Friday, September 25, 2009

Just Lily and me, chapter 2



I punctuated my last blog posting about Lily and my first solo trail ride with "I love my horse . . . I love my horse . . . "

It would be easy to be repetitive this morning after our second adventure yesterday in the hills northeast of Sandpoint.

Some friends of mine were very gracious and generous to allow us to ride their land, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Don't want to sound too syrupy, but that's exactly the way I feel after yesterday's two-hour ride on another exquisite fall day.

Lily was born to be a trail horse. I feel confident about that now. She probably never dreamed that, nor did her first owner Royce Crosby when she was a young 'un grazing the grasslands of southern Oklahoma.

Lily came north, in the winter, as a two-year-old, and she made just as impressive an adjustment to the northland as my husband Bill did when he moved up here from Louisiana in 1974. Both were Southerners meant to be in the mountains of North Idaho.

Both feel at home on trails where logging railroads once hauled giant timber from the woods for Humbird Lumber Co.

I came to that conclusion yesterday as we plodded up and down trails and through meadows accented by decaying wood remnants of those days past when logging camps were prevalent throughout North Idaho.

Lily seems fully at home on the trails. She has a natural sense for how to put one foot in front of the other, when to go slowly and when to put on the power from that big hind end.

She also simply brushed off the sight of three whitetail jumping through the brush to escape our presence. And, she seemed to have cared less when we came upon two batches of turkeys.

The only perceived nemeses for Lily on these rides are big white or gray boulders situated alongside the trail. I wondered yesterday if in Lily's past life a boulder came rolling down a hill and scared her. But with a little gentle coaxing and assurance that "it's okay," she walks gingerly past them and settles down until we meet another.

I loved my ride yesterday, and now that I know what to expect from Lily, I'd love to drop the busyness of life by the side of the road and take to the mountain trails every day of this lovely autumn.

Today, however, we'll take time out from riding so that Mother and I can enjoy a Friday afternoon at the Idaho Draft and Mule Show at the fairgrounds. We've been doing that for the past few years and have always enjoyed every minute of watching Belgians, Percherons, Shires, Clydesdales, etc. and a whole lot of classy mules do their thing.

So, to all, have a great Friday and enjoy your day!

3 comments:

Laura said...

Jealous! There's no better view of life than through those two ears.

Unknown said...

If you want more country to roam in, I'm sure my aunt Lois would welcome you to ride on their property. They have about 600 acres along Pack River.

NILove said...

Thanks, Niki,

I might follow up on that.

Hope all's going well with you.

Marianne