Relative Something

*this* John W. Hays' take on things and experiences

Early Return

with 2 comments

Graced with a deceivingly pleasant October day of moderate warmth and plenty of sunshine, Cyndie, Asher, and I enjoyed a leisurely Sunday free of any responsibilities. I wasted some of it watching NFL football on TV, but when the game wasn’t going my way, I distracted myself with a jigsaw puzzle.

Cyndie rewarded me with photos from her first walk of the morning with Asher and their last walk of the evening.

When I took him exploring in the middle of the afternoon, I found the sunlight and the lake surface were far less captivating. During the weekend, we reached a point of successfully allowing Asher to romp off-leash, with the e-collar for prompts if needed. At the lake, since he hasn’t spent a lot of time here, we are cautious about how much freedom we are comfortable granting him.

Since the presence of other unleashed dogs is always a possibility that we don’t control, it’s a different gamble to have him running loose.

After dinner, while we were binge-watching the first few episodes of Season 3 of “The Diplomat,” Cyndie received a message that one of the owners of This Old Horse would be coming out this morning with a veterinarian to look at Mix. The cause of Mix’s occasional slight gimpiness in her hind end has yet to be confirmed. We both want to be there for the visit, so we initiated preparations for an early departure from the lake place before going to bed last night. The sooner we can get on the road this morning, the better chance we have of getting home in time for that.

It was a fun, uneventful getaway for a few days that gave us a chance to employ the two newest UWRF students who responded to our help-wanted post for feeding horses when we are away. Now it’s time to return to attend to all the activities on our weekly calendar of events.

Somehow, I have let the date of the anniversary of our move to Wintervale pass without fanfare. October 18, 2012, was supposed to be the day, but signing the paperwork was delayed by a few. We can now say we are entering our 14th year here.

It’s been a pretty good run. A lot has happened in the last 13 years, and it’s all been captured here in my ongoing memoir of a daily blog: the fun, the sad, and the embarrassing.

Here’s hoping the coming year will be filled with more fun than sadness. And lots of love, too!

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Written by johnwhays

October 20, 2025 at 6:00 am

2 Responses

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  1. Things were going great this year. Then my mom died this past Friday. What a year it’s been. 😦

    • Thanks for offering that link. Heartfelt condolences to you for your loss. May you find peace and a renewed sense of yourself now in the aftermath of your mom’s passing. Sending you love.

      johnwhays's avatar

      johnwhays

      October 20, 2025 at 9:09 pm


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