In the Arena # 84 - What we did on our summer vacationFrom the farmette #5 - Bumper crop and + channeling Mr. Clean

It has been (almost) unbearably hot and humid for two straight weeks... so I thought I'd give you a taste of our day to day routine. (can't wait for a different routine) Note that it (almost) includes no riding. Oh and I'm posting this today - written yesterday - because it literally took all night to upload / download these measly videos.

Unfortunately we're expected temps to get back up into the 90's with 90% humidity again all week long. Working outdoors is kicking my butt at the moment. Boy do I love swimming pools + the ocean + showers + air conditioning...

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Vacation is officially over. It rained enough to firm up the arena temporarily, and cooled off a bit as well, so tonight last night, we finally rode! A nice bareback ride before dinner. Thank goodness... the longer I go without riding the squirrelier I feel about our first ride back. Happily, it was all good. I did lots of stretches in the saddle, focusing on staying balanced and even. Front to back as in on all three points of my seat, and side to side as in no collapsing my left side / shortening my right leg. Our steering and turns on the forehand reflected the evenness. This seems so much easier to me when I'm riding bareback.

There appears to be a tropical storm on the horizon, which I (almost) welcome. An extended period of rain would resolve my arena footing issues for a while, as well as our drought. Fingers crossed for a near miss that drops three or so days of rain and no wind to speak of...

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Pie in the Sky produce is coming along. I have managed to keep my basil producing by cutting it back six nodes down each time I harvest. Last week I picked a big ol' basket of peppers - which are selling very well at the market.

I also have started eating tomatoes - a nice assortment of heirlooms. ♡BLT's + tomato sandwiches ♡!! I'm not even too sad about the diminished crop caused by rampant blossom end rot. I'd just be having to can them in this miserable heat - how's that for making lemonade!

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Trailer update:

A while back I got a request for "grody" pictures of the trailer pre-cleaning...

Stains + outright filth

Rodent + water damage

Yep - there were definitely rodents... lovely

 I have cleaned out all the crap belongings of the former owner. Vacuumed thoroughly and steam cleaned - carpet and upholstery - twice. Hooked up the water, which entailed a hide and seek for the water lines, which entailed tons of exploratory digging on the hottest day anyone here can remember.

Now that I have water, I can begin the scrubbing. I've preliminarily doused the bathroom with strong cleansers. This weeks agenda includes hooking up the septic lines, bleaching the water tanks and connecting hurricane straps. As I spend more time in the Shimmy Shack, I can see myself living there. I think it's going to be good :)