It is such a gorgeous day. This is the perfect day to go on a ride. I thought you might like to ride along with me. Come on. Let's get ready. We need to get Cassie out of the paddock. Hopefully we won't have any issues with Minnie Moo. Cassie and Minnie have this love hate relationship. Cassie doesn't want Minnie anywhere near her. She pinnes her ears back and gives Minnie a good chase around. On the other hand if Cassie is separated from Minnie she whinnies and calls for her. Love, hate. That's how it is. I have to watch them closely when I enter the paddock. I don't want to get in the way of the chasing game. I think 1000 pounds of horse hoof would really ruin my pedicure! Not to mention a broken foot. We need to get Cassie all brushed and pretty before we leave. Not to worry. I'll do all of the dirty work. I promise you won't smell like a horse. Now for the saddle. I'll have to give it a swing to reach her back. I'm not sure how much my saddle weighs. It's pretty heavy though. Like my DH says (emphasis on the German accent)I'm strong like bull!
O.K., did you get on alright? How does it feel to be in the saddle? Are the stirrups too short? Let's go for a spin. Hey, this is so much fun. Let's do a little warm up. Walk.....trot......Ready? Canter! Woooo!!!! Want to go faster? Just give her a little squeeze with your heels. Whooo Hoooo!!!!! O.K now that you are comfortable lets go down the road and see what we can find. Don't worry, I'm right behind you.
Alright, here we go. First we will go down the edge of my property. Aah... The wind in our face and the sun on our shoulders. Feels so good! Wow, you are doing great. I bet you had riding lessons.
We will be riding for about 2 miles one way. Look out... I see a pheasant. We live near 2 different hunting preserves. Pheasants are common. They like to dart in and out of the way. Most of them can only fly a short distance. Cassie is handling it just fine. She didn't even spook. You didn't either. Nice!
This is one of my favorite places on this road. This farm is at least 100 years old. I was very blessed to meet someone that actually lived here. I met Charlotte when we moved here 14 years ago. Charlotte was 82 and lived in town when I met her. She told me stories of her childhood here on this farm where she was born. The house has long been sold and abandoned.
Whenever I ride down this road I always stop at Charlotte's gate and look around for a few minutes. I wonder what it was like all of those years ago. I'm sure farm life was really tough. I also dream about all the fun they had too!
This is where Charlotte's house stood. The very first time I saw her homestead it was in a total shambles. The roof was caved in. The windows all broken. The front porch leaned into the ground. I always thought it would be cool to buy the place and restore it back to it's glory. It burned to the ground about 10 years ago. Sometimes when I would ride over I could swear I could picture Charlotte and her brothers and sisters playing together under the majestic oak trees.
Charlotte's ancestors built this home about 1 mile southeast of her farm. In the 1880's it was a very famous creamery. I have seen drawings of the large spread at the library. The home still stands. The farm has stayed in the family for generations. Now it is a large dairy farm.
This is Charlotte's family cemetery. I'm not being morbid here but I love cemeteries. I enjoy looking at all of the old headstones. For me it is really interesting. Don't worry, I would never ride into the cemetery. We can look from here. My place is 2 miles directly behind it.
We should start for home. It shouldn't take too long to get back. Want to race? O.K. we will take our time and enjoy the sights. This is the very first time I have seen this on the side of the road. Someone decided to dump their trash! I can't believe it! I just don't understand why in this day and age someone would be so lazy and thoughtless to pollute! I'll have to come back with the truck and get rid of this mess. BTW my farm is in the background of this photo.
Did you have fun? I hope you liked your ride. You did great. I bet you are a seasoned rider. Let me know if you want to go out exploring again. Next time we will load up and drive to a cool trail. Does that sound tempting? It's always more enjoyable to ride with friends! Thanks for coming along. You helped make my day!
11 comments:
That was a blast, and I didn't even get scared this time (like other horse rides I've taken).
Next time, can we stop and meander through the cemetery, though? I love looking at old headstones, fantasizing about what life must have been like for those people when they were alive.
what a lovely ride, and the memories of charlotte and family. it is sad that many of the older american farms are wasting away...this thing with the bio-fuels is a double edge sword. finally farmers are gettting a fair price for the products but we still need grains and stuff for food...what to do...when we went down to clearl lake this winter for the buddy holly fest it was scarry seeing all the ethanol plants...no corn for cattle or people......hmmmmmmm
What an awesome post! Totally unique and fun - thanks for allowing me to tag along!
I've never riden a horse - am really afraid of most animals. But this ride was awesome! Thanks for taking us along today. And thanks for visiting my blog...I love hearing from you.
That was fun! My horse was so well behaved and I enjoyed the country scenery. Can't wait for the next trail ride.
I really enjoyed the virtual ride. I hope you take us out again! Thanks for sharing a piece of your day with us. I'll be there next time too!
Some 50 years ago (Oh, my! Oh, My!) I would have loved this ride. Now my bones remind me that I no longer have the agility and balance needed to ride a horse. Don't get me wrong...I'm pretty active for a silver-haired lady...I garden, run up and down stairs, have only minor aches and pains. Still, I recognize my minor tweaks of pain and do not want to enhance them in any way. LOL
That brings back memories of my own childhood riding horse with my grandpa and bareback at home!
fabulous post, I feel like I have been on horseback!!!
I had a great time! I love the smell of a horse, salty but cozy smell. They have a wonderful smell.
It is fun to look at the old houses and cemetery, I have a cemetery across the street from me. That is all I can see when I am doing the dishes. It is fun to think what their lives were like and what they did every day.
Hate to see people throw out trash, grrrr, so idiotic.
Thanks for taking me along....do I still have to muck out the stalls???
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