Cowen's Ride

Grandpa's tack room is very, very exciting. It smells good too.

There are expensive hobbies, and then there is raising Arabians. How many bridles do you need??

How many halters do you need??? Lots, and lots, and lots . . . apparently.

This is when Emeline got shocked by the electric fence. She didn't think it was very fun.

And this is Cowen's ride. Well, the picture is of Miriam because she went too.

Due to the great mysteries of blogger, we're back at the corral. Look at Emeline and Cassidy--they're old pros. Emeline didn't even hang onto Cass, she hung onto the saddle. Wow. What a horsewoman.

I tell you what--Dad's horses have to the be the nosiest bunch of critters you've ever seen.

Cass is on Fahzell (or however you spell it). That's the horse I rode on our "mountain ride" as Cowen calls it. She's safe for infants, imbeciles, and incompetents. And pros like me (ha).

Riding a saddle is almost as much fun as riding a horse. I remember that truth from my own childhood.

Miriam rode on the back of Shay Bell with Grandpa. Shay Belle is only two and only green broke. At one point Dad said, "That is a rock. R-O-C-K. Inanimate, unmoving, and unlikely to rise up and attack you." Then Dad said, "You have to explain everything to these colts."

This is Cowen who rode behind me. I held my camera over my shoulder and clicked the button. This picture is the result. Cowen had a marvelous time. I was worried we wouldn't get a mountin ride in because Dad is taking Fahzell to Megan's to wean Fahzell's baby, but Dad called on Wednesday night and said he could go Friday morning. It made this week a little crazy because Thursday night we had our first book club meeting at Julie's house, then driving to Hyrum Friday morning, then booking it back to ballet, then heading to the ward campout, then coming home Saturday morning in time for me to get ready for the General Relief Society Meeting. Busy, very busy.

However, I wasn't going to turn down Dad's offer. Cowen happened to be standing nearby when Dad called. Cowen heard the word "horse" and was instantly at my knee. As soon as I put the phone down he asked me who and what I was talking about. I said Grandpa had asked him (Cowen) to go for a mountain ride, but I had told him that Cowen would rather ride a big green lizard. Cowen looked anxious but smiled halfheartedly at my joke. Then I said, "Well, I told him that you would rather just ride in the corral." Again, a little half smile but this time with a very worried look on his face. Always one to enjoy pushing my children over the edge, I said, "I told him you'd rather stay inside with Grandma." Ah, the one joke too many. Cowen was instantly hysterical, "Call him back!!" I giggled inside and told him that of course, we would go on the ride with Grandpa.

On Thursday night, Cowen carefully laid his favorite cowboy clothes by his door with his socks and boots. Excited would be an understatement in how he was feeling.

It was gorgeous. I got a bit of a sunburn, but it wasn't so hot that I didn't enjoy myself. The colors were beautiful and being with my dad with my two oldest was pretty neat.

I especially loved all the snatches of conversation I overheard between Dad and my daughter. Cowen and I lagged behind most of the time but periodically I'd get Fahzell to catch up. That's when I'd hear things like: "Miriam, you can never trust a tree."

Or when he told Miriam all about his friend snake, Gertrude Hubble. Apparently she visits with Dad when he goes on trail rