Beauty in the Barnyard

Twas during horse-apple scooping this morning, and

I was thinking, as I do pretty much every morning while shoveling out horse stalls.

During all that thinking and scooping, I had an epiphany of sorts.  

It suddenly occurred to me out there in the barn that owning horses when you're past 70 is really a lot like spending a life in North Idaho. 

It's hard, especially in the winter.

Work and stress never ends. 

It costs a lot of money.

Things don't always turn out the way we'd like.

Often---quite often, in fact---both can seem totally thankless for all the blood, sweat and tears we put into them.  

So, why keep up this lifestye---both living in North Idaho and owning horses?

I must admit to the occasional temptation of abandoning both for greener pastures, a lot less winter and significantly less work.

That may happen one of these days. I'm realistic about getting old.   

For now, though, there's a rationale for both, and at the core of these rationales, there's one word:

BEAUTY.

Yes, horses and North Idaho do mean sacrifice, tedium, setbacks and a whole lot of wondering why.  

We "wonder why" especially during long winter months when any place else with no snow or doing anything else besides cleaning up poop every day would be really nice.

Still, we crazy horse lovers cling to both.

We wonder, but don't really want to know, what life would be like without those beautiful animals---even in their ragged, fuzzy and relatively unkempt states.

Same is true with those beautiful North Idaho surroundings even with the constant toil and stress and expense and frustration.

In both cases, though, it's the beauty, Stupid. 

From dawn 'til dusk, in the midst of all we do to "maintain" our lives and those horses' lives in this, often unforgiving area, more often than not there is joy to make up for all that we endure.  

Yup, we enjoy the simple gifts.

 Stunning sunrises.

Flaring, sculpted nostrils, reaching for the sky, drinking the cold air.

Vast beds of diamond-like crystals gleaming in the sunlight.

 Full-fledged exhilaration, igniting sensational equine gymnastics in a corral.

These scenes and others feed our soul, and, in our minds, during each special moment, they don't cost a cent.

In both cases, it's the beauty, so alluring, so satisfying and so priceless. 

The feelings within, while embracing those magical interludes, make us feel like the luckiest people on Earth. 

I guess that's the answer to "why," and I guess that as long as North Idaho and all the pretty horses (with their respective challenges) continue to dish out such sustaining moments, we'll persevere and stick with both.

Happy Sunday. 

Hope you enjoy today's little slice of barnyard beauty.