Old Computers and Old Friends

So there was the old computer—covered in hoofprints, banged up beyond recognition, glitchy, and prone to overheating. And then there was the new computer, in which we placed our trust and our data. Unfortunately, the new computer has a hardware problem of some sort, and I PROMISE it was not hoof-related. In any case, it's back at the factory getting fixed and I'm here with the old one, attempting to blog before it overheats and crashes.


The nice thing about this old computer is that it still stores many of our old photos: this gem, for instance, which shows young FW with Panda, a horse with Muleness. I think I may have shared it with you before—I would have, because Panda was important. He taught FarmWife to jump, to gallop, and to ride with a pelham and it's many reins.

Here's another nice old photo: this is Maggie, or rather Trampas Margaret McCracken—a dog with Muleness, or at least a dog the size of a mule. She pushed 9 hands,  which is small for a wolfhound but big compared to just about anything else at the dogpark. She was not the most fearless, and she was not the most clever, but she was the most kind dog one could meet.

And here, of course, is Mirri. A dog with muleness, in many senses. Stubborn? Yes. Self-preserving? No. Preserving of her master? Yes. Adoring? Insistant? Brilliantly smart? All of these. She was a balloholic, a fierce defender of justice, a biddable companion, a stoic friend, and a tough old bird. I would have liked to have met her.

Mirri's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and FarmWife always finds October 11th to be a bit melancholy and a bit nostalgic. I'll take her out riding, and I'll listen to her tales of this One Best Dog like only her One Best Mule can do.

Ears to you,
FenBar