Beam me up, Scotty

Thursday, Lynn had a crazy day: she was in charge of who's dead (no one), who's alive (oops, she was sleeping), and whether Kimtu was full. Not to mention regular work and people who wanted to talk or pay a bill. She is the oracle of WC--she knows everything! Well, she is expected to anyway.

She decided she needed some open air and horse sweat. With a little notice, Shirley and I can be right there, too. So off we went to clean a trail we are trying to turn into a nice long loop, over on the Horse Linto side of the mountain. Well, it was dinner time as far the boys were concerned. Ziggy kept trying to turn around or go down the mountain back to the truck, so Lynn kept him feet moving forward at a good, strong walk. Jupiter just sauntered along in no hurry and Star was Star--the grown-up who does what he is asked to do.

Of course with us, everyday is an adventure. We came around a turn and ahead of us was a vehicle. I am sure all of us thought of illegal grows and hunters right off. Neither are welcome sights for sure. There was no one outside in view, but the door was open on the SUV. Behind it was a tall trailer full of wood. I relaxed a bit and thought it might be guys out cutting firewood. There was a something lying across his windshield. I heard Lynn say she thought it was a rifle case.

Suddenly, a man in an army combat helmet bolted from inside the vehicle and snatched off the piece of cardboard from the windshield. He had wild and crazy eyes and his helmet was rocking around on his head. He said the planes had been looking for him. At least that's what I think he said. (We had heard one earlier.) Lynn was trying to read the cardboard that had writing and figures drawn on it. It's still driving her crazy because she couldn't read it and she wanted a better look! Anyway, he looked CRAZY.

Lynn, ever the calm one, and of course the one with the crazy job who's used to dealing with odd balls, said we were just going to ride our horses and be on our way--or something soothing like that. We rode this trail all the time (not!). Shirley was giving me the eyeball--but I kept a straight face and Jupes and I stayed straight on their trail.

Lynn and I sawed and clipped and made headway, but did not complete the job. It was getting late and the shadows were chasing the sun up the mountain across the ravine. It was time to go. She told us if he was still there to "line it out and keep a good trot going." Of course he was still there. It was obvious he was living in his car and we knew he would have a hard time getting that load of wood down the mountain anyway.

As we approached, he was out of the car and moving in a stealthy, sneaky way around it. The path by him was a little close between his vehicle and the bank and Ziggy was not happy about it. It probably smelled funny and the tall wood trailer was different from this side and the man was just plain weird. But he did what she asked and the rest of us followed behind. The man seemed more happy to see us and said animatedly, "I LIKE dogs, too!" Sheesh. We hollered, "Have a good night," and trotted on our way.

Later, I got to thinking he probably thought we were okay and maybe even on his team. He might have thought we had come to save him from the planes. After all, we had helmets on, too!

I am just glad Jupiter and I were in the back of the line when that guy bolted from the car. Jupes and I would have been 10 feet up that bank--it would have freaked both of us out. I had the epiphany last night that I am a very jumpy person--quick to take that deep inhalation of surprise and jump when someone or something surprises me. Jupiter has recently picked up a quick shy around seemingly harmless objects. We have that personality trait in common. That man would have sent us flying!

Lynn wants to go back and read his sign. She is sure it was written in Martian and was a message for the "people" looking for him. I just didn't know that they needed firewood for the winter!