Hot Sunday

The Morning was Fine....But

I had church choir and a service to sing in.  Then, especially because it was the last week the choir was singing for the summer, I went out to lunch.

And then...well here's the news. I will be running for Township Council in my town and my running mate and I need to get signatures on a petition to be put on the ballot as Independent candidates.  I spent the bulk of the day driving around house to house collecting signatures.  I did fill up two pages, but it took a long time.  The houses around here are not exactly accessible by walking, so I had to drive into each driveway, get out, go to the door, and hope someone was home.  My luck ran about 50/50.

It is a holiday weekend--Memorial Day--so a number of people were not home. I might try a few more houses today, but honestly, my knees and body might not take too much more of it.  More than half the houses had steps up to the door.  Eech.  Anyhow, I have a nice lot of signatures and nearly everyone seemed quite pleased that I was running.  The idea of an alternative might be quite appealing this year.

I am also working on another kind of campaign--to get warning signs from some of our roads that drivers are required to slow down to 25 mph when a horse/rider/carriage are present.  Now, mind you, around here, horses on the road are a scarcity, mostly because there are only a few horse farms and because, like me, most of the riders avoid the roads as much as possible.  (I would NEVER take a chance of riding on my road.)

But my friend, the endurance rider, was on a local road the other day and she and her horse were hit by a driver who decided to try to go around them while the horse was acting up.  The horse, a seasoned endurance mount, was spooking at something--rather unusual for him--and despite my friend's efforts to get the car to stop, the driver kept coming.

In New Jersey, this is against the law.  Drivers are to slow to 25 mph and respond to rider's hand signals. Fortunately, aside from the psychological damage to his training, the horse is OK as it the rider.  Two different township's policemen showed up and neither one knew the law!! Apparently the driver was not issued a summons.

My friend is, quite logically upset.  So, the plan is to see if we can get some traffic warning signs like these to

to put up in areas around town where riders might use the roads.  And, of course, we need some kind of public awareness campaign to educate drivers about the law.  Even if it saves one horse or rider, it's worth the effort.

Considering the bad economic times, I can't expect the Township to pay for the signs, so we will need to secure funding from donations or some other source.  What we will need is the Township cooperation and assistance in installing the signs where they are needed.

On the horse front here, I did nothing with the Boys.  As noted, it was darn hot and I wore myself out.

Tucker still looks good, although I did not trot him to check.  Today, Monday, does not seem to be any cooler--and it's only just past 9 AM.  Perhaps things will take a better turn by evening and I can at a least lunge him and give Chance a little time under saddle.

The pool should be open today so I may check it out as well, but I'm thinking the water is going to be pretty cold.

So to all, remember those who sacrificed to make our world a better place.  Let Memorial Day inspire you to treasure the freedoms you have and consider the price for them.  Thanks to all our veterans.