The blazing sun (I did NOT touch the saturation, white balance or colour sliders!) behind those newly formed leaves got me thinking about the relationship between fire and life on this planet. When our very existence depends on a raging inferno 150 billion miles away, is it any wonder that our own existence can at times take on a fiery character of its own?

Or perhaps I'm trying just a little too hard to be profound here.

I finally got around to mowing the paths in the back section of our property affectionately known to us and our kids as the hundred acre woods (three would actually be closer to the mark, but who's counting?) When I went back on foot to admire my handiwork, I conveniently just happened to have Finnigan and my camera with me.

We then went down to the bottom of our property to investigate our derelict apple orchard. It looks great when you blur it out like I did in this photo! Finny looked pretty good too (and didn't need to be blurred out), though he was getting very thirsty at this point and ready to head back inside.

On the subject of apple trees, there was an old apple tree in our back yard that was at the end of its days and died shortly after we moved in years ago. I cut the dead tree down, but there were a few sprouts on the trunk so I left it in place. This is a photo of some of the blossoms one of those little sprouts is now producing.

When we took this tree down, I deliberately left this log as a play object for my girls and maybe an experiment in decomposition. These fungi are a regular occurrence and I think they add a point of interest to our yard :).

Taken off Kerwin drive, close to the Unnamed Lake in an earlier photo, but on the other side of the road and facing the opposite direction (east :) .

These were taken on Sunday, so more cheating. But I processed them yesterday and these images stuck with me all day. If you only knew the challenges these girls have faced. This sport is about learning to overcome obstacles in more ways than one. I am so proud of my little girls for the ability they have shown to face daunting challenges head on and confront them seemingly fearlessly.

I got this much done before I blew a tire on the lawn tractor. Yet another unsolicited metaphor...

Show day isn't all about jumping ponies over fences. It's a 12 hour day in which you participate in 3-5 events typically, spending maybe a total of 20-25 minutes competing in the show ring. These are some shots of what my daughters do to amuse themselves and/or just chill in the long stretches of downtime between those events. Victoria was actually done for the day here, which is why she let her hair go all crazy.

Oh, and Emily did win Ribbons too! :) Including a second place in a very challenging "My First Medal" class. 

My daughters found this delicious and healthy recipe on the internet and baked it without any grownup intervention whatsoever. They are like little granola bar balls with baked apple on the inside. What could be more delicious! 

Sadly, I'll never know, because these are horse treats. And there are few enough of them that if any go missing I will be busted immediately.

I'm off to get a human treat at Starbucks now.

I don't know why, but I seem to like tulips more before they have fully blossomed. And yet oddly, it's what has yet to come that is the reason I like them in this state so much.

I know. It's completely illogical.

(Posted two photos today to make up for the zero I posted yesterday. I actually took over 1300 photos yesterday, at a school board drama and dance festival. But I can't post photos of other peoples' kids to my blog. So you get an extra tulip instead.)

I can't decide if this picture is about the budding of these silver maple leaves, or the search for answers that inevitably leaves us looking to the skies and hoping they will be gifted to us from above.

Or maybe it isn't necessary to look past the budding leaves to find the answers.

Tech Rehearsal at Carleton University for DA Moodie's 2014 Production of Fame.

Emily on Showtime (Razzie), Sunday, May 11.

Victoria on Butter Be Good, Sunday May 11.