In which the solar battery that charges my soul is topped up now

Winters are long here--

long, cold, dark, and wet.

This winter was longer (and wetter) than most.

But winter is over now!

Natives never take a sunny blue day in the Swamp for granted.  Even on the days when I'm assigned to work at the "underground library" I still manage to make excuses enough to look at the sky several times if I know the weather is worthwhile.

But today was sunny blue and I didn't have to work.  Sort of a Christmas Miracle in Springtime.

I could have stayed home to clean the kitchen.  Or pulled weeds in the small garden.  Or burned weeds in the yard.

Hahahahaha, yeah no.

Ready to roll

Following our home-grown Limited Distance ride last week and ramping up towards the ride at Mount Adams on the 20th, my goal is to ease back on the hard work and let Fee recover and be ready. 

 So on Friday, we took April and Monty out for a ride at Bracken.

Why yes, Monty IS a Standardbred!

Monty is a great little horse--very steady and sensible and tidy with his feet, even in the mud.

This kind of picture happens when I'm shooting with the phone blindly over my left shoulder

He is, however (like all Standardbreds) STUBBORN.  And apparently the place he gets REALLY stubborn is at creek crossings.

"Okay," said I, "let's use Fiddle as a tow truck and let him practice creek crossings."  

We have done this before, but these days I'm smarter:  we do the loop in reverse, so the pony is a little warmed up, a little tired, and TOTALLY AWARE THAT THE TRAILER IS A MERE 1/2 MILE FROM THE CREEK and all he has to do is cross the water to get back.

It worked.

While April and I were enjoying the sunshine, I got a phone call from Du.

Me: Hey, Dude!  I'm riding!

Duana:  I know, that's why I'm calling.  There's a huge thunderstorm overhead in Seattle right now and it's heading straight for you.

Me:  Nahhh, it's all blue sky and....oh wait....

Duana:  Exactly.  Get back to the trailer, pronto!

We did, and got to the parking lot just in time to hear the thunder rolling.  Loaded up fast, and got everybody home (barely) before the first heavy rain squall hit.  

Du was right:  this storm was a BIG ONE:  2,500 lightning strikes total according to the National Weather Service.  NOT the kind of thing I want to experience up close and personal, but cool pictures are available via the Seattle Times HERE

But today, the sky was sunny blue all day.  And (finally) the trails are open for the summer!

Armored logging roads are best for distance, speed, and concussion training here in the Swamp,
but trails are best for prettiness.

We were both ready to explore the terrain that's been closed all winter.  We even (with a few bewilderments) located a trail that we found months ago, and rode it backwards to see if we could navigate the whole thing.

I had my little zip saw with me to clear blowdowns if needed, but the way was beautifully clear.

Trails like these are for walking...and enjoying.

Not far, and not fast.

Happy pony ears, happy rider

It feels good to be out where we belong.