Not Again!!

At the Point of No Return

The phrase above describes the moment in a journey when you pass the halfway point. There is no point in turning back because the time and distance to the end of the journey is the same as the time and distance from the start.

For me, on my walk, start and end are home.

Twice now, within the last week, I've been at the point of no return when it started to rain. The last time,
I was over in the sandpit, just across from my house--halfway along the sandpit trail, but blocked from my house by probably two hundred feet of briars, woods, poison ivy, and a huge bank of earth. Today, I was out at the tree farm, on the trail along the Turnpike when it started to rain once again.  The first time, I was absolutely soaked in a downpour. Today, I was wet enough and worried because it was thundering as well.

I am home, safe and sound, redressed in dry clothes waiting for my hair to dry.  It's short, so it won't take long.

But the day was not all wasted. I was up and getting ready to ride Chance by 7 AM.  A hot day was in the forecast, so I decided to get in a trail ride in the early morning cool.

Chance is really amusing. He was all enthusiasm and raring to go on the way out. I let him trot a bit which made him quite happy. I do think, since I was heading out along the woods that he expected to meet up with Christine and one of her horses, so he was on the alert.

Instead of heading back along the farm first, I headed down the power line road instead. I was pretty sure it would be flooded.

I was right. There was an expanse of perhaps 60 feet or more of roadway under water. In places it was at least two feet deep.  Since I knew where the road was underfoot, I asked Chance to go on in.

What a star!! He did not hesitate for a moment but walked carefully forward to ford the pond.  What a brave boy!  Once we got through he trotted a little more and broke into a canter for a bit.  I gathered him back before the next mud puddle which we were able to go around, and headed out for the farm road.

He looked at the road going away from home, tried to go that way, and then stopped dead when I steered him to the route home.  He wasn't bad, but it did take a little persuasion to get him to go back instead of out on a longer ride.

We had a nice trot along the farm road, but at the end, where the trail headed off again in the opposite direction, he slowed way down again, and tried to head off once more.

No biggie, but I had to laugh.  Most horses would zero in on the trail home, but not Chance. He was ever ready for more adventure.

We got home, eventually, and there, morning feed awaiting--more of an incentive, you'd think.  I fed all three Boys, gave Chance the obligatory carrot, and cleaned the stalls and run in shed.

I could hardly believe it when I was back in the house and it was only 9 AM.

Oh, by the way, Patrick O'Patticats has been climbing up on my computer table to seat himself right in front of my monitor when I am trying a use it. He does not at all get discouraged by being pushed off.

Part of it is trying to get my attention to continue the perpetual game of fetch the mouse. (Of course it has to be a special stuffed mouse--not just any toy will do.)   By sitting in front of the monitor, fixing his eyes on mine and meowing, he makes it really hard to ignore him.

Today, totally frustrated, I  put a piece of aluminum foil on the table right where he sits.

Victory.

Cats tend to have a natural aversion to aluminum foil. The shiny, crinkly stuff just doesn't appeal to them.

Right now he's lying on the radiator cover to the right. I wouldn't exactly call him happy about it, but at least I can see what I'm doing.

Unlike this photo from the other day.

*lol*