Dani continues to defy gravity and good sense by flinging herself this way and that while sort of attached to a horse - while wearing slippers! She has that same look in her eyes she used to get when she was in gymnastics and determined to stick a back handspring on the beam (why would anyone want to do such a nutty thing?) or perfect her splits or do some ludicrious release thing on the uneven bars. And, yes, there is a competition looming in her future that is upping the ante and driving her to practice more and more and more... on the living room floor, straddling the back of the couch, hanging from the vaulting horse she brought home from the clinic (not a real horse - more like an oversized saw-horse complete with handles, stirrups, and a soft carpeted back....). . Provincial Vaulting Championships are a coming in September - stay tuned!

Meanwhile, back on the work front... I'm gathering various bits and pieces of information and quotes to add to the Karen Brain biography - none of that is too difficult, but it does take a certain amount of coordination to get emails and phonecalls sorted out and followed up. Meanwhile, the first draft of the Racetrack book is with the editor and designer simultaneously. Now this is an interesting way to do things - usually we finalize the text first and then the designer decides how it will all be arranged on the page. I think because production timelines are tight and there are so many images a rough layout is being worked on that will (I hope) be fairly easy to change when the text is modified. While the Racetrack title is on hold (from my perspective, anyway), and I'm waiting for replies to my Karen questions, it's off to work on the vet book (Behind-the-Scenes With the Equine Vet - same series at the track title). All is going smoothly on that one, though I now have to get serious about arranging some photo shoots. Will post some of the results here, most likely before the end of the week.

Everything would have been just a little further along except last week was hay week and, as the old saying goes, one makes hay while the sun shines. Nearly 400 bales of the stuff, in fact! I was lucky enough to get a fabulous deal on some very nice hay from a farm near Lake Cowichan. The catch was we had to drive up to the farm and pluck the bales out of the fields! We took the truck and horse trailer up several times, loading both until they were literally overflowing with bales. Then, of course, we had to unload the bales and stack them (up into the rafters) in the neighbour's barn (I don't have much storage here at our place!). My shoulders and back are so sore, but my horses (and the goats) are extremely happy. Now, as long as the size of the herd stays more or less the same, we should make it right through until haying starts again next summer. This means I'll be able to avoid paying three (or more!!) times the price for hay when I have to go searching in the dead of winter. I tell you, though, I sure admire anyone who makes a living from the land. The work is brutal and it can all go terribly wrong with a shower on the wrong afternoon or a drought when a little water is needed most.