Good Ole Summertime

Delightfully, I made my way to see my brumby on Monday since it was an official work holiday. I tried to get Brandon to join me but he refused because it was not only very hot, he had discovered that a corner of our mudroom needed to be rebuilt. I left him sweating it out with power tools in the crawlspace and went over to Bill's. Christine has been sailing all weekend but Bill said he would join me on the trail.


In the sun it was very hot. In the woods it was hot but shady. So it was summery and beautiful. The only nightmare were all the bugs buzzing around us. So obnoxious! It is almost better to wear a long sleeved shirt and be hot than be devoured by big flies! Bill got a work out snapping low hanging branches from the trail. Here he is, Tarzan-like, cutting a big devilish vine that seems to have appeared out of nowhere across the trail. We don't cut all the branches and vines on the trail, mind you. A lot of what we do is learn how to duck!

Ah, here's another tree that was across the trail that Bill is cutting up with a small saw. I have actually walked over this tree twice with Lilly before, but the problem is that the mud there has been so deep and the branches are so pokey and tangly, that both times we went over it, there were a few hairy seconds for horse and rider! The first time Lilly charged over it so fast and panicky, I almost fell off of her! So it was best to get rid of it.
That is Ruby, the horse Bill was riding. Do you see how alert she is, looking off to the side? That's because she heard people down in the river below us!

Later on our journey we came up to the pasture where 12 of Bill's round bales are waiting for another guy to come and get them. Ruby saw those big round bales and did not want to do a step farther. Maybe they looked like alien space ships out in the field to her! So Lilly and I went first and then Ruby followed easily.

Lilly just saw these the other day so she was not as bothered by them as Ruby. On this day she went up and took a big bite out of one.

Bill made sure Ruby could see them with both eyes and both sides of her brain. Right side, left side. Then she was just fine. In fact, she was so itchy with all the bugs that she leaned into one of the bales to scratch herself all over! Ruby is one of my favorite horses of Bill's simply based on her looks alone! But she is also very friendly. She will always come up to me in the pasture.

Here is a short clip of Bill and me coming back from the ride. It is very short, and we are so close to the barn that I am not even on Lilly. Maybe it will give you a good idea of how stunning Ruby is!