May Flowers and May Mules

May has been a month of some chilly, rainy days where all we want to do is cocoon on the couch...

...but also a month with some glorious mild or warm days with spring beauty in spades.

Star Stable's Jorvik is as beautiful as ever and also continues to change week to week. As much as we enjoyed the Equestrian Festival, it has been a relief to play less and at a slower pace in the weeks that have followed. Another Trailblazer Track is going on now, giving us good incentive to log on daily. The outfit will likely sit collecting dust in our closet (not Clara's style), but the free stable care tickets certainly will not! 

Star Stable introduced mules to the game in mid-May! 

We confess we did not vote for them a year or so ago when there was this "which breeds would you like to be added next?" poll, but apparently a lot of players did. The game was abuzz with mule chat in the weeks leading up to their release. We think Star Stable did a fantastic job on them - they turned out super cute! Not only do we love their color choices, but they also look great whether idling or in motion. 

In addition to the regular gaits, they have two special moves:

"Floppy Groove" is aptly named: a happy walk with lots of ear flopping

"Hee-Haw"means lots of donkey-like braying, of course.

The other equines in Star Stable rear if you press "X" while walking or trotting. Mules buck instead! Not sure how I feel about this, but it has been entertaining to watch.

If/when we get one of these in a bazaar someday, it's going to be so hard choosing just one! Both the appys and the duns are so cool! Other players think so too, clearly.

Here are a few other fun screenshots from our recent wanderings:

Another 1-player championship! (We won.) 

Wow, cartoon forest fire! 

Don't worry: Clara and Tigertin quickly put it out.

An APH and rider chilling Lion King style. XD

We finally spent some Jorvik shillings to give our stable a more cohesive look. 

Since we like the stone floor and Blue Oaks banners, we gave it a somewhat medieval look, but without the darker, more gothic look of the medieval default.

It was Mom's birthday last Sunday! (Hooray for weekend birthdays!) Des was Clara's mount that day, and he won first place in the one championship they entered. 

Thank you, Des! <3 What a good boy!

Here are her gifts!

Before opening...

...and after!

The backpack and suitcase were not actually wrapped above, if you were wondering, just notes about them. XD We're most excited for Mom to sew together the little sloth, though we're also eager to watch Wicked. =)