An early Winter trip to the woods
29/11/06 21:43
Having
gotten through the dreaded day of “Black
Friday” – filled with crabby mobs of
anxious shoppers trying to get that
edge
on their
shopping, get that special
sale, or that
last item available… YIKES! I wouldn’t
venture near ANY store – even if they were
giving things away! Instead, I spent my morning at
home, played a few tunes, put up some decorations for
Christmas, and then went down to the barn, and spent
some glorious hours in the company of winter-wooly
horses and other assorted critters – and other
joyful folks who were also escaping the horrid
shopping scene going on in the world out there...
We were greated by the cheerful glow from the barn windows, and the sound of laughter ringing in the air. The horses munched happily on their hay, and the barn cat Ricky came running to greet us, purring and rubbing on our legs. The tidy and cozy barn smelled of fresh hay, horses and leather… I made a split decision to take a quick ride, and headed over to Allaire State Park with my horse “Augustus” for a brisk afternoon ride, and to work off some of that turkey and stuffing from the day before was an extra bonus!
Em decided to come along, so we ditched the English saddle, and climbed up on Gus’s big old Percheron frame – bareback. He’s build like a brick house – and has a back like a plank. He stood patiently as we scrambled up on his back, and we were laughing till we cried at our antics, and good ol’ Gus took everything completely in stride - and seemed to even have fun as we jostled along the trail, laughing and talking.
With his ears pricked forward, he set out on the trail with enthusiasm for the adventure ahead. He did give us a bit of a start – when he decided to canter down a small hill – giving a little buck - as he reached the bottom – as if to say “Yee Haa! That was fun!” We stayed on… white knuckled and laughing! We trotted him through a huge overflow of water from the stream there… and emerged the other side, speckled and dotted with mud, and twigs snagged in our hair from the low hanging branches… but, God help us, we stayed on! It was fun, and a MUCH better alternative to shopping!
We were greated by the cheerful glow from the barn windows, and the sound of laughter ringing in the air. The horses munched happily on their hay, and the barn cat Ricky came running to greet us, purring and rubbing on our legs. The tidy and cozy barn smelled of fresh hay, horses and leather… I made a split decision to take a quick ride, and headed over to Allaire State Park with my horse “Augustus” for a brisk afternoon ride, and to work off some of that turkey and stuffing from the day before was an extra bonus!
Em decided to come along, so we ditched the English saddle, and climbed up on Gus’s big old Percheron frame – bareback. He’s build like a brick house – and has a back like a plank. He stood patiently as we scrambled up on his back, and we were laughing till we cried at our antics, and good ol’ Gus took everything completely in stride - and seemed to even have fun as we jostled along the trail, laughing and talking.
With his ears pricked forward, he set out on the trail with enthusiasm for the adventure ahead. He did give us a bit of a start – when he decided to canter down a small hill – giving a little buck - as he reached the bottom – as if to say “Yee Haa! That was fun!” We stayed on… white knuckled and laughing! We trotted him through a huge overflow of water from the stream there… and emerged the other side, speckled and dotted with mud, and twigs snagged in our hair from the low hanging branches… but, God help us, we stayed on! It was fun, and a MUCH better alternative to shopping!
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