Home Before Dark~

Nika watches us leave~

It was one of those on again off again days...  Plenty I needed to do, but not the motivation to do it.  So - when it looked like the afternoon was going to be decent, it didn't take me long to saddle Farah & head up to our trails.

In the Woods~

It's really looking like November now, only the Salmonberry showing any color at all, as the last of their leaves turn yellow.  Once up on the power lines though - there was this one little birch - that really stood out, just as we had a short sunbreak.

The birch

There was a breeze too & the temperature started dropping pretty fast.  My gloves went on.  We took our usual loop, adding in the new trail that we'd found earlier this fall.  That was a mistake.  Someone had drug parts from old cars out there & left them at the side.  Farah though it made horse sense to think about spooking at them - they were strange looking at that.   But it was the deer guts tossed on the trail that really ticked me off.  Fresh tire tracks - so someone decided to hunt up here & left the mess.

About the time I wished we'd gone the other way - we came to the fallen tree.  I got off & tried to push it down - but the stump was on the high side & wasn't moving.  I didn't have my hand saw - that will go Back in my saddle pack! 

My stick shows something of the height~

I tied off Farah's reins & used my stick to show her where I thought she might get over.  She made one attempt, her knee hit the higher piece.  Then in the next instant, she raised up & in one amazingly graceful move - lifted her front & jumped with the rear!  Cleared it easily from a standstill!  Good Girl!  On we went to our usual break spot.

Heading south from the top of our loop~

 We didn't stay long, I knew we'd be running out of daylight.  The creek was running chest high as we crossed at the pond.  Heading back toward the big hill, Farah again started dropping her head, going behind the bit & cow hopping.  She hadn't had her gallop - too wet & slippery.  I decided to point her  up the steep, rocky climb rather than go through the woods - more to occupy her mind.  It worked until we just crested the hill & she bucked!  She got smacked with the stick for it too!

Looking south from our turn for home~

This attitude seems to only kick in when we make the turn for home & are out here on our own.  We continued back through the woods, the darkness was closing in.

Leaving the neighbor's gate!

At the last neighbor's yard, their gate post lamps were already on.  By the time we made it to our own gate, it was too dark for the photo :-)  A bad accident on Hwy 9, just before the turn onto Hwy 92, made Butch late tonight, so we did beat him home!