Posts Tagged ‘FIFA World Cup’
Pushing It
Three times yesterday, I found myself racing to finish trimming or mowing grass as raindrops began to fall. The last time, it was also thundering overhead, and Asher couldn’t understand why I wasn’t bailing out sooner. I was so close to finishing cleaning up the edges with the string trimmer that I just kept going, even though the storm had reached our doorstep.
When the first rain fell, I took it as a good justification to have lunch and stay indoors to watch the USA men’s soccer team against Australia in the second game of their group stage. Before the game even kicked off, the sky cleared, and it got sunny and beautiful outside.
I didn’t have the heart to make Asher be stuck inside, so I pulled the game up on my laptop and sat out in the yard with him to watch the first half. The home team made their country proud and achieved a clean sheet (did not concede a goal) in the victory.
The sunny weather held throughout the game, which took us right up to the time to feed the horses, so when their portions were served, I hopped on the mower to finish what had been interrupted earlier. Asher patiently waited for me to finish, as my decision to mow was cutting into his usual dinner time.
After I put the mower away, I found Asher had been occupying himself while I was unavailable to supervise by eating the pellets the horses spilled onto their placemats. He knows we don’t approve of that, but I was delaying his meal time, so I didn’t make a fuss over it this time.
We headed in for his real dinner, and I hurried to eat mine in the hope of getting back out to use the trimmer. If I had noticed how close the storm was, I likely wouldn’t have even tried.
It was a back-and-forth weather day that led to my pushing beyond my usual mode of operating. I’m glad that I ultimately succeeded in getting that portion of mowing done, given the long list of groundskeeping chores concurrently needing tending. For as many times as it rained, it is a real bonus to get any of that work done.
For the record, I got the horse waterer cleaned, too, but I forgot to check for strawberries that may need picking.
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Busy, Happy
The first pass through the group stage for each team in the 2026 Men’s World Cup has been completed. Today begins the series of second matches for the groups. For the broadcasters and the fans, there is no rest. I don’t know how a person is supposed to watch each exciting moment and also continue to fulfill their daily responsibilities. Sacrifices need to be made.
I will miss seeing the first game today because I will be driving Cyndie and Elysa to the airport for their flight to Amsterdam, and ultimately, Norway. It’ll be Asher and me managing the ranch for the next 11 days.
We won’t be completely on our own, though. We’ll have the support of our property-guard-snakes keeping watch over the goings on around here.
The bigger of these two knows its way around the shop garage. I spotted it the other day, slithering on the top edge of a stack of cardboard leaning against one wall, about chest height.
That explains the discarded snake skins we frequently find in the vicinity. I sure hope they are controlling the rodent population in the building.
I started scrubbing the wood paneling of the shop/garage yesterday, but had to hold off on sanding it until the rain stops and the wood dries. We have retained the services of a log building expert to repair and reseal areas of both this building and the house, and I will be doing as much of the prep work as possible to reduce the cost of the project.
In addition to that work happening while Cyndie is away, we are expecting a visit from This Old Horse personnel with vaccines for the horses, a farrier appointment, a first-time house-cleaning appointment by a local start-up business out of Ellsworth, and I need to drive Asher to a grooming appointment in Baldwin.
Between all of that, I need to keep up with the usual mowing and, if possible, continue trimming back the vigorous growth encroaching on our grass trail around the north loop and all of the trails through the woods.
The fluttering leaves of the poplar trees down by the road were putting on a show in the breeze between rain showers when I rolled our trash and recycling bins down yesterday evening. There is a pretty healthy expansion of that grove, which we are very happy about.
As I reached the top of the first rise in our driveway and took in the view of the variety of lush trees beyond the barn and hay shed, I felt a deep appreciation for our little forest.
It is always such a striking difference from the months when all the branches are bare after the leaves drop off in the fall. When our trees look happy, it brings me great joy. Despite how muddy it has made the area just beyond the barn overhang, I am grateful that the rain over the last few days appears to be providing the trees with all the hydration they need at this time.
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Split Attention
So much sports to watch now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament is underway. Last night, it was complicated by the concurrent broadcast of the 6th game of the NHL Stanley Cup final series. It is not an easy feat to pay close attention to both at once. At least the Carolina Hurricanes solved that issue in the future with their Cup-winning victory over Vegas.
Of course, the Tour de France bike race will start in July, so my attention will be split again, soon.
I spent the early part of the day using our battery-powered string trimmer to cut the growth beneath the fence line around the back pasture. Precision timing (or mere chance, if I were to be honest) had the trimmer battery drained just in time for me to catch the start of the first World Cup game of the day.
