Tuesday, August 17, 2021 —(In 5 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

The repairs that most were on my mind now are finished. I’ve rebuilt the horse carriage stand for easier handling. I’ve stabilized my horse trailer’s floor mat to facilitate loading the horse cart.

Now, I’m ready to start planning getaways, taking the horse and cart into other neighborhoods. A great way to explore is driving through an area. It’s just fun.

A new development here on the northeast side has a couple miles of paved road which dead ends. I must be certain the dead end has adequate space for my rig. Today I’ll take my Jeep there to check for room to park and turn around. If all’s okay, I’ll return home, load horse and cart, and start the adventure.

For this first drive, I’ll take my easiest horse, Sunni. We’ll check out the route. If the traveling is easy and without surprises, I’ll go again there and drive Rosie.

A new challenge will be taking photos along the route. That’ll mean pausing my horse long enough to handle a camera. The horses are accustomed to trotting steadily, with only brief walking and stopping. Well, the camera will wait for another outing. This time, it’ll be one of experiencing an entirely new route.

Dear Friends: Most residents and passersby enjoy seeing and hearing a working driving horse. Diana

Monday, August 16, 2021 —(In 6 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Today’s rising sun is as as red as any suns that recently have set. The intense red is caused by air-heavy smoke from wildfires. Today’s temperatures will hover around one-hundred degrees, by noon they’ll be stultifying. In contrast, tomorrow’s temps will be in the seventies, a welcome drop that starts a brief cooling trend.

These days I drive the horses early as possible, to exercise them prior to the worst heat. This morning, too, I’m eager to go outside, feed them, and accomplish their driving. After those workouts, the equines will travel across the road to John’s for an hour or so on his green pasture.

John’s pasture only is several hundred feet away, but it’s been hard for me to get at once all three equines over there. The horses are no problem and walk nicely with me. The donkey’s a problem. She balks, needs lots of pulling, wears me out.

Recently, I came up with a solution.

Pimmy has learned that her weight and planted feet can pause the un-powerful Gater. She’s unhappily situated between the big horses and often balks. It took a while for me to learn to keep a heavy foot on the gas to prevent any pauses. Otherwise, the donkey plants feet to stop action, over and again.

It’s understandable, not wanting to walk between big horses. We have the same problem in winters, when I walk the three together down the street to a more distant neighbor’s pasture, and later home again. Pimmy resists being in the middle and balks frequently.

I get worn out, leading and pulling that donkey along.

Actually, Pimmy is a great pet, sweet and accommodating, loves her horses and wants to go anywhere they go. Just doesn’t want to be moving between them. Well, when I lead the three, that’s the best position for her. But she makes leading hard on my arms, spine, and psyche.

Right now, it’s time to go and feed before driving the horses. Later, I will be sure to slam a heavy foot on the Gater’s gas pedal.

I’ll mention that to keep things safe, I move the Gater very slowly. The animals on short leads just walk to keep pace. Traveling goes well except for “Pimmy’s moments”. Thankfully, my mature and easy horses tolerate that too-smart donkey.

Dear Friends: Animals help to remove one’s mind from an afternoon’s sweltering hours. Diana

Sunday, August 15, 2021 —(In 7 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

I’m waiting for that full moon!

It’s to be another smoky and hot day, about 100-degrees. The caption photo is of yesterday’s late afternoon sun. The photo makes it seem less a fiery ball than it is in real time. Yet, its heat is made apparent by the surrounding oranges and reds, they’re also streaking through the sky.

From a little later here’s another capture of that magnificent ball and my final sighting of its descent. It became lost in environmental smoke nearer the horizon. Its only parts still visible were the red streaks among clouds.

We’re a week away from the August full moon. It rose in yesterday’s early evening in a half-visible mode.

Several hours later, my camera captured it again. A viewing eye imagines its shadowed side.

A wonderful line of script in the Netflix series, “Mr. Sunshine”, has a protagonist saying, “I love things that are considered useless, the stars, the moon, the sky, wind, and flowers….”

I completely agree.

Dear Friends: Look at this moon wanting to reveal all of itself, and reflecting that sun ball. Diana

Saturday, August 14, 2021 —(In 8 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

The redness in this image is nothing close to a real-time view of the sun late yesterday. Then, the ball itself was perfectly-round and very bright red, made stunning by smoking from massive wildfires. My camera couldn’t pick up the sun’s brilliant color, but it captured some atmospheric reflections.

The smoke is heavier now. On opening a door this morning, a smoke smell greeted me. I’ll try again this afternoon with another camera to capture the fire-red ball.

That was one thing on my mind, from yesterday, and another has been a question from Kat A.. She’s a very bright reader who wonders why the number twelve is considered a perfect number. While blogging, I had mentioned that without giving a thought as to why. My mind had been on some other element of twelve.

