WHAT IS HOT AND WHAT IS NOT

I am responding to my daughter's question on her blog:

HOT - chasing a horse with a feed bag. The mare's feed comes in a huge, crinkly sack, which she calmly accepts as perfectly normal. The gelding, on the other hoof, goes into a complete panic at the mere appearance of these bags, and although he knows that there is very tasty molasses-sweetened food inside, will cheerfully play a game of hide and seek with me shaking the bag at him, he racing off and then returning just as quickly to stick his head in the sack, panic, and run off again.

And please be aware - this is not like playing chase with your dog - this is a 1,000 or so lb. equine thundering straight at you with no reliable history of braking in time.

What a wonderful excuse for exercise.

NOT HOT - going out at 11 p.m., in a non-light pollution area (read that as "pitch black") which is also populated with Border Patrol vehicles, smugglers of both humans and large containers of cocaine, and a strange assortment of native animals that populate my property, to include Fred and Wilma (two roadrunners who live on the horses' leftovers), coyotes who will go climb into the back of my truck to tear apart our garbage bags, several corn snakes, and about 392 jackrabbits.

Even with the company of my fiercely protective (albeit old) dog, there are WAY too many rustles in the grass, strange noises and suddenly mobile shadows to be comfortable about.

Hmm... but maybe this should also count as a wonderful excuse for exercise - I do end up moving pretty quickly getting back into the house.