Ride into Sorrow ~

From Harry O's to Birdsview +

Charlotte & I had been trying to get out for a long ride.  We decided to meet-up at Harry O's & ride to Birdsview.  We took the long way :-)  It had been a while since Charlotte had ridden there & months since I had.  We weren't in any hurry, the rain started as a fine mist - but so welcome!  

Out on the trails~

 Neither of us were expecting the riot of color we rode in to!  Maybe it was because of the otherwise gray day, but the experience took our breath away.  We were in the middle of a fine trot when my phone rang.  I didn't answer - but when it immediately rang again... I pulled Farah up.  It was Butch & his voice was grave, he gave me the news, my father had passed away...  Brutally blunt, it took seconds to sink in.  Grief came over me like a tidal wave...  He continued; saying Dad had passed asleep in his chair, absolutely peaceful.  85-years old, Dad had enjoyed a long life, free from suffering & still in relatively good health, except for his heart.  It had been damaged when he contracted Rheumatic fever during WWII in Germany.  With nothing more to be said; we ended the call.  I sat there, Farah perfectly still - as the loss began to sink in.  

I was very lucky to have such a good person with me, someone who said just the right thing at the right time.  Words kept me grounded & brought me back to where we were.  In the middle of the most beautiful woods imaginable, surrounded by a riot of color.  No more fitting a place to honor my father's passing - could I have found.  Charlotte offered to turn-back, but we'd driven a long way & leaving would change nothing.  I made calls to my family - then we rode on.

Rust of Bracken Ferns

We stopped for lunch at the Birdsview Brewery, tying the horses to the cable hitching wire with only their reins.  Both cocked a hind leg & stood quietly in the rain while we went in to eat.  We took the shorter way back, covering 20+ miles total.  Once back at the trailers, the emotional exhaustion hit.  The drive home gave me time to reflect & begin to plan what the next days will bring - attending to my father's final wishes. 

I'm so glad I had called him the morning before.  We had a good conversation, me telling stories about his Great-Grandchildren & how they had inherited his "collecting" & "organizing" genes :-)   We both agreed we collect things, whether they need collecting or not!  He was getting on with his day, heading out to lunch with his friend.  Thankful, for all the years that my dad was a part of my life & the wonderful memories he left in my keeping ~