Kat often encourages me to research more and to learn. I explored twelve and found myself on an interesting journey.

Actually, twelve isn’t a perfect number. Instead, it’s considered a sublime number, and only semi-perfect, because the sum of its factors, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, is greater than the number 12 itself. While twelve has a perfect number of divisors, by not adding up to twelve, they don’t create a perfect number.

Here’s the rationale for perfect, according to “number theory”. A perfect number is a positive integer that’s equal to the sum of its positive divisors, excluding the number itself. The known first five perfect numbers are 6, 28, 496, 8128, and 33550336.

A number is perfect if all of its factors, including 1, but excluding itself, perfectly add up to the same number a person begins with. For example, the number six is perfect, because its factors, 3, 2, and 1, all sum up to 6. Another example, is the number twenty-eight, also perfect, because 14, 7, 4, 2, and 1, add up to 28.

Only 50 total perfect numbers are known, despite a dedicated worldwide effort to computationally discover more. Perfect numbers are connected deeply to some of the greatest mathematical questions of our time.

Here’s another thought. In general, people consider the even numbers as very lucky. A long-standing common belief is that good luck comes in pairs and dates count too. For example, consider 12/12/12 (or December 12, 2012), anticipated as becoming a very lucky day.

For me, this bit of research touches on another and very non-mathmatical, inner sense. It helps me recognize an extent to which number logic satisfies a very human need to know of elements existing which absolutely are definable as balanced, logical, and perfect.

Dear Friends: These few numbers enable worldwide celebrations of an existence of perfection. Diana

Friday, August 13, 2021 —(In 9 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

It’s Friday the 13th! Oh poor number 13, generally considered unlucky because of Judas (guest #13 at the Last Supper).

What’s unlucky about Fridays that fall on the 13th? Well, they’re considered “paraskevidekatriaphobia”, or the days that bring severe financial losses.

Another big problem for the 13th is that it directly follows the number 12. Historically, the number twelve has been considered a perfect number by mathematicians and scientists. So, there’s dilemma over “Perfect vs. Most Awful”. Adding in financial disaster makes it a wonder that 13 has survived.

But, our world probably needs its commonly acknowledged villians. Our world also needs recognized offsets against indications of disaster.

The moon forever has been a key offset. Last night’s beautiful sliver was appealing, made people feel hopeful. In a few days this month’s fullest moon will become visible.

To avoid fretting about fearful dates, let’s look upward and focus on hope.

Dear Friends: The blurred inner curve suggests more moon to come, and soon it will. Diana

Thursday, August 12, 2021 —(In 10 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Here’s a photo showing my new way of transporting all the equines to and from my neighbor’s pasture. We’re about to go across the street for their daily hour or so of grazing on my neighbor’s pasture.

For years, I’ve hand-led them there. Our travel begins by marching up a steep gravel road that crosses my property. The horses move fine with me, but not the donkey, who lags and forces heavy pulls on her lead rope. Upon reaching that hilltop, I’m worn out.

Unfortunately, there’s more with the donkey who dislikes traveling between two horses. She continually resists and leans against the lead rope. By the time we’re at John’s entry gate, I’ve little remaining energy.

It’s the same coming home. Donkey needs dragging across the street, and up the hill toward our own horse containment gate.

An option is to take the donkey separately. That would force multiple trips to and from John’s, a wearing idea.

A couple of weeks ago, and long having recognized that donkey needs exercise against her ever-increasing pot belly, I gambled. After hitching her to the Gater, I forced her to trot behind it. We began by circling in the dry lot for a mile, and after a week added a half-mile.

She usually argues but doesn’t win against the Gater. Sometimes even travels easily with it.

Donkeys have their own ways of processing. Don’t ask me, I just keep going with the flow. Bottom line, this method works for she’s losing weight.

That got me thinking about easing our travels to and from John’s.

After hitching to the Gater all three animals, with donkey between the horses, I drove very slowly up and over my hill and across the street to John’s gate. The horses moved correctly, and believe it or not, with Pimmy still resisting but unable to refuse.

This method of transporting for me works well. Daily, it shortens the time to get them to pasture and later home again. It eases my physical self, makes my mental self happier.

Oh, Pimmy! Those Gater experiences make me try to think more outside the box. We might stumble onto more successes. New experiences might reveal ahead some way of training you to pull a pony wagon.

Dear Friends: These activities take knowing-well participating animals, and ensuring their safety. Diana

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 —(In 11 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

The wonderful header photo is of Sunni trotting through the Conestoga Hills. My friend, Julie, is with me in the cart. We’re enjoying yesterday’s beautiful morning.

The trip to Conestoga was for more than just driving. That was a real-time opportunity to unload and reload the horse cart that I had modified. The changes altered how that cart unit fits into my horse trailer.

