the smell of rain

The sky is darkening, I can see the wind blustering through the trees outside, and it is mere moments before the first real rain of the season begins.

I have been able to fit in a few rides, including a fun adventure that began bareback in the arena and continued bareback on the trails, with a great lurch of my heart as I trusted Major so much, he was having so much fun, and we were in such sync. I also did a faster ride with two friends, one riding an ex-endurance horse, though I think for him there was no "ex" in his title. I hope Major is as happy to be on the trails at 20+ years old, in such good shape, as this horse was.

The rides last week were in the swirl of autumn dust, with the light that particular gold, the bit of chill coming in the air, a sense of desperation. With rain coming so early I worry for the trails, as they were such a quagmire this Spring, and the sandy canal trail is still under water. As you can tell, Fall is not my favorite season. It just gets darker and darker, with less riding time after work, and colder and colder, which I'm pretty wimpy about. Major is pretty pitiful when it comes to rain too, one splash and he is hiding under his shelter. I'm hoping this year with 24/7 turnout he'll figure out that he is not going to melt.

So just as the seasons wind down, so does the riding time. It just makes the shorter rides that much more fun. I do enjoy a lot of time hiking with Major in the winter, so I'll try to look forward to that. An hour walk when it feels to wet to ride, exploring the neighborhoods, with my horse sometimes in his bright orange blanket, always good for a laugh. I've also been researching a midweight blanket, now that he is in a much less protected pasture, but am still working on that. So there is enough to do.

Still waiting for the first drops...