Ain't nothin' a good trot can't fix

 

Saturday Morning Ride with Rachel

Saturday started with clouds and muggy, humid weather. Neither Lynn nor I slept well the night before and I wasn't really feeling my best. But it's Saturday! Ride day! Rachel had told Lynn the night before she was going to meet up with us at the trailhead on Hennessey. Well, it turns out that her horse Steel (aged 5), wasn't planning on going. She could not get him to load up.

Luckily, Lynn's phone works off and on and can receive texts. She told Rachel we'd wait. So that gave Lynn time to cut blackberries back from the road, allowing her to be able to see where the edge of the ditch is. We hemmed and hawed and then decided we'd tell her where we were and she could ride up to meet us.

Lynn told her to trot up the road (3 miles) to the top. Rachel and Steel just completed an endurance ride, so he's in good shape and knows how to put the miles under his feet. We had already decided to do a long ride and go up Lynn's Favorite Trail since it was pretty nice and only 70 degrees-ish (even cooler on the backside). We waited, but no Rachel. 

Once we got to the bottom meadow, Lynn got a text from Rachel saying she was on the top; Lynn, Toby, and Katie trotted up the road to meet them and bring them down to the trail to the meadow. Jupes and I trotted up the road, but stopped and waited. It's good for him to be alone. He was not happy, but he didn't whinny or act up. Then we heard their voices and we trotted up to meet them around the corner.

From there we headed down to the meadow, across Hoop-de-doo West and on down to Lynn's Favorite and then up, up, up to the turtle pond. Our turtle was swimming! It was so cool to see him again. Heading out from there, we went up toward the road and took the left hand trail that leads to the fork off the left hand road so we could hit the top of Live Oak Spur and the Hobbit House Trail. 

Suddenly: BIG SHY! All three horses splayed out and made us laugh. The rogue bull was right there. He is HUGE and his horns are well defined. He has gotten to be a beauty. He was there and then he wasn't. I do not know how something so big can disappear so quietly. I loved seeing him. 

We came down our regular trail and so far so good, right? No bees all day. Then Jupes threw his head down (on a steep incline with his front feet in a deep indention in the trail) and started swinging his head. I about went straight over his head! Sheesh. Lynn hollered, "Are there bees?" I could not see anything because we were in thick bushes and his head was between his knees. I pulled him up and we trotted out. Lynn saw the problem: prickly pinecones had rolled down under his legs, following his path, and poking him in the fetlocks. 

I don't know if it was the breakfast hay left in the field, a new horse with us on the trail, or the cool weather on the mountain, but we trotted, jigged, and ran up hills the whole time. Since "there was no work in horseback riding," I don't know why I am so tired and beat up! LOL. Toby touched noses with Steel when they first met and he acted silly all day, too. He likes having new friends, that one.

After a good, long ride, all is well in my world. 

So happy!

Here it is! The big nest. Empty hopefully. We just don't know where the hornets went. This is an answer to prayers! We rode up the road and when we got near, we trotted hard past the where the trail meets the road. We looked back and there it was. Crushed. We can't tell if it got knocked out the tree by a branch or something or got too heavy. It is big! It was on the back side of the tree and pretty high, so that's why we didn't see it. But, dang! we had to have gone under it a bunch of times! 

The rest of the ride was pretty fun. We rode Cobweb Alley backwards. Still vigilant, but fun. Poor Jupes--every time he put his head down to scratch or shook his head, I was quick to kick him into action. Just in case. . .  lol 

There were spider webs everywhere. Lynn usually carries a madrone branch and swings it around to clear them out. I guess I missed one and left it swinging. She lost her branch when she swooped it out of her path. :) This is was she looks like: An invention for Lynn!

We finished our ride early and beat the heat. Two hours is better than none! I am glad we get to go out and with our horses and dogs (and of course, each other!). 

 

Gun Shy

 

Hornet

Where to start? Bald faced hornet/wasp? Or a gigantic horse fly?

Gigantic horse fly

Whatever it was, we got swarmed. All I can tell you is they were black. Thankfully Jupiter only got one sting and Ziva was smart enough to go around them. I saw one zooming up by Lynn and Toby, but we had a bunch. They quit following us about 20 yards up the road. Jupes humped and kicked out, but listened to my shrill, high-pitched scream, "GO!", and ran, still kicking out and head down, but ran! Sheez Louise. 

It sucked the joy right out of the day!

We kept going, but both our heads were down, looking for ground nests, and occasionally looking up for paper nests. Doggone it! Not fun.

We took a few days off and when Lynn asked me where I wanted to go, I was quick with the answer, "Underwood." Although we have come across bees in the ground near the boys' favorite grass meadow and once by the creek bed, both were a long time ago. So off we went. Both of us were still scanning the ground and trees, but I felt more relaxed and I think she was, too. The boys have been getting hay for breakfast and dinner and they had lots of energy. It was a quick, fun ride.

A Quickie