Julie’s husband, Dave, helped load and unload the cart. He offered good suggestions for improving the processes. After we assembled the art and hitched Sunni, Dave rode along, his first time in the cart.

We looped the neighborhood for a couple of miles before returning to our starting point. There, Julie climbed aboard and Sunni took us several more miles.

Conestoga Hills is a lovely development east of the city with quiet streets. There, the Gilberts have a home. Just down the road from their place is a BLM trailhead with miles of horse trails. They ride horseback there often, and several times I’ve joined them.

Conestoga’s local streets are perfect for driving a horse. Periodically, that will be my plan.

In a week or so, I hope to take Sunni’s sister, Rosie, and drive her there. A good way to introduce her to street driving somewhere other than our local neighborhood roads. Rosie is a fun driving horse, but slightly hyper-vigilant and less easygoing than Sunni. She will move nicely through quiet Conestoga streets.

Finally, a last capture by Julie. We love this pony.

Thanks to the Gilberts for helping with the cart and for riding along. From my driving perspective, it’s always more fun with a passenger along. Especially one who can appreciate and enjoy a fine horse doing its work.

Dear Friends: A fabulous way to enjoy the city, behind a horse through quiet neighborhoods. Diana

Tuesday, August 10, 2021 —(In 12 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

This is a quick “Good morning!” I’m about to go feed the horses. Afterwards I’ll load one and haul away for a driving adventure. Our destination is a semi-rural, east-of-the-city neighborhood.

Yesterday I did manage to get the horse cart loaded and secured in my horse trailer. The loading process needed a little re-engineering. My revised cart-stand needs minor modifications, but everything looks okay for later this morning. I’ll be able to unload, hitch, and drive my horse.

The horse will be dependable Sunni. Our passenger will be my long-time friend, Julie, another horse fancier. We going to drive in her neighborhood.

For me, this will be the beginning for driving in other local neighborhoods. Some areas nearby are paved and have relatively quiet streets. They’re older neighborhoods. A few boast small properties with horses and other large farm-associated pets. That will become a new way to adventure with my horses.

Right now I’m off to feed pets. Several famished, farmish-types impatiently await my appearance.

Dear Friends: Have a great day creating memories, choose an adventure and take pictures. Diana

Monday, August 09, 2021 —(In 13 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

For days I’ve been modifying a stand that supports the horse cart. The stand, created by a fabricator, couldn’t remain upright on its own. It had too-small wheels that couldn’t be moved easily-enough over gravel. I wanted an enlarged stand support, so it independently remains upright. I wanted on the stand larger wheels for rolling over gravel.

Experience has taught my lack of the abstracting skills needed to visualize end products. I just work step-by-step, deal with trial-and-error (do-and-re-do), and hope for desirable results. This time, winding up with something unattractive and a little difficult to work with, I didn’t take pictures. Anyway, it’ll probably need rebuilding, perhaps becoming more photo-worthy.

Today, I’ll use the revised stand and load the cart into my horse trailer. Renewed configurations call for a few different loading steps. But now, I can roll stand and cart over gravel to the trailer and into position for loading. My loading ramps need to accommodate the larger wheels. Once inside, the cart needs new ways of securing.

I’ve thought long about changing this stand, but last year during the pandemic didn’t bother bringing the cart from storage. Now starting again to drive the horses, I began on the stand. Plus, I’ve been motivated by a self-imposed deadline. My plan tomorrow to drive a horse east of town demands loading and hauling.

The current modifications might not work, and luckily, I’ve friends who do visualize effectively. Maybe they could offer bailout advice to help me rebuild better.

Dear Friends: My plan to drive tomorrow is seeming like, “Get me to the church on time!” Diana

Sunday, August 07, 2021 —(In 14 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Ohmigosh, I’ve just “rediscovered” Nina Simone. A new album, “Nina Simone: The Monreux Years (Live)”, newly out this year, is an amazing compilation. Simone was/is one of the best-ever musicians! I listened to her live performances through most of yesterday, and more than once the entire album, even while working with my horses.

Thinking back, it’s funny how long it took me to appreciate Simone’s musicianship. For years now, I’ve been able to recognize her incredible talent, her superb training. She’s primarily a pianist, but also a singer. She has an unique voice and perfect pitch, her ear closely is tuned to all accompanying instruments and voices.

Simone was very political, intensely angry over social conditions for American Blacks. She grew up during the Harlem Renaissance, the period that produced works by James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, and other highly talented Black Americans. Those years introduced the music of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane, among others. The Renaissance provided a baseline for Simone’s intellectual and highly creative approach to musicianship, and for amazing others, like Miles Davis.

If you’re a Simone fan, download “Monreux Years” to appreciate anew her piano, voice, and politics. Today, I’ll again listen, applaud, and enjoy her.

Dear Friends: Fine art thrills, it educates, enlightens, and intertwines as essential memories. Diana