If you missed me the last ten days or so, it was because I was on vacation. My husband’s entire family spends a week each summer on a remote lake in Minnesota, fishing, boating, swimming, and most importantly relaxing! I spent a lot of time reading and playing with the kids in the sand, water, and sun. It was remarkable how little I missed having access to the internet, in fact, the only thing that would have made the vacation complete is horses.
There is a riding stable in the area we vacationed in, and after seeing their flyers and brochures pinned on every bulletin board in town, I briefly entertained the idea of actually visiting it. The lake area is hilly and wooded, beautifully green, and full of intriguing secrets I would love to explore on horseback. But considering the cost, the chance of getting a boring horse, the limits placed on you at a riding stable, the mosquitoes, and the alternative choice to spend time together as a family instead, I decided against it. After all, our vacations to visit my side of the family always involve horseback riding, so it’s only fair that this week with my husband’s family should center on the types of things they enjoy most. So they golfed and fished, both things I would normally enjoy going along with, but taking toddlers with me would have spelled disaster, so we stayed behind.
Fortunately, I had brought some books along that centered around horses and the western life, and that kept me fairly happy. That, and the chance to breathe a little lake air, lay about with no pressing chores or requirements, and get that feeling I had as a kid when time didn’t matter and you really didn’t know what day of the week it was. I haven’t felt that for a long time, and it was good.
Coming back home is always a little bittersweet. It always closes that chapter titled “Summer”, but the anticipation of fall springs so quickly to life in me that I can never miss summer for long. We have so many things to do, so much to look forward to, so many plans we want to see take shape and succeed, that we really can’t waste time pining for days by the lake. I came back to find our horses fat and happy, having had a whole round bale to themselves all week, and nothing to do but eat and smile at the neighbor we had checking in on them daily.
So yesterday we moved the cattle again, and since my mare Daisy is mostly all healed from her barbed wire cut, I decided to ride her. She was absolutely wonderful, and it gave me that old familiar surge of excitement to see progress in a horse you’ve had misgivings about. I don’t like that she isn’t respectful when you’re leading her, and I’m not always that confident in her ability to work away from the other horses, as she is extremely buddy sour. But somehow, as a ten year old, she has matured and learned to listen and work with me on some things. She was good natured the entire day, only whinnied a few times as we trotted after the cattle, and behaved very well on her own. We even loped a bit, up a slow easy incline to catch up with the herd, and she was relaxed, low-headed, and very happy to work. Maybe she has found her niche in working cattle.
My two white t-shirt cowboys, driving the pickup and trailer down to start the day’s work:
It’s good to be back home.
