On the Ranch

Autumn Dawn

Bob Reid — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:53:00 GMT

This morning got off to a glorious beginning. On waking, I listened to some newly recorded music and let it wash over me. It was still in me as I went out to check the ranch. The sky greeted me with this . . . and more.

I have been a bit under the weather for the past couple of days, as well as having had an emotional thunderstorm, or two . . .

This is a new feeling . . . I am not at all certain what to do with it . . . but I know that it is what I must be doing . . . as difficult as it is.

Autumn is an interesting time. I could've taken my shirt off to feel the sun . . . but, today, I was taking my jacket off to feel the cool rain, as it dropped through warm air. I was walking through the pasture intending to ride Indio, thinking that was the place I needed to be. As I walked across the fields . . . the further I got . . . the more it seemed my bed was the place to be.

I have been striving to keep myself in that place I want to be, to feel that there is nowhere else in the world that I would rather be. That has been more difficult lately. I have been finding things to keep myself occupied. I might be getting better at it.

I was pulled from my bed to write this.

Now that I have written it, I can rest

A Moment

Bob Reid — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:03:00 GMT

I could feel it

when I stepped outside

I thought it . . .

I went out into the dust

expecting the sun to be unfriendly.

The sky was fairly clear

As I worked the young foals,

I saw the streaks striping the air

Just one or two . . . at first

I wondered

if they were aware of the sky becoming darker

The cloud came over the hills

shielding us from the sun's heat

I saw the sparse drops sucked up

into the dry ground

leaving little pock marks in the dust

and dark . . brown . . wet . . . streaks

on the golden hair of the young horses

It was the first experience

for those not yet born this spring!

They seemed unfazed

I was torn

between standing there in the humid air

and writing this!

The Top

Bob Reid — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:27:00 GMT

I spent Sunday on top of the mountain, riding for about 4 hours. Up on top where I can scream . . . and cry . . . and howl . . . and it just dissipates into the vast expanse. There is SO much room up there. It is quiet enough for my thoughts to be heard loud and clear. Indio keeps me focused, so I can't just drift off. I came back with a bit more calm . . . I'm not sure why . . .

We rambled most of the mountain and managed to avoid the bull. It was a gorgeous day ! We could see the entire Monterey Bay Area, the San Juan Valley, Hollister, Gilroy. The weather was perfect! When we weren't riding through poison oak bushes, I took my shirt off and was very comfortable. Now, I have this bit of a sunburn to remind me of that ride.

When we finally came down, encouraged by the rifle shots on the other side of the canyon, Indio put forth his argument that, no, he was not quite ready to be enrolled in a mounted shooting event. I had not actually broached the subject with him, but as we came through the gate and were on the hillside running parallel to the gravel road, he decided that he was going somewhere in a hurry. I figured I would do my best to go there with him, while proposing an alternative. Now, this hillside is pretty steep and I was concerned that, wherever it was that we were headed, might not find us upright, or together. We weren't headed downhill, or uphill, we were headed across the hill . . . and running out of hill as we went . . . as, it was getting steeper! I certainly understood that the result was out of my hands. I was awaiting whatever was being chosen for me. Somehow, we got stopped! I'm not sure how that happened. I assure you, I was trying my best to be persuasive.

I took him back the way I had intended us to go and took him into the arena and made him work a while longer, so that he wouldn't get to thinking that coming back to the ranch was all milk and honey.

Then, I rushed home to wash off the poison oak and savor my memory of the mountain and collect some of that calm.

Top of The World!

Bob Reid — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:08:00 GMT

Indio and I made a visit up to Luis Raggio's marker, up there on the top of the world. I was a little anxious, since I hadn't ridden him in a couple of weeks. He did pretty well, though we definitely have some things to work on! It is a gorgeous piece of of the Earth! We happened on some sort of bobcat that was stalking his meal. He was not too upset by us . . . at least not upset enough to leave his prospective victim. We were allowed to watch.

It was a beautiful view from the ridge. There was just a faint mist that kept me from seeing the whole Monterey Peninsula. The bay was blue the hills were golden with blankets of deep green trees.

This colt was born a couple of days ago.

Another filly was born last night.

The last of the season, so the final tally was . . . Colts 8 Fillies 3!

Thinking . . .

Bob Reid — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:26:00 GMT

I spent the evening out in the pasture across the street with my guys. I haven't spent much time with them this week. Maybe tomorrow morning. Indio and I are overdue for a romp in the hills. If we go much longer we'll lose confidence in one another.

It is wonderful to have this safe place to go to. There is lots of space. I can sing . . . or cry . . . or talk . . . and my horses will just take it in stride. There is a branch that runs low . . . and mostly parallel to the ground. It is a great place to sit back, open up my mind and take a look. It was a lot calmer in there than I had anticipated.

Trust

Bob Reid — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:45:00 GMT

Acala

Today has been very emotional. I spent the early part of the day working with the babies. They were so good! We have come quite a ways in a short time. It had me thinking about my life here on the ranch and how much of it is about relationship and trust.

I wound up here . . . no, that's not the way to say it . . . I am here because I was led here by whatever it is that moves me through the world. The first time I saw this ranch I had a premonition . . . I felt that I was going to be living here. It was just a feeling. I didn't take it too seriously. But, it happened. I could not have imagined that this is where my life would lead me. I know now that I had a rendevous with horses that had it's seeds in my childhood. It was rarely in my conciousness. If it was, I certainly didn't know what to do with it.

