Sunday's Ride-About

Loved reading all these adventurous posts this morning from my fellow RACers! I want to go riding with all of you!
AhD and I were also adventurous on Sunday. My house looks like a hurricane hit it, but I am pleasantly muscle sore from a good hard ride yesterday. We started out by ~ ta da!!! ~ riding with my son Ian and AhD’s Haffie buddy Al. This is the first time that Ian has been my riding partner since last fall when he ruptured his spleen during a football game. I let him wear my safety riding vest, and it fit him better than it fits me, so it has a new owner. Both AhD and Al were perky and forward, so we had a good ride around some trails close to home, did some stream walking and even traversed the very steep hill that is quite a challenge for a beginner. A couple of canters were frosting on the riding cake. After about 45 minutes, Ian had had enough, so AhD and I headed back out on our own. We gaited up to Back Street for a peek at the Secret Garden, cantered along the edge of a big field, and took a trail that is quite overgrown with lots of dips and rises. We surprised a mother grouse and her brood, and the grouse started mewing loudly and flapping her “broken” wing in front of us. I tried in vain to get a good picture, because she was so beautiful with her brown striped feathers and crested head, but she kept moving just out of good camera range as she flopped along in the underbrush. We moved along to not bother her any longer. The trail ended, so we turned around and then at the last moment I decided to try a very rocky and challenging trail that leads to Streaked Mountain. I have started that particular way a few times in the past, only to give up because it seemed too rocky and treacherous. Well it just somehow seemed more navigable, and AhD was quite willing, as long as he could snatch some leaves along the way. ( He was starving, you know, because he has to share his pasture with two steers so he was parked in his stall for two hours before the ride.) We did not go all the way to Streaked because I was intimidated by all the No Trespassing signs that started appearing on every tree that lined the trail, but we did go further than I have ever ventured on horseback. I turned AhD around and he scampered back down. At the bottom of that route, for some reason I noticed signs of an old tote road that led off down in the direction of The Quarry. I have never been on that tote road because I had not once EVER noticed it! Don’t ask me how…but of course then away we went again! Sure enough, after negotiating our way down that overgrown “road” and crossing a difficult stream, I started noticing granite piles here and there. I dismounted and led AhD to the edge of the cliff and there was The Quarry. Much of it is filled with water, and I noticed there were fish in it, so I may return with my pole. We meandered along the edge (not too closely... :) )for a while. AhD was pretty hot and sweaty because he had been working hard. We were treated to scenes of lady slippers. On past The Quarry, we headed towards the road and then gaited home. What a great time I had!