back to the good days

We had beautiful fog, the sun came out, I worked on my book, and I let the blahs go and got back on the Big Bay.

This was one of those rides when I wish I had a gate that led to about a thousand acres of trail. Keil Bay was in the back field caked with mud, anew from the mud he was caked in yesterday, because all THAT mud got groomed off, and I called to him as I fed Salina her lunch tub to come on up and get ready for a ride. It took a few minutes, but he came in, and I spent what seemed like a long time getting him clean.

My daughter had Cody all ready and she did things like play with donkeys and go inside to use the bathroom and finally came and just handed me Keil Bay's saddle because it was one of those endless grooming sessions that threatens never to end.

I decided to forget the bridle and just use the halter and clip-on reins, and off we went.

We had decided ahead of time to split the arena in half for the first portion of the ride, and so Keil and I warmed up in our end at the walk, did a little bit of shoulder-in, and then he went into his big beautiful trot right off the bat. For whatever reason, after these wet rainy days of not riding, we just clicked instantly when he trotted. He was in a lovely frame, moving well, and I was balanced. It felt perfect. We did more trotting, we changed directions, we did a little bit of leg yielding, we did some walking around the entire arena, we did a little cantering. And it was all fine.

But that initial trot work was so perfect, the really right thing to have done was to head out the back gate and go on a long, relaxing trail ride. Mostly I love where we live and rarely want to leave, but today, I wished, for the Big Bay as much as for myself, that I could reward such a beautiful bit of harmony with a little adventure.

In any case, we finished our ride and his reward was being in the barnyard with Salina and the donkey boys, sun shining, green grass shimmering, round bale tipped over and split open in the most inviting way -- I suspect he liked that almost as much as the thousand acre adventure.

and now, fog

We woke up this morning to dense fog, so thick our neighboring houses were not visible. It felt like we were on top of a mountain here, very isolated from the outside world.

I kind of like that.

My husband took my camera out when he opened the back gate for the horses, and got a few photos of the herd in the fog.

I think personalities become pretty clear, even when surrounded by fog.

Keil Bay and Apache Moon go about business as usual. Eating tops pretty much any weather event.



Cody follows more slowly, looking like a spotted horse because of the shavings he's wearing. A young man needs his beauty rest!



Salina is ready to head out, but is held back by the donkeys. Redford is ready to go too, but can't quite bring himself to leave Rafer Johnson, who says Do you REALLY expect us to go out in this?



Supposedly the fog will burn away in a bit and we'll have more sunshine.

here comes the sun

No rain today, and this afternoon, later than expected, the sun finally came out. The horses and donkeys were ready for it - Keil Bay galloped in from the field for his breakfast tub, Cody spent his time waiting for breakfast in the arena doing beautiful trot work all on his own, and Salina was doing pirouettes in the paddock. I kept having to leave the feed room to see all this lovely action, which made breakfast take longer than usual, and the longer it took, the more they moved.

In spite of my happiness to see the sunshine, I still had a case of the blahs, and did not manage a ride as I had planned. Finally in the late afternoon I groomed two of the mudcakes, Keil Bay and Salina, and worked on the donkey boys a little while my daughter rode Cody.

They were all happy and ready to come in from the first full day in the field they've had since last Wednesday. And according to the 10-day forecast, there is nothing but sunshine in our near future, with nice temps for the horses.

I came in with the lovely soft, relaxed muscles that come from doing the exact right amount of work. That grooming was a good idea, and I hope the horses have the same good feeling.

rainy day donkeys

Each morning when I come out to the barn I get at least one good morning bray and always two sweet donkey faces letting me know they are ready for breakfast. Even on rainy mornings!



I love that they can eat together so respectfully. They get the privilege of eating in the barn aisle because they are so very controlled and courteous. I can't imagine the horse geldings behaving this responsibly!



Everyone got about 8 hours in the field before the rain kicked back in, and tomorrow is supposed to dawn sunny and nice, so if they can hang in there one more soggy night, we should get some relief from the wet stuff.

salt

Isabel Zuber's novel Salt was published in 2002, and has been on my list of books to read ever since. When I was on my writing retreat earlier this year, one of my fellow retreaters was a poet who is in Isabel Zuber's writing group, and when she learned of the kind of writing I'm doing, she suggested I put Salt at the top of my list.

I bought it last week and let it sit on my bedside table for a few days, to savor the idea of starting it.

Last night I did, and could hardly set it down. It's beautifully written, with a poetic use of language and description, and an engaging story that pulls the reader in quick.

As if a good book isn't enough, there is a touch of synchronicity: the book travels from chapter to chapter back and forth in time, using places and years as chapter titles. And it takes place in the NC mountains, so as I read last night I came upon passages taking place in the same places my current editing is taking me.

I had no idea!

What a treat. I recommend this book, particularly if you've enjoyed reading Charles Frazier, Lee Smith, Silas House, and Dot Jackson, all authors I admire.