Spring in Minnesota

Well, we're finally at the point where opening day at Canterbury and the month we're in coincide. I'm traveling at the moment, but my wife tells me that in the few days I've been gone the trees are finally budding, our bushes look like bushes again and the lawn is in desperate need of mowing. When spring finally hits us, it hits with a vengeance.

Another sure sign of spring are the vans that have been entering the backstretch at Canterbury Park. On a van arriving sometime later today, Fizzy Pop will emerge and take his place in the Rhone barn again. Last year he had a tough first outing, this year we hope he'll remember his surroundings and settle in a bit better. Granted, last year he trained like a monster when he first got up here and then ran a flat first race, so we thought he had settled in pretty well. Come the first race...not so much. Of course he did pick up the win in his second attempt, so nothing to complain about there.

I'll be at Canterbury later in the week and get licensed up again and get ready to roll. I'll check on our boy, buy a bag of peppermints to leave in the car for the summer and snap some photos for the group. However it gets sliced, though, they'll be a hole in my heart where Miss Belle Express used to be. It's going to be a different summer then we planned on without her. I'm hoping the return of spring, the horses and racing to Minnesota will help lessen that burden as the summer races on.