Horses, Heat Waves & Changing Summer Plans

I managed to sleep in until almost 9, which is practically unheard of for me. Coffee was immediately required, and I spent the morning publishing a blog post, working on others and catching up on computer work.

Renn sent these couple of cute pics as she headed to school! <3

S, however, took sleeping in to an entirely different level.

He didn't emerge until after 10 and then enjoyed his coffee in bed while scrolling his phone. At one point he chatted with Craig, who was more than happy to call us out for backing out of camping this weekend because of the rain forecast.

Fair enough.

B arrived around 11 in a loaner vehicle while her own car is being repaired after an unfortunate encounter with a pheasant. The two of us quickly tacked up and headed out for a ride while S fired up the mower and tackled the random tall patches of grass around the yard before the forecasted rain arrives.

If it actually arrives.

The heat wave certainly isn't going anywhere. Temperatures are expected to stay high until Saturday, which has us rethinking more than a few plans.

Not only did we cancel our Okotoks camping weekend, but we're also seriously reconsidering our week in Canmore next week depending on how the forecast develops.

After our ride, the horses were tied up waiting for the vet appointment scheduled for 1 o'clock. Unfortunately, the vets were running behind, so we turned everyone loose in the round pen to graze while we waited.

S and I squeezed in a quick lunch before I headed back outside for some hand watering.

Dr. Jordan and Megan finally arrived shortly after 1:30, and horse treatment afternoon officially began.

Megan the vet tech stretching after assessment trot

While they worked, S headed to town for coffee with a friend and to run a few errands.

Switch and Beibs received surgical scrubs followed by their IRAP injections. Roo had blood drawn for her own IRAP treatment before getting her teeth done as well. It was a busy afternoon for both the horses and the vet team.

By 3:30 everything was wrapped up, and B and I turned the horses out into the house paddock as the vets headed on to their next stop.

With temperatures hitting 28 degrees, I set up a sprinkler on the far peonies which were looking decidedly unimpressed with the heat.

B and Cooper headed home around 4 just as S rolled back into the yard with groceries and a free bike chariot I scored for Renn.

We spent some time FaceTiming with Shaina so she could show us the latest updates to their apartment before enjoying a cold drink while I got supper underway.

The evening was one of those perfect summer evenings that make you forget all about the wind, mud, and snow from a few weeks ago.

S boosted the dead battery in the quad and hauled a load with the poop wagon to the pit while I painted a second coat of paint on the little kids chairs.

We also set up a few mosquito dunk pails and are crossing our fingers they'll help keep the mosquito population under control.

After that, I hand-watered all the plants and seedlings that are drying out in this heat.

My Japanese peonies in full bloom, to bad they are so short lived!

Then came a shocking realization: No hockey on tonight.

Naturally, we opted for a hot tub soak even though the air temperature was nearly the same as the water. After showers, we settled in to finish the finale of Funny AF.

S spotted this HUGE nest - turns out my guess was right - magpie!

Before we could start it, though, the Paetz family called with trailer electrical issues. S spent some time troubleshooting with them over FaceTime, but it quickly became clear the problem was bigger than a simple phone fix and will likely require an in-person visit after their camping weekend.

The sky was on fire as they chatted on my phone so I had to use S's to snap a few photos

Speaking of camping, after another look at the forecast, we officially cancelled our reservations for next week as well.

A little disappointing, but spending a week sitting in the rain isn't exactly the holiday experience we were hoping for.