order to extend it out.  This means;  undoing the wires holding up the overhead pipes; removing the shade cloth;  pulling out 7 posts and moving them over.  On the west side one more post and associated pipes, need to be added to each line.   Fortunately the ground is soft and  the moves are going well.  I've got 5 posts moved and the associated pipes and shade cloth back in place.  Two of the three new posts are in the ground.  Shouldn't take long to finish.   
When I have finished extending that half the garden, the small tanks in the back of the other side of the garden need all new posts (4) and a couple of pipes.  Two of the small apple trees need shade as well or the fruit will sunburn.  Those should be easy as the trees are only about 5 feet tall.  

Note: pruning apples in summer works amazingly well.  Summer pruning encourages fruit.  Winter pruning encourages growth, so I don't prune much, or at all in the winter.  My oldest apple tree, now in its fourth year, is absolutely dripping with apples.  After doing a bunch of reading: apples fruit on branches that are at lest 2 years old or older.  This year my 3 year old trees are starting to set a little fruit.  Next year there should be lots.   

While I'm talking about fruit trees, the little fig that I planted this spring is doing well. There hasn't been much growth above ground, but I bet the root system is growing like crazy.  It has stopped wilting in the heat. I'm so happy that it has finally taken hold.  Way back in the winter of 2020/21 I took the first cuttings from the old trees near Split Rock.  The  trees are at least 100 years old and incredibly tough to have lasted with no care.  Those first cuttings failed completely, as did the ones from the next year.  But the cuttings from 22/23 rooted as did a couple from 23/24.  This is a baby from the first batch.