Blustery~

Someone has time to decorate~

It wasn't a good morning - nothing I do or do not do suits some...  Then - a ride I'd looked forward to was cancelled.  I walked up into the woods & could see Three Fingers as clear as a bell.  Even though the weather report wasn't promising - & the morning was almost gone - I loaded Farah.  Feeling the need to blow off some steam -  I could tell once I was in the saddle - that Farah felt the same - she was trotting before I had my seat!

Fall trails~

 The wind was really blowing & the clouds looked heavy when we left - I put my rain coat on the back of the saddle & since Farah's shoes are ready to fall off, thought we'd just do a loop & call it good.

One of the wetlands~

Then - I got caught up in the ride, the horse, the weather, the wind & we went on & on.  I tried a couple trails that looked like they might go through - but we were soon stopped by the overgrowth.

Another trail to clear - where does it go?

Linda has been talking of doing some fall trail clearing - but she's swamped for the rest of this year.  This might make our list for next.

Here too - the peaks were ultra clear!

The wind didn't let up - at times there were some really good gusts that had the big trees groaning. 

Incredible out here too~

I ate some grapes, Farah did some grazing - but we were both still wanting to move - so move we did.  Farah's shoes managed to stay on - even with some really nice trots & smooth transitions into flying gallops.  We'll see tomorrow if there are any hooves left!

A snack~

Once we left the top of the mountain, the wind actually felt warm!  There was a touch of drizzle in the air - the clouds were getting darker.  We ran into one group of mushroom hunters who'd driven in.

This was a cool looking purple shroom~

I didn't see any edible mushrooms, but did think this one was pretty.  With more rain coming I'm sure we'll see a lot more popping up.

Another old trail~

We tried this trail, it was so pretty, but as it dropped down toward a lowland area, it started getting really boggy & Farah sunk in pretty deep, we decided to turn back.  By now - the rain was looking more imminent.  Farah did her "air-above-the-ground" & we were galloping - hitting just over 26 mph when I started pulling her up.

Our day's end reward~

Her shoes didn't fly off & we were rewarded with this amazing view at almost 4 in the afternoon.  Mt. Rainier looked touched with gold...

It helped - when in life I've needed spiritual or mental relief - I always head outside - as far away in the great outdoors as I can get & there - I find the peace & quiet I crave.