Today is the first day...

[altivo]

...of the rest of my life. Or so the saying goes. The weather is gloomy looking but hummingbirds and woodpeckers are busy outside the window. Classical guitar in my ears, I've been awake for three hours already and have not had any coffee. The horses are becoming restive and must be fed soon, but someone else will have to do the interlibrary shipment and catalog yet another James Patterson.

It is also the 33rd anniversary of my first meeting Gary, who is still asleep in the bedroom. He never sleeps well, so I hate to awaken him. Guess I'll go feed critters and bring in eggs without disturbing him. Maybe the impending rain will hold off until after that's done. I should spend the day reconstructing and reorganizing here to clear up the clutter of books and oddments that came home as I cleared out my desk and shelves at the library. The deep gloom of the sky, however, suggests a day spent reading or perhaps sitting at the piano or organ. We shall see. At least there's no hurry...

Or is there? Another imperious whinny suggests that there is. I may no longer have a schedule, but the children do.

Comments

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

You thought you were free of bosses. Ha! It's just that your present bosses are a bit more pleasant and horsey smelling.

Congrats on today's anniversary! Here's hoping the ducks give you an extra egg or two as a gift.

[altivo]

Tess has always been bossier than any real boss I ever had. I understand that to be the nature of mares.

As for the ducks, they owe us a couple. Each of the last two days they have produced only one instead of the customary two eggs.

And... Gary walked into the kitchen, yawning, and proceeded to make coffee right after I posted that original. So it was go feed the horses, then come in and make breakfast. ;p

[songcoyote]

Dear Altivo,

There is so much peace and contentment in this post - it really made me smile. I hope that your well-earned retirement continues to be so easy on you, and so enjoyable.

Imperious mares and other nonhuman family aside, being free of so much obligation must be a real relief. My own retirement seems very far away at this point. I can only hope it's as rewarding.

May mirth and music be with you, as well as...

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

[altivo]

Nice to hear from you, and thanks. I'm afraid it won't stay this peaceful for long. Murphy's law and all that. You can add several million mosquitoes to the ointment right now. We've had so much rain this spring that the outdoors is uninhabitable unless you are drenched with repellent or there's a fairly stiff breeze. Saturday and Sunday the breeze was cooperative. Today, when I need to do garden stuff, we have dead humid air. You can imagine the result.

Friend Avon in the UK says this should drop my blood pressure noticeably. I don't track it, so I won't be able to prove that, but I'm sure it would be a good thing. Maybe the ulcer symptoms will go away too. Working on it, at least.

[avon_deer]

Enjoy your new life :)

[altivo]

Working on it, thanks. Today is the first day I woke up confused about what day of the week it is. (I thought Sunday for some reason.)

[moonhare]

Congratulations! May all your pursuits be leisurely and happy :o)

The children don't care about your schedule, just their own. The dogs have me up by 5 each morning, regardless of it being a day off for me or not.

[altivo]

This is true. The horses are the only ones making demands here, but they are quite vocal. Dog door into fenced run means that the dog never wakes us in the morning, or at least not unless we stay in bed past his breakfast time. That's 8 am and I don't think I've slept that late in a decade.

[frith]

Retirement! At long last! Enjoy it to the fullest and may that imperious mare keep you hopping and bopping on time with the meal service. ^_^

[altivo]

I'm sure that's her plan. Her barn is twice as far from the house as the boys are, and she can't see into the windows to tell that we're up and moving around. But if she knows we're awake, then she can be very loud. More than the two boys together. ;p

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Aha you're retired now? :D Does this mean I can sleep on the books without being shooed?

[altivo]

If you can catch mice, you might be welcome there. New mice have been in the building in the last couple of weeks, seen brazenly running around in daylight no less.

Far as that goes, if you want to sleep on the books at my house you can do that too. The dog doesn't chase cats, so it's OK. If I need to move you to get at something, there's always the water trough. XD

Seriously, though, always nice to hear from you, kittycat.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Hmm I do have an issue with mice, I tend not to want to eat them as they're such fun :) Good to see you're doing well Altivo, I've been trying to keep up with the ol LJ community again.