Last year, I was on the back-end of a long illness. The end was almost in sight, I just didn't know it.
I believe the chain of events started just before November 2016 with an abscess under one of my back teeth. That small problem grew and spread to my ear which in turn infected my lymph nodes, swelling them and causing no end of issues, to the point that my doctor sent me to see a specialist.
My balance was affected, as was my hearing and general health.
The specialist, concerned that I may have lesions on my brain, sent me for an MRI scan.
It was a worrying time for everyone in my immediate family.
Then, in the autumn (fall) of 2019, my granddaughter asked if we could go horse-riding. I contacted a good friend from my childhood and asked if we could visit her yard. Mia rode a wonderful Shire Horse named Maverick and she fell instantly in love. As did I.
Bev, my friend, confided her worries about Mav's health. He was dropping weight and she feared he wouldn't make it through the winter. I stepped up and offered to help, and from then, I went on to be more involved with the horses my friend owned and I went up to feed Mav every day.
We soon acquired a little Shetland pony for Mia and she started learning how hard it is to look after your own pony!
On the 12th of November Bev and I went across the county border to see her new pony. She'd placed an order for a young colt way back in the summer and he was about to be brought from the Welsh mountains, all the way to Derbyshire in the Midlands of England.
I went with her.
In the stable were six tiny and frightened creatures, all youngsters and all cute and fluffy!
They milled around in the stable, their little hooves clattering on the stone floor. I watched as Bev and Debbie tried to get Pagan - Bev's pony - separated from the mini-herd.
"Here, hold this one," Debbie said, handing a little foal to me. I stood off to one side, holding the pony, watching them trying to capture Pagan.
"What's this one's name?" I asked.
Debbie looked around to see which one it was. "That one's Goran," she said. "It means 'Man of the Mountain'."
"Oh, OK," I said, looking at Goran. He had calmed down and stood with part of my jacket in his mouth - not chewing, just holding it. "Is he for sale, and how much is he? I think we've bonded."
Debbie brought two ponies over to the yard that afternoon, not one, and my year since then has been nothing short of wonderful.
Goran had a little panic as we tried to encourage him down the ramp, and he slipped over, onto his back. No harm done, but I was worried for him.
We put the two babies into the stable we'd prepared for Pagan and they've been with us since.
Goran has one bright blue eye and if his name hadn't have been perfect for him, he'd have been re-named Eclipse.
There have been one or two days I've missed going up to the yard in the past year, through illness and bad weather - even when I felt like death-warmed-up - and I never come away from the yard in a bad mood.
"They're good for your soul," Bev tells me, and I've believed her from the very start.
I didn't miss having horses when my kids were growing up. They were never interested in horses and I never pushed them into doing things just because I wanted to do them, but now they're grown and have moved out, I find I can do stuff that I want to do and @Soul comes along for the ride - which makes it a win-win in my book.
Here they are today.
They've grown quite a bit since we fetched them home.
What a difference a year makes!
2019
2020
Just looking at these pictures lifts my spirits. I'm so fortunate!