fires – The Hermits' Rest

What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?

Being honest with myself, I wish I had taken horseback riding lessons when I was younger and more able to learn. It would have been so much fun to work with horses and learn to ride well. Also I would just like to have had the opportunity to take care of horses and learn how to keep them healthy from a young age. It was my dream.

My sweet Apache, who really isn’t fond of being ridden.

Hey. I lived in working-class towns and was part of a one-income family with large medical bills. There was no money for extras, nor was there any way to get to a horse other than rare visits. So I set other, more manageable goals and was very appreciative of the help I got to do other things I loved, like singing and writing. (I also wish I could have had voice lessons.) I’m absolutely fine with my life. No complaints.

I did get to spend over a decade learning about horses and I still get to care for my beautiful equine friends. Having space at the ranch and funds to care for horses has been a dream come true.

Now Apache gets to hang out with Spice and walk around with me.

An aside: I never thought I’d have any income that covers more than food and housing. I know I’m privileged. Knowing there are people who don’t even have that is sobering. Basic life expenses should be within everyone’s reach.

This was a nice diversion from thinking about having to go for more dental work tomorrow. I know it won’t be as bad as last time, but it’s on my mind. Other diversions have been watching football (Cowboys won) and jumping in the car to locate a grass fire and make sure firefighters were on the way. They were!

Now I’m at an inexpensive hotel luxuriating and feeling grateful I don’t have to drive in from the ranch for the 8 am appointment.

I have football, Ritz crackers, and guacamole. Ahh.

Many of you dear readers are in my thoughts. So much pain in the world, physical and mental! Your empath friend feels it.

We were feeding horses when I spotted some smoke in the near distance. Then Anita texted that she couldn’t make it over here to eat, because the road to the ranch was closed at the intersection with the main road. Oh no!

We quickly realized hay bales were on fire, so we sent our tractor over to help out. We also realized it was our friends who lease our land for their cattle whose equipment had sparked the fire. Oh no!

Good news. The tractor and hay cutter (and the driver) are ok.

Lots of tanker trucks arrived and people began spraying while our tractor and another one helped move burning bales around to space them out.

There was great teamwork among the firefighters and neighbors. Everyone pitched in. We were a little scared when the tractors were moving bales that looked like fireballs, and especially when our tractor had to pull one that got stuck off a burning bale. But everyone knew what they were doing.

We are very happy the fire is contained, but it sure is smoky downwind from us. And the bales of hay will take quite a while to burn out. Someone is sleeping there and we left our tractor in case they need it.

Ruby the hound dog watches from my friend’s house.

It’s so dry. And we have flint rocks in the fields. The field was being mown to prevent fires, ironically. I’m just glad no homes or people were damaged, and that lots of hay was saved.