A Perfect Saturday
I may have mentioned at some point about how rare it is for me NOT to be complaining about the weather. This past weekend, I had NO complaints about our southwestern Pennsylvania weather. I’d like to order up six solid months of it, please.
Better yet, I took advantage of it. At least I did on Saturday. After sleeping in a bit, I headed to Mountaineer to visit with my friend Jessi and to play at being a groom. I walked Rumbler, a new acquisition of Jessi’s stable. Rumbler is a big, good-looking mare with a long-stride and a fast walk. But I like her. She made no effort to pull my arm out of the socket. She just walks fast. Think cranking up the speed on the treadmill, but with the smell of horse in your nostrils.
(For those of you who think horses stink, let me make something clear. Sweaty horses stink. Freshly washed horses smell wonderful. And most of us who love horses don’t even mind the stinky sweaty ones.)
After returning home and having lunch, I went to visit another horsy friend, Sara. Sara and her hubby live a couple miles from us and we’ve been riding together occasionally since Memorial Day. Usually, any time we make a riding date, it rains. But as I have previously mentioned, the weather on Saturday was perfect. We had a wonderful ride through some woods and along a lightly traveled back road. Sara’s horse, Nikki, is in love with a handsome black gelding on a neighboring farm. Admiral, the small sorrel gelding that I ride, had a momentary mental lapse when he thought someone picking raspberries was going to eat him. But I convinced him that he should mind his manners and we returned home with no bumps or bruises or broken bones. In other words, it was a successful ride.
It’s gorgeous outside again, today. And here I sit at my computer. But I’ve had a productive morning. I made a few minor revisions to a short story that had been rejected and sent it back out to a new market. Maybe I can rationalize slipping outside after lunch to enjoy the great outdoors a bit. After all, perfect days like this are a rarity around here.
Better yet, I took advantage of it. At least I did on Saturday. After sleeping in a bit, I headed to Mountaineer to visit with my friend Jessi and to play at being a groom. I walked Rumbler, a new acquisition of Jessi’s stable. Rumbler is a big, good-looking mare with a long-stride and a fast walk. But I like her. She made no effort to pull my arm out of the socket. She just walks fast. Think cranking up the speed on the treadmill, but with the smell of horse in your nostrils.
(For those of you who think horses stink, let me make something clear. Sweaty horses stink. Freshly washed horses smell wonderful. And most of us who love horses don’t even mind the stinky sweaty ones.)
After returning home and having lunch, I went to visit another horsy friend, Sara. Sara and her hubby live a couple miles from us and we’ve been riding together occasionally since Memorial Day. Usually, any time we make a riding date, it rains. But as I have previously mentioned, the weather on Saturday was perfect. We had a wonderful ride through some woods and along a lightly traveled back road. Sara’s horse, Nikki, is in love with a handsome black gelding on a neighboring farm. Admiral, the small sorrel gelding that I ride, had a momentary mental lapse when he thought someone picking raspberries was going to eat him. But I convinced him that he should mind his manners and we returned home with no bumps or bruises or broken bones. In other words, it was a successful ride.
It’s gorgeous outside again, today. And here I sit at my computer. But I’ve had a productive morning. I made a few minor revisions to a short story that had been rejected and sent it back out to a new market. Maybe I can rationalize slipping outside after lunch to enjoy the great outdoors a bit. After all, perfect days like this are a rarity around here.
Comments
I'm glad you're getting out and enjoying yourself.