Mud and Medelssohn

The performance last night went well for a "practice" concert, if that means finding the spots that need a work before the final performance. I have plenty to work on over the next several days. Warts and all the audience seemed to like the program, especially the Wagner. Perhaps they also felt that a dark work was apt for the day. The grounds at this place are quite nice when the the flowers are in bloom, but right now the residents are taking their daily constitutionals under grey skies and trees still laden with last year's dead leaves.  

Days like yesterday would have seemed odd when I was working a day job. I went out to the barn and did my normal afternoon shift. I had to turn out all the horses when I arrived because it had been raining earlier, so I got some time in the deep mud of the paddocks before going in to clean stalls. By the end I had accumulated a few inches of new mud on my boots and splatters on my jeans to nearly my waist.

I changed into the black skirt and white top for the concert in the small bathroom at the barn, with the spare water bucket to my right and parts of a harness hanging behind me. I waited to change into civilized shoes until I had made my last trek from the barn to the car, holding the skirt in an unladylike fashion to keep it out of the mud puddles.

After a half hour drive I joined my fellow players, most of whom had spent their day in clean houses or offices, to present light and terribly civilized music. I keep waiting for someone to notice that I have spent my time in less sterile environments, but so far performance concerns seem to outweigh olfactory alertness.