Dinner With the Wild

 

Dinner With the Wild 

July 12, 2023 

Salmon berries were on the menu for dinner tonight. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to cook, I simply didn’t really feel like eating. 

The day had been long and stressful and it was everything I could do to muster the strength to take the old man out for a walk. Tonka had sulked a little more than usual last night, even though it had been almost a month since I was able to do anything he was keeping score like ponies do. Last night should have been his turn. 

With the weight of today's stress clinging to my skin I mustered up the strength to head outside to take my pony for a walk. 

He greeted me at the gate. His copper coloured coat glistened in the sun and wind had swept his forelock to the side just perfectly. He really is a stunning pony and was looking less and less his age everyday. My mind wandered to the fantasy where his cart is welded back together and we drive off into the sunset. 

I put on his halter and we started down the driveway. The connection of a 20 year partnership sizzled comfortably between us. I thought about all the wonderful things we had done together and how grateful I was to have him in my life. 

We slowly made our way down the road where the forest opened up to the ocean. The blue sky draped over the distant mountains that were green with the rich forest. An eagle circled above the shallow waters as the tide slowly drained the inlet leaving behind a swirl of shimmering greens, blues and browns. 

Opening my ears to let the texture of the sound in I heard the calls of small birds hidden away from my sight. The grass rustling in the gentle breeze and the buzz of the horse fly that had followed us from the barn. 

Peace washed over me and ounce by ounce the weight of the day let go of the grip it had on my skin. 

A large red berry glistening in the sunlight caught my eye. I slipped it off its home on the salmonberry bush and into my mouth. It was juicy and sweet. 

Tonka took the opportunity to enjoy a sweet treat of his own. The smell of clover mixed with salt air drifted by as he blew with approval. 

We continued down the road stopping at all the berry bushes to fill both our bellies with the goodness of summer on Haida Gwaii. 

2.13 Km we walked today snacking and enjoying the wild world around us. Some of the local deer were cautious when they saw us even though they often spend time visiting the horses in the pasture.They seem to pretend they don’t know them as soon as they’re out in public. Tonka doesn’t seem nearly as bothered by the shallowness of this friendship as Punki is, so they barely acknowledged each other as we all wandered about snacking on the bounty of the season. 

One human crossed our path, I suspect this was most likely a tourist. They seemed almost shocked to see a woman with a small pony doodling down the road looking like an eccentric old lady with her giant pet. We nodded politely and went back to experiencing the nature that surrounded us. 

When we arrived back home one of the ravens was here to reluctantly greet us at the bottom of the driveway. I thought about all the wonderful animals that share their space in the world with me and the last bit of stress fell. With my belly full of berries and a happy pony we hiked back up the driveway ready to face another day tomorrow. 

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Misty Morning

 Day 4 Take 2 

September 17 

The morning started out misty with a haze of white fluff covering the tops of the trees. I love it when the world is full of white fluff in the morning. The whiter the fog the more beautiful the day. Or at least that seems to be what I have observed so far. 

We decided to go hunting this morning. I packed a lunch with my chocolate peanut butter apple treat, ice water and fresh sausages while Brent got the gun, knife and ammunition ready and into the vehicle. 

Off we set up into the moutnains in the old farm truck 

The old farm truck hadn’t been driven for a while and made and few funny noises that unnerved me a little. 

We kept climbing up and up into the mountains until finally we were at the spot that makes me feel like I’m on top of the world. We stopped to tend to a failing windshield wiper blade when I noticed a funny smell. That horrible smell your brakes make when they're stuck. 

I mentioned the funny smell to Brent and went in search of a puddle to test the brakes for heat. Having found one not too far up the road we got out and gently splashed the wheels of the poor abused old GMC. 

Steam rose from the wheels and the smell continued. The breaks were stuck. 

We turned around and headed back down the mountain before we even got a glimpse of a deer

We made it home without causing a fire and got about our plan B, which for me was to fix the broken gate. 

Tonka had rubbed the old gate so hard for years that it finally disintegrated. It now lay crumpled in a lump of useless wood and wire on the ground. Fixing it meant that I was going to have to disassemble a different gate and use the parts. 

