Hmmmm

Liz and Becky with Richard in his later days. 

Although he was sweet to them,

 there was still a fire in that little furnace.

To say that the weather is disconcerting is an understatement. Years ago when I was showing my late pony, Deranged Richard, we had a fall like this....and I use the term advisedly...it may be August but the feeling of summer's end is strong. Nights are chilly and mornings pearly with cotton ball fog.

Richard was a hot little Shetland that a friend bought from the kill pen at an auction as a five-year old stallion that had never even looked through a halter. This friend is an incredibly talented horseman. He quickly broke Richard to drive and showed him extensively in the area, pointing him to year-end champion driving pony soon after.

That little chestnut was a pistol! He was tough as a walnut, strong as a bull,and pretty as a speckled pup. He had a gorgeous trot that just wouldn't quit. My friend gave him to me after a couple of years of campaigning and the little bugger taught me a whole lot about horsemanship that I had been missing out on with gentle old Magnum, my original horse. At first he had me buffaloed more often than not. After a while I learned how to handle him.

And after a bit I started trying to show him myself. One fall when I had him at the show, Fonda Fair week, we got a hard frost, after several chilly weeks like this.I can remember practically freezing and trying to keep him warm enough so his coat would lie flat and shine. He turned into a regular wooly bear in the fall and you could hardly tell there was a handsome pony under there.

Anyhow, actually this early cold weather isn't at all unprecedented as the first or second week of September used to be the first frost date most years when I was a kid. Even when the kids were big enough to show cows at Altamont, there were years when that mid-summer fair was a frigid affair and washing cows became problematic.

I am hoping that at least frost holds off for another month or two to save the corn and sorghum and other tender crops. The year so far has been bad enough, although crops here are much better than in the west.