part 1: meet the 'dream team' preparing for the long ride in...

we are well into the final stretch of a windy, wet, cold and barely tolerable winter...for marty and i and our trusted equine babies that is.  making our move to our new homestead in the river valley of arkansas has taken its toll on us all...marty and i have suffered through some pretty cold nights in our cabin, because we failed to get enough seasoned wood cut for the stove...we have had to sell and even give away many wonderful pieces of heirloom furniture for lack of room in the cabin...we have had flooding both in the shop and in the cabin, because we didn't get the roofs on and tried before the rains began...our equine babies paddock area is knee deep in shit, hay and mud...our trucks have broken down...we have had many days at each other's throats because there was just so much to do, we became sleep deprived and frustrated...all a day in the life...BUT...to top it off...we have ridden a total of ONE time since we got here in april of last year...almost a year...and i am in total WITHDRAWAL!!! ;)

all that being that...WE ARE CATCHING UP...WE HAVE ENDURED...AND WE ARE STARTING TO DREAM AGAIN...THOSE DREAMS BEGIN WITH...THE LONG RIDE!!! :) something we have wanted to do and have been working towards without ceasing since the day we met in 2015.  we have ridden these mountains many times...going in a little deeper each time...never yet has the opportunity arisen so as to allow us to take the long ride in...and the long ride out...

the dream:  LONG RIDES THROUGH THE OZARK AND OUACHITA MOUNTAINS...unmarked terrain...just ride in and visit for a while...explore...see what it is out there that is screaming our name every second of every day...drawing us closer and closer to a day we know not...but anticipate with wild passion!!! whatever happens--happens...no other plans...just go and let be what is to be...

sooo...we have about nailed down all there is to nail down on the homestead...catching up...and getting a little ahead...to play hard...we believe we must first work hard to earn the right! for us it isnt a game...it is our life...and that we take very seriously...not a minute to waste...LOL

that brings you (and me) to today...cold, wet, and muddy AGAIN...AND TODAY I REFLECT AND DREAM...TODAY I BEGIN the final phases of mentally, emotionally and physically PREPARING THE 'DREAM TEAM' FOR THE DAY TO COME!!! the journey to that day is exhilarating in and of itself...i really don't care as much as reaching a destination as i do riding the trails...marty shares that...that is what makes him my perfect partner...he gets it...sssshhhhh just get your stuff and ride :)

Ohhhh.... I could CRY! I miss riding so darned much.... Haven't been on a horse's back in years... what I wouldn't give for a week on a horse!!!

Alexis Richard wrote:Ohhhh.... I could CRY! I miss riding so darned much.... Haven't been on a horse's back in years... what I wouldn't give for a week on a horse!!!

alexis...i KNOW that pain all too well...after the boys started public school in jr high...football became the target of their aspirations...and the days of the horse went to the wayside...how i LONGED for those days back...when we could all just go out...catch our horses...and ride...they would never come again...boys are grown and gone...and then came codi and suni ;)  you just never know...if that is the desire of your heart...God can find a way to open that door for you! :)

i used to just stop on dirt roads when i saw horses by a fence...get out...wade through the briars...and if they stuck around long enough...i would pet...but more than that...i would bury my nose in their neck just to smell that smell...awwwwww....you know it! :) LOL  all people who love horses know it!!! :)

i hope you get to ride soon...some how...some way.... let me know when you do...so, i can smile!!! :)