I have been learning that I don't have to know what to do. I am learning to trust that the important experiences in my life are there by design and I just need to pay attention and see what unfolds. I must trust that I am being guided. I know I am. (Even when I lock my keys in the trunk).

My horses have taught me so much. They have provided me a place where I feel real . . . where the world seems honest and makes sense. Often, I have been moved to tears standing in the fields with them . . . sometimes, because of the beauty . . . . sometimes, because of their willingness to trust me . . .

Sometimes, as today, when one leaves me to go on to a new life.

Acala, one of my two-year-olds, was picked up today by her new owner. I replaced the old ratty halter she's been wearing and replaced it with a beautiful leather halter, chosen especially for her. It was time to put her in the trailer and she went in, because she trusted me. I hung out for a little while with her and then crawled out. I always feel badly about this part. I feel as though I am abandoning them. They seem to get through it better than I do.

I don't often get to see them once they leave. Today I did. I got to take her out of the trailer on the other end of the trip. I don't know about her but it made me feel better. I followed to her new home in Gilroy and got her situated. She should do well. I am the only person she has ever trusted. The two of us had to do a lot of work to make that true. Now she has had that experience. I hope that the next person can walk through that door. It's open!

Home Again!

Bob Reid — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:33:00 GMT

I awoke to these sunflowers that had bloomed while I was away. It was a sweet reminder that life is a precious and iffy venture.

These plants, like the avocado tree in my living room (that looks as though it would very much like to climb out the window), grew from seeds that I had bought for food. I sprouted them, and they showed a very strong will to get about this business of living.

Of all of the seeds I have bought, it was these that were chosen, at random, for life . . . on their own.

I will not pretend that this is all there is to my experience of them. This is what they have brought to me today. I believe that, whatever their lives may entail, it is better than not having the opportunity.

If I am to live, let me do it fully! Let me feel the highs and the lows and savor the feeling of them.

Belly laughs and heaving sobs are what life gives us . . . if we are lucky!

Colts 6 Fillies 1

Bob Reid — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:08:00 GMT

Colts 5 Fillies 1

Bob Reid — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:57:00 GMT

Another Great Ride!

Bob Reid — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:12:00 GMT

I got up early and took Indio out into the hills again, yesterday. I had a meeting in Antioch that I needed to be at in the early afternoon and I figured I could fit in a few hours of wandering the hills.

When I got across the street to the pasture, there was more activity than usual. Several of the nieghbors and friends were saddled up and had just gathered cattle from part of the 1000 acres and were about to go out and get some more. I had a little interest in going along, but felt that it would probably be overexposing Indio, or maybe me, to be put in situations where we'd have to chase cattle through the brush, or down some of those hills. The cattle know those trails a lot better than I do.

As we headed out, I could see the back ridge where the riders were planning their approach to the cattle.

They were up on top where the marker to Luis stands (If you look VERY closely, you can see a little bump on the ridge).

Luis, it turns out, is not buried up there after all, which is why there is no date of death on the marker, only a date of birth.

According to local lore, he carried the mortar up there in a wheel barrow. He did bury his horse and his dog up there, but he allowed the nuns in town to convince him that his bones needed to be buried in "hallowed ground", and that is where his bones are now! Down in town, a long ways from the top of this ridge looking out over the world, or at least a couple of prime pieces of it. I would be hard-put to not see this as "hallowed ground". I broke into tears the first time I discovered it. I held onto the recognition that Luis had stood here and felt something akin to what I felt about this place.

This time I took my camera to try to bring back a little bit of that feeling. It may not be the top of the world, but how much top do you need? I had plenty!

We rode out a ways and tried to figure out which way they were herding the cattle where we wouldn't be in the way. It worked out well, as we were behind them a long ways and they were taking the cattle out the other side.

We hacked along the trails going up the trail we had come down the day before. It was farily easy, just enough drama to keep me interested. Indio wasn't too sure about some of it . . . neither was I, but we managed!

I thought we'd go down to the back gate to see if perhaps there was a way that we could come back through the land rather than reversing direction on the Anza Trail. it would be nice to have an option. We found the gate, once again the property went farther back than I realized, but when we got to it it was padlocked, so we had to find another option. We followed the fence line hoping to make it to the next gate without the ground getting too steep, or overgrown . . . and were disappointed on both counts! We finally bushwhacked our way through and were along the Anza Trail again, which seemed to have quite a bit of jogging traffic on it. I don't usually ride on Saturdays, I guess. It was such a gorgeous day, I could see why folks would be making an effort to get out into it!

I got cocky and passed a gate hoping to get to the one that would take us down into the big meadow, but was discouraged to find just a cow trail that would've torn up the saddle trying to walk through the trees. We reversed course and took the gate I had chosen to pass up earlier. We came down the Old Stage Coach/Anza/Ohlone trail, took photos, and enjoyed the trip down. Indio was a little antsy, but not bad. We addressed some issues and all in all, he did as well a job as I did!

We were out for about 3 hours and I felt renewed, ready for the rigors I thought were awaiting me in Antioch. (It all worked out fine!)