Forest Pasture
I got out and about yesterday afternoon for the first time in days. Cyndie was away and I had charge of animal care. Near the middle of the occasionally sunny day, after an impromptu nap, I set out with Delilah to walk her around the property.
We did the usual perimeter trek at a leisurely pace, returning to the point we had started from near the house. Delilah was ready to rush back indoors, but I wanted more. I dropped off my extra shirt, because it was more than I needed, and took Delilah down to the pasture so I could spend some time with the horses.
They didn’t disappoint me. The herd approached us instantly and we mingled and lingered together for a long time. I unhooked Delilah’s leash and let her romp, as I wandered around the back pasture to see what changes may have transpired since my last time out.
Cyndie had done a lot of work in the round pen, and there was evidence of greater runoff from recent thunderstorms than I was aware. The ground continues to be the wetter than makes sense to me for this time of year. I sure hope it makes the trees happy and helps them get through the winter in peak health!
I strolled down to the portion of our back pasture where we have preserved an area of tree growth. With the usual thick foliage gone for the season, I could better see how much horse activity goes on among the trees. The herd followed close behind, with Cayenne roaming right into the thick of it to show me how she seeks out the best bites that grow in hard to reach places.
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was seeing a moose munching away in there.
No wonder we are having such a difficult time getting our horses to lose a little weight, with the abundant food sources available in the areas we allow them to graze.
We are probably a little more lenient this time of year, however, knowing that very soon the green growth will be gone and buried for a long few months under plenty of ice and snow.
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Relative Something 
Re:I am going to find a way to be there again – in many ways, it feels as though you never left:-) Otherwise, you will be amazed at Carlos’s ability with plants and how they have flourished – like you, he is at it seven days a week, though. He needs visitors to stop him long enough to appreciate everything.
Ian Rowcliffe
November 12, 2015 at 5:01 am
Re:We are probably a little more lenient this time of year – Oh, John, the logic with the horses is so clear that you overlooked applying it to yourself – at least, until today and how much better you sound. Fall, or autumn as we in Europe call it, is a harvesting of delights, both visually and nutritionally. In horse language, it is is a time, or better said, state of ‘collection’, which also means forming a loop of retained balanced energy such that you feel it as an endless on-going force. Linda Kohanov, talks of physical, mental and emotional collection to which we might also add spiritual collection – a state of being at one with who, what and where you are and how you fit beautifully into the big picture. Yes, Linda calls this authentic power, ‘to be collected as a human is to feel centered and balanced, prepared to make decisions and movements in many direction, completely immersed in the moment while embracing possibility.’ Well, you got there today: you reminded me of this!
Ian Rowcliffe
November 8, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Thank you for sharing this, Ian! Autumnal collection and preparedness is in full swing. Returning to better health helps immensely. Our days above the freezing point are dwindling, by all indications.
johnwhays
November 10, 2015 at 7:49 am
Rather you than I: here we get freezing night temperatures but above zero during the day. Hence, as you have probably heard me say, ‘In Portugal, on any day of the year, the sun can shine: shine like an English summer day. Well, my taste of paradise… pure joy and its expectation no less. That said, if you could make it back here some day, I guess, the day might surpass even that…
Ian Rowcliffe
November 10, 2015 at 8:05 am
Funny you mention me making it back… That has been on my mind of late, and I even spoke of it with Cyndie. I always hold a spark of the possibility!
johnwhays
November 10, 2015 at 8:11 am
Well, Carlos once promised that, if you made it back, he’d restore the old ruins on his property with the fantastic view – what a vote of confidence in your heart-felt energy for a blessed and prosperous future: what a reminder of your own appreciated presence in this world!
Ian Rowcliffe
November 10, 2015 at 8:33 am
I’m feeling pangs of the mystical interconnectedness… I hadn’t mentioned it, but Carlos is one whom I spoke about with Cyndie. The moment when you first took me to meet him and we drove in his Jeep to that lookout spot, and then down the steep grade to his place was a pinnacle experience for me.
I am going to find a way to be there again.
johnwhays
November 10, 2015 at 8:55 am