Summer Weather

Too hot to ride? Well, maybe, but in short doses, it is still fun and satisfies the obsession! :) Ian and I went out during the evening hours on Saturday for a short jaunt. My Ah-D-Das was being such a peach! Too bad I couldn’t say it about Ian’s mount, who had something troubling him and bucked off my boy at the gallop.It wasn’t a bad tumble, all things considered, but I decided we would switch horses so I could evaluate. I really wished I had brought my camera, because seeing my handsome young boy having fun riding my handsome steed made my heart go pitter-patter. AhD was a well-behaved gentleman, and Ian did an excellent job of posting to the trot! I remember waaaaay back when I was learning, and it wasn’t so pretty. At any rate, we made it back to the barn just fine, switched horses again, and headed back out on the trails for a less eventful experience – which was not a bad thing! By the way, Angie, we used your fly spray recipe, and it REALLY WORKED! I bet it cut down the deer flies by 80 percent! Smells pretty good, too. Thanks for the tip!

On Sunday, the skies opened up late in the afternoon and it poured; afterwards, I took AhD out for what turned out to be a very damp ride. Once on Back Street, I tried to keep AhD in a nice steady trot so I could burn calories posting (one of the very best by-products of riding!) and practice keeping a correct seat. It was tough, because he was not into trotting at all and his attention was wondering. At any rate, I built up my calf muscles trying to keep him going! :) We meandered around up the road and explored the old apple orchard, discovering tons of wild raspberries. You can bet I will be returning there asap! There was tons of deer sign. Everything was so wet after that rain, that we got soaked. Plus, it started raining again as we headed home - still, it felt gooood after all that heat!

And now on to my third ride of this blog…I RODE BEFORE WORK THIS MORNING! And do I ever feel good today! Everything was soaking wet (including my laundry still out on the line), so I just grabbed the pants I wore yesterday out of the laundry, my phone for safety, and (FINALLY) the camera for pictures. The morning mist was just beautiful. I made sure to take my Lab Grace so she wouldn’t wake up the neighborhood because she fusses very loudly if I do not take her, but we had to leave AhD’s buddy behind.

Grace was good as gold, and stayed in her usual spot following right behind AhD. Speaking of good as gold, AhD has definitely formed a truce with Grace, and I actually thinks he enjoys her along now! As I didn’t have a lot of time, I was aiming for the highest near peak of the powerline.
Black eyed Susan’s for Angie. Angie, your fly concoction didn’t work so well this morning. The deerflies didn’t seem to be repelled much. Also, DUH, I forgot to put it on myself, and they got in a good bite when I was taking a picture.
A scene looking back towards my house. My beloved Morab Magic is buried here. AhD and I come here a lot.
Almost there.
The view is wonderful, and I feel elated!
On the way back now.

This is a sturdy metal bridge, but, still, I get the willies when crossing it on horseback.
The turkeys are waiting for us.
Sweet lawn grass treat for a sweet boy. You can see my non-slip pad peeking out from under the purple saddle pad. It works great for those steep ups and downs of the powerline rides. Happy summer riding to you all!