I took the old broken gate off its hinges and replaced it with the only two metal gates I have ever purchased. Both of which I scrimped and saved for years before moving to Haida Gwaii. 

It was Tonka’s turn tonight and I was grateful that the weather was going to cooperate. There was not a cloud in the deep blue sky. I pulled him out of his paddock. He went through the man gate portion of the new gate, and seemed to be just as pleased with it as I was. 

Down the driveway we went, excited to get in our kilometer of Pony Express. The days have been getting shorter but we still got to watch the golden sun sink behind the horizon. I stopped to take a picture of the magnificent scene but Tonka had a better idea and just as I hit the shutter button he flipped up his lip. Little stinker I thought to myself as I laughed out loud. 

*****

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Tonka Gets Wet

 Day 2 Take 2

September 15, 2022

The weather stayed half decent most of the day and around 3:00 pm I finally made it back outside. This time Brent came with me and we wandered around the property making plans for all the wonderful things making their way into our future. 

Having finally outgrown the tiny arena at the bottom of the driveway it was time to start making the move into the top field. While the final resting place of the arena will be in the far Eastern corner of the property there is way too much work to be done before it reaches that spot. So for now the nice sandy almost flat spot that the horses so kindly over grazed on me this year will be the temporary home of the new and bigger arena. 

This thought not only excites me because I will finally be able to work on gait regulation with Punkin Pie, both on the ground and in the saddle but also because this is the only sandy piece of pasture on the property and the thought of sand colic terrifies me. Having it act as an arena instead of a pasture makes sense right now and I’m grateful for footing I don’t have to truck in. 

Brent and I continued to make our plans. There’s so many wonderful things that are about to happen here if we can manage to stay on track. The first of which involves some clearing of land that will open up new trails for me to ride on during the winter months. Trails that I dream of lighting with stings of soft white and golden Christmas lights. 

The nights have been coming a little earlier everyday and soon Horse O’clock will be 100% in the dark. 

The manure chore and the garden chore go hand in hand. The manure is layered into the garden as it’s cleared of the weeds then left to sit for the winter. Thankfully our wonderful house sitter left the garden in such a beautiful state. As if my fairy godmother had tidied it, breaking down the mental barriers that had made it so difficult for my ADHD brain to cope with. Instead of the garden being a place of guilt and failure, she transformed it into a place of love and beauty. Precious stones and shells were left in perfect places. All the little scraggly sticks and shrubs were removed. The garlic was harvested. It was a beautiful place that was welcoming and wonderful to work in. So that’s what I did.  

Preparing the soil to plant next years garlic I felt the dry sandy loam in my hands. I sifted out the moss and little bits of weeds thinking back to last year. Last year and the year before harvesting the garlic, tears in my eyes with frozen mud covered hands. This year felt like a special treat compared to last. Gardening and manure picking being two of my top shoulder trigger chores. Triggering a shoulder reaction could cause an abrupt and painful end to this cycle before it even gets going. I have come too far to waste any more time being in pain due to poor choices. So I did so sparingly. 

Tonka plodded along beside me. As slow and steady as you can imagine an old man trapped in molasses. I took a deep breath. Breathing in all the smells. There were so many. First there was mostly flowers and ocean with a hint of dirt, then the soft scent of rain. 

We continued to walk at a speed which you would expect Eore to walk to Piglet's birthday party. Nice and slow, nothing to get excited about. There was a reason that Tonka is my rest day pony. I relaxed, and worked at letting that feeling flow all the way to my bones.

The night grew darker as we walked on. The sound of rain on the leaves started to grow louder. I looked ahead at the streetlights in front of us only to see a wall of water headed in our direction. 

“I think it’s time to turn around buddy” I said out loud to Tonka. 

There was no refusal from him. As we turned and started towards home. The rain grew in size and came down harder the more we walked. My little pony who had been so slow only moments before begging to trot home. 

We made it home. Even though I was soaking wet I was happy and had a wonderful time. I turned off the workout on my watch and there was a congratulations message stating that was our longest walk yet. 2.39 soaking wet kilometers towards pur Pony Express challenge. 24.9 miles now achieved for the challenge. 

With the ponies fed I went into my gym, kicked off my soaking wet shoes and enjoyed my hula hoop, just like I promised my back I would.

*****

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