So another 45+ days have gone by without a blog post. Unforgivable, really. But sometimes life just gets in the way of the recording of it. Between staycations to Mammoth Cave, attending the World Equestrian Games, cheering on the Scott County Cardinals, shuttling the kids back and forth to their work and volunteer commitments, and repeated trips back to Michigan while my dad recovers from open heart surgery, I’ve found the time (and energy) to blog to be lacking. The desire hasn’t fully abandoned me, so hopefully I’ll get things in gear and share more often than I have been.
First off, Dad is doing well. There were some tense times right after the surgery, but he’s at home now and his recovery is progressing nicely. I wasn’t prepared for how the procedure has affected him mentally, though. He’s still struggling with concentration and short-term memory issues, which frustrates him to no end, but every day seems to bring an improvement. The whole experience has been a drain on Mom, which is not good, but she too seems to be improving along with Dad. The operation was necessary and once all is said and done, they’ll both be happy they went through it all.
Autumn is in full swing here in Kentucky, with fewer and fewer days in the 80′s. Some nights have even dipped down into the low 40′s already, if you can believe it. The drought has really made a mess of the fall colors, though. Most leaves had faded to a dingy brown long ago, but our trips back to Michigan provided the splash of color we look forward to this time of year. More important than the lack of color is the long-term impact of this extended dry spell, which could affect next year’s yield if the winter rains (and snow) can’t make up the difference. Time will tell…
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG for short) finally arrived after years of anticipation. The hype was justified, for among equestrian enthusiasts the WEG eclipse the Olympics in importance and prestige and this was the first time they’d ever been held outside of Europe. Visitors from around the globe descended upon our little corner of Kentucky, including the sheik of Dubai and his wife, the Princess of Jordan. The big question on our minds was how much much of a disruption the events would be on the carrying on of our normal lives. Turns out, not much. The potential was there for monumental traffic snarls and crowds of people overrunning Lexington, but the WEG organizers did a fantastic job of pricing out the majority of the population. With tickets for most events starting at $200 – each – the target audience was a very narrow one. Even so, we still managed a visit and enjoyed seminars from horsemen like Clinton Anderson. Was it really worth it, though? Probably not. The fact that no organization is interested in studying the economic impact the WEG had on our local economy pretty much proves that overall the event was a huge disappointment for most. Still, it’s nice to be able to say that we were there.
I apologize for not providing any pictures in this post, but as the week goes by I will add a few from over the last couple of weeks.
