We’ve taken it to heart and avoided mowing our lawn. We want the wee bees to have a chance to drink nectar and thrive.
That said, dandelions are strong and persistent. This lone blossom poked itself up in a crack in the pavement between the driveway and the wall of the garage. Now THAT is determination.
Normally at this time of year I’d be attending various horse shows and shooting images either for the competitors, magazine publication or my own amusement. This year, with all of the Covid restrictions, many of which are conflicting with themselves, there’s not a lot going on out there.
What this has done, however, is to give show ground organizers the opportunity to undertake more maintenance. At the Cattle Penning ring adjacent to the Princess Louise Park Show Centre (PLP) in Sussex, NB, piles of new footing material have been deposited to augment the existing ground.
Some facilities, like PLP, have found alternative ways to generate at least some income. This week-end, members of Dressage NB had the opportunity to book individual 30-minute ride times in the indoor arena and rent stalls for the week-end. For riders with young horses, or riders not experienced in riding in a large indoor arena with doors open and support people milling around the edges (physically distanced and masked at this time), it’s perfect. They get a chance to school in the arena (with it’s excellent and groomed footing) under the guidance of their own coach and acclimate themselves and their horses to a new environment.
No one knows what will happen next or what ‘normal’ will look like going forward. In all sports, competitions have been limited or non existent, particularly those that thrive on inter-provincial events. Equestrians are luckier than many in that their sport can be enjoyed in the open air and it is, by nature, physically distanced.
No mow May is winding down, the flowers are coming up and spring is in full swing. It’s time to get outside and enjoy the season.
Images by Ceci 