As long as I’ve accomplished something along the lines of property maintenance, I feel justified in lounging around watching athletes entertain me with their team skills for the rest of the day.
It helps that the horses and Asher have been taking care of themselves for the most part, lately. When we came in for lunch, Asher decided he wanted to stay sprawled out in the front yard, enjoying the breeze and keeping watch over his domain.
Mia was showing us that she understands what the shade sail is for. The other three horses demonstrate much less interest, preferring to remain under the overhang. Their loss, I say.
While I was watching sports deep into the evening, Cyndie occupied herself with packing preparations for traveling to Norway with Elysa. They will be celebrating a milestone birthday for E, experiencing the light of the midnight sun, and visiting with Friswold relatives while they are there.
I have warned them that Norway will be playing two matches during their visit, so the people may be a little preoccupied on those days –or I should say nights, given the time difference.
There will be no shortage of things commanding my attention while Cyndie is away. Here’s hoping Asher will remain content to stay within our property boundaries for all the days I am the sole person in charge.
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National Competition
Let the withdrawal begin. After two weeks of non-stop daily broadcasting of Olympic sports events, it is time for life to get back to normal. The NHL season will resume, so I suppose I could turn my attention to the Minnesota Wild [men] or Frost [PWHL women] for hockey entertainment. I see that the US goalie, Conner Hellebuyck, who repeatedly stymied Team Canada, will be returning to play for the Winnipeg Jets. I wonder if that will be awkward for him.
Yesterday’s overtime victory for the Gold Medal in hockey by Team USA was a really big deal for a lot of folks. There were plenty of references to the last time the US won gold in men’s hockey, 46 years ago. As thrilling as this win is for the US, I don’t think it compares to the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
That team was made up of amateurs who needed to defeat the larger, stronger, professional-level USSR team to reach the Gold Medal game, which they eventually won, triumphing over Finland. Now professionals are allowed, and the most competitive teams are filled with players from the NHL and European leagues.
The skills and experience in yesterday’s Gold Medal game were a lot closer to even between the two teams. If there were miracles to be found, they were probably related to the number of times Canadian shots missed an open net or how the puck slid barely wide of the post after deflecting off Hellebuyck’s incredible flailing stick.
Did the US team survive being shorthanded 5-on-3 by their skillful penalty kill, or did Canada fail to execute their power play opportunity?
I don’t mean to take anything away from Team USA and their winning the Gold Medal. It was absolutely thrilling. I have no doubt it will become one of the greatest life-long memories in the lives of all involved. I just don’t think it’s on the same level as what that team in 1980 pulled off.
I’m going to miss the adrenaline of the excitement and anticipation of national team competitions. Good thing I only need to wait 108 days for the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament to begin.
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Friendly Spectating
Of all the spectator sports I follow, the FIFA World Cup is very near the top. The only disadvantage keeping it from number one is that it only happens every four years. At the same time, that long wait between events helps to amp up the interest when the year of a Cup finally arrives.
Living as far from our friends in the Twin Cities as we do, I usually find myself sitting alone in front of our television taking in the grand spectacle of the games. Yesterday, we didn’t let that distance stop us from accepting an invitation from our friend, John Bramble, even though his team, England, was the opponent of the U.S. in this game.
We were entering the lion’s den.
It was Cyndie’s first outing on crutches where she encountered stairs. With little recent practice, she tentatively but successfully made her way inside where we found our gracious host had provided a seat reserved just for her.
With tea and biscuits, we enjoyed a jovial 90-minute (plus minor stoppage time) celebration of the beautiful game. Both sides were left short of a victory since the match ended in a scoreless draw, but since England was favored, the moral victory went to the U.S.
To show his dissatisfaction with the outcome, our host dramatically removed his “England” shirt and threw it to the floor and stomped on it. John said the elaborate exhibition was actually just a rehearsal for the eventual point when England gets knocked from the tournament.
I can relate to that thought process. I’m not anticipating the U.S. team will exceed anyone’s expectations and the moment they fail to advance, I will be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the tournament with no strong connection to any of the possible outcomes.
Yesterday’s taste of watching a match among a group of like-minded football [soccer] fans was a refreshing reminder of how much fun it is to share the joys of watching sports with friends.
Thank you for inviting us, John Bramble, despite the team I was rooting for. Cyndie voluntarily chose to cheer for England in solidarity with our gracious host, since he was significantly outnumbered.
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Relative Something 