In Honor Of~

Looking up~

This morning I received news of the passing of good man...  He had the luck to be married to one of my longest & best friends...  She had the luck to have picked one of those men who's presence is felt & will continue to be felt - by all the trail users in the Arlington/Stanwood area, whether they realize it or not.  George Brown was instrumental in cutting many of the trails that have been enjoyed by horsemen for many, many years.  As an active member of BCH Traildusters - George ramrodded many a trail clearing adventure.  When his wife & I went riding & ran into issues, George was the one who heard about it when we returned :-)  The above trail was one of the last he cleared & it's a critical link to a large loop.

The Monument - one of George's favorite views~

In the early years - when Butch & I started Competitive Trail, Linda & George were the first people we met.  My favorite story - revolves around Khari.   When we purchased her - she wouldn't load in my trailer.  My friend & mentor Dean Essex, DVM - suggested that we raise the roof!  Literally!  So we did & she loaded forever more without any problem.  But - with the roof having gone up 8" - it left a nice wide area above the rear door.  Khari took full advantage & terrorized motorists who pulled up too close behind us!

We leave through the dark woods~

As I pulled in for a ride one day- George came out of his shop & saw what Khari was up to.  By the time we came back - he had welded a bar across the door, dividing the space in half - which no longer gave Khari room to stick her head out!  I loaded her & in an instant she realized not only that her fun was over - but she looked Right at George & let him know that SHE knew who'd done the deed!  :-)   We all had a good laugh at her expense!

Petasites palmatus - Palmate Coltsfoot

My ride today was subdued, but long, far & beautiful.  I'd been out-of-sync for a couple days & when I told my husband last evening - he said that they were talking about just that on the morning radio!  Guess I wasn't the only one!  Strange though & have to wonder if it's something in the air?

Incredible cedar snag on my long loop~

We kept moving - the only trailer in the parking when we left - by the time we returned, it was almost 5:30 p.m. -late for me...  Yes, I washed my smartphone & it wasn't feeling well enough to take with me...  So I didn't realize how quickly the afternoon had gone.

The natural beauty of nature~

We covered some ground - Farah enjoyed her gallops & I'm so thankful that Linda's saddle is working as well as it is - since the latest news on my tree wasn't what I hoped.  Randy had again run out of rawhide - so we're delayed another week...  Hopefully Everett will receive it by the end of next week.  Next will be shipping everything over to Mike.  Good thing - since I started this the first of Feb.!