A return to normalcy

The loggers finally finished up on Saturday in the pouring rain. They hauled out the last load of logs, leaving the pastures a miry mess of mud. I was told it took two skidders and a bulldozer to snake the last log truck out. Then the fences needed to be put back--posts reset, planks replaced. By Saturday night the fields were finally closed up.  As you can see in the picture, the mucky "road" across the field left a swath of churned up mud.

Post logging pasture

So, we now have an enclosed field, and a barn floor. We just need electricity (another week and a half to two weeks away) and everything will be back to normal. As The Grateful Dead said, "What a long, strange trip it's been."

Last week I lost my phone on our exciting ride. I finally was able to go look for it on Friday. With oak leaves churned up by deer and turkeys scrounging for acorns, I had little hope of retrieving it, and even then, I thought it might be toast from the rain we received Wednesday. But my luck must be turning, for there it was, laying on the pine needles under a white pine AND it still worked!

I put it in a zippered pocket, remounted Harley, and away we went--literally. He decided it was time to play bouncy boy and act like a two year old, back at the races. He pranced sideways, snorting and tossing his head, really hoping I'd just let him rip for home. Bitless bridle = no brakes! So I let him canter up a couple of hills and reined him in to an extended trot over the trickier ground. Once he'd settled a bit, I made him halt and back up--there was some unhappy tail swishing over that!  The closer we got to home, the more he calmed down. Poor Harley, out in the scary woods, all on his lonesome.

The horses were inside during Saturday's rain. They couldn't get to the lower pasture anyway--a log truck was stuck in front of the gate. So this morning, they were racing around the pasture, getting out all the kinks and pent up energy. I love to watch them tear past me, yet another part of me cringes as they head downhill, towards the swath of mud and through the remaining stick debris we need to clean up. But you can just see the sheer fun they are having--running as they were bred to, nostrils flaring, eyes alert, tails up as if saying, "Watch me run. I used to be a racehorse and I've still got it in me!"

Today, John and I took Ruffy and Harley for a loop ride out to Tatnic Woods and back via the Nature Trails. Harley led a fair chunk of the way since Ruffy didn't want that scary job. We had a couple of nice trots with Harley getting in a little canter to catch up to that big mare. He also got in a fast canter up one of the Nature Trails, one with a blue folding chair sitting by the trail. I feared he would stop and spook at it, but instead, he just swiveled his ear towards it, but kept going, afraid Ruffy would leave him in the dust.

I don't know how, or if, you can rotate a video, so lay on your side, or turn your computer on end for this!