Keeping Up

I can't remember a year where one of my students did not buy me a horse calendar for Christmas. I always enjoy receiving that gift because the kids get so much delight in giving me something equine related. Sadly, I didn't get one this year.

I almost always get a second calendar from my vet. He doesn't mail them out, but if you drop by in the month of December, they're on the counter for the taking. I love his calendars because they're super sturdy and over-sized. I didn't drop by his office this year to get one, and I am sure they're out by now.

When I didn't get a calendar from my students or the vet, I thought that surely someone would think to get me one for my birthday which is in early January. When that one failed to materialize, I started to panic a bit as I was quickly running out of "extra" space on my 2016 calendar.

Each day, I take a few quick notes about what's going on at the barn. I note how long each horse got ridden (if at all), whether anyone was lame or sick, or if we just went for a walk. I note the farrier's visits and what the weather was like if it changed my routine. Lately, I've been writing RAIN. I also draw a slash through the day if I didn't make it the previous day which has happened a lot this past month or so.

Over the weekend, I finally admitted that if I wanted a horse calendar for 2017, I had better get going on it. As I was doing my grocery shopping, I ran across a sale bin that was filled with random calendars depicting dogs doing yoga,  cats doing yoga, and Jeeps in action. I dug through the pile, half-heartedly looking for one with horses even though I knew it was pointless. Realizing that my chances for finding a calendar at all were quickly diminishing, I tossed an over-sized, picture-less option in my cart.  

Once I got it hung up, I realized that I might actually like this year's calendar. The squares for each day are nearly twice as big as on a normal calendar which means I'll have plenty of room for taking notes. I copied the first two week's worth of scribbles that were crammed on December's page and discovered that I really liked all of the extra writing room. 

I love it when procrastination yields unexpectedly positive results! How about you - do you record your barn visits?