It's been awhile since my last entry. We've been busy, busy on the farm. No "dog days" here either- it's been a bit chilly in the mornings for the traditional dog days--- from July 3rd through the beginning of August. I used to think the term dog days came from the idea that is was so hot all dogs laid under the porch-- but the term "Dog Days" was coined by the ancient Romans, who called these days caniculares dies (days of the dogs) after Sirius (the "Dog Star"), the brightest star in the heavens besides the sun. Popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies". The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise, which is no longer true owing to precession of the equinoxes. The ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that that star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.

We devoted a week to making new video's of the horses in training. One of my favorites- OYY Nimue - (named after Merlin's love) - is under saddle and also drives beautifully. We are almost hoping she never sells so we can use her in the therapeutic riding program. She'll make a perfect pony sized mount for our riding center, and has an ideal personality for it. She is steady and, so far, "bomb-proof". She will make a perfect horse for our smaller riders.. although she's capable of carrying larger riders as well. I am pretty pleased with her.

The biggest news of late was our town of Springfield, VT won the vote to host the main Homer Simpson movie debut. The producers of the movie and TV show we here for the grand opening-along with many other movie stars. The town was full of festivities-- all Homer Simpson related. The big donut statue is in front of the local movie theater, this was an exciting time even for those of us who don't particularly care for Homer and his family.

enjoy the day ~