Mustang Saga

On Sunday we were going to take Pedro and Bob for a hike.  But Bob's foot was popping (don't know what that's about and I don't like it) and Pedro didn't want to go without Bob.  He still loaded really well, but he was agitated, and I don't want his first trip out from home to be a bad one, so I put him back.  I learned that yes, they are very attached to each other, and yes, they will plow right into me when they're worried.  So it was a good learning experience.

We went hiking without them, careful to wear our orange since it's still hunting season.

It was a cloudy, cold day, but no rain.  Beautiful views.

Liam collected so many rocks (and a couple sticks) that he could barely walk on the way back.

Break time.  I forgot how wonderful it is to just lay down in the woods and be silent.

When I was a teenager in New Mexico I spent a lot of time hiking around the mountains with my dog Harpo, and if I got tired or found an inspiring spot I'd sit, or lay down, and just enjoy the silence.  I remember once I fell asleep in a little grove of scrub oak and woke up with a cute little fuzzy caterpillar clinging to my shoelace.  Another time, I watched ravens flying in the wind, sometimes flipping upside-down, and I realized for the first time what a great sense of fun they have.  It's funny (but not really) how we lose that ability to just be when we hit adulthood and have to focus so much on goals and getting stuff done. 

Even my son was quiet for a little while out there in the woods the other day.  Amazing.

It was a nice day.

And I didn't even regret not being able to bring an equine along.  It was actually much more relaxing without any four-legged friends to worry about.