Of fools and horses

I read yesterday in Rosemary mcConnells blog, about canning without electricity, and as I try to use as little as possible of that, I will surely try it this year.
Back to the past. I got up very early to plant some of the seedlings I had bought, seeing that I came back a bit late for the nurturing of seeds to a stage where I could plant them, as by nine o'clock the days work outside had to be done, as the sun was so warm it burns the skin off your body. Before dressing I took my coffee over to Irma's veranda, and on the way I picked a few of the most opened roses for my little girly called Skramunkel, and did not think it strange when she was not spotted immediately, as she sometimes grazed down at the river and out of sight.
I called and called, but their was no answering whinny, so I decided to walk down to the river and find her, and found that the gate to her camp was open, and a huge fright took hold of me, as there was such a lot of stray horses and as I have seen before, they did not easily accept a new and strange member into their clans. Knowing how spoiled Skramunkel was, I became really worried! Also the thought that she went through the river and onto the busy road was a scary thought, as a lot of the stray animals get killed regularly, and cause a lot of nasty accidents.
However the gate to the road was closed, and after a few minutes of hyperventilating a bit, as I usually do when stressed out, I pulled myself together, as the suspicion jumped into my numbed brain that maybe the builders had not closed the fence next to their building site after work the previous day, as they had to open up a hole through which to carry their stuff. On my way there I heard  Skramunkel neigh, and discovered to my dismay that she was standing outside in the road.
Armed with a bag of apples I went out to try and co-erce her back in, and she stood watching me, whinnying softly, and I was just about to offer her an apple, when she took off up the road.
So I followed her, thinking that she had noticed some juicy grass, as she now stood grazing contentedly about fifty meters up. Sure in the believe that she would come to me if she saw the apples, I walked up to her, all the time talking in my specially cultivated and cajoling voice that I used to calm her down.
But she just waited till I was about a meter away, then took off again, me in hot persuit, and came to a standstill about a hundred meters further, where she again stood munching, while I, after a very ambitious sprint up the steep road, stood gulping to get some air back into my lungs!
I tried again to get hold of her by showing her a beautiful Pink Lady apple, my patience by now running thin, and thinking some murderous thoughts, while my mouth crooned niceties to her that I was far from feeling! Believe it or not, the beast gave the apple a disgusted look, tossed her head, and took off again, this time turning into another road, and then came to a stop right in front of Johan's house. I was livid! And feeling foolish!
So I peeped round the corner to see if Johan's door was closed, for I was damned if I was going to make such a spectacle of self in front of him, as he had a zany sense of humor, and I would never hear the end of this. All was quiet, and I gave a sigh of relieve that it was so early, and Haarlem still fast asleep.
This time I did not speak nicely, but commanded the horse to stay put, or be shot! She had the effrontery to laugh at me, a long drawn out neighing and snorting that made my heart jump woestelik around from rage, before she galloped another fifty meters and I just lost it, and let rip with some of my most unmentionable swearing abilities ever!
That was it! I was so tired and cross, my thin slippers all broken and dirty, my feet hurting from the pebbles covering the road, that I decided to leave the horse to do what she liked, as by now I did not care whether she came home or not!
Halfway down to the house I heard Skramunkel galloping towards me, and fearing her attentions, as she had on many occasions made me sprawl by running from behind and sticking her muzzle under my armpit, I took cover behind a fallen tree, but she didn't even look at me, just galloped up to the gate, where she stood waiting, so calm and innocent, like sugar would't melt in her mouth. Thinking that she was still playing her little game, I opened the gate, and to my delight she calmly walked through, whinnying softly, and I was sure I detected a thickness, like when you want to laugh but dared not, in her voice! She then walked into her camp, picking a juicy rose on the way, which she chewed up with closed eyes, and this time I made sure that she would not be able to open the gate again.
I was so tired that I put off the planting of my seedlings till later when the sun was not so harsh!