The difference a year makes

I think I shared this photo a year ago. This is the mare my aunt co-owns, Sweetpea, and her brand-new mule foal, April's Calamity. When they bought her, they weren't sure she was pregnant. Surprise! I love that "Whoa" face Calamity is making. Apparently, those twinkly legs take some getting used to.



It's a year later, and I guess she got used to them. And everything else lovely in mule-world. She's been at the special trainer, since mules are a bit different than a horse.



And Mama Sweetpea a year later, hanging out with the girls. The pretty Appy/draft mare next to her is Missy. Don't her markings remind you of ripples on water? She's a big girl; she makes me feel tiny next to her. Sweetpea is such a pretty girl. My aunt loves paint horses, and she's such an unusual kind of paint.


Anyway, thought you might enjoy the photos. They made me smile.

*Updated* Thank you for the comments on Sweetpea and Calamity. I wasn't sure if anyone would like them. My aunt's horses are her children, since she never had them. I guess Calamity is my second cousin, or, in our parliance, my little cousin, LOL. I guess she takes after her father's side of the family, though, at one point, I did tell the dentist my veneers gave me horse teeth.

I just realized, too, in the far left corner of the Sweetpea and Missy photo is my brother's beloved Tom Boy, AKA The. Coolest. Horse. Ever. My brother has trained him (as far as Tommy could ever be trained) to allow a rider to stand on his back, and to jump on from behind him. Plus, he drinks soda from a can--he prefers Coke, thank you very much. He was a gift from our grandfather, and he's 26 years old. He still does good. He's in the field with the mares. I have no idea how he managed that, but he wuvs the ladies. It's a good life for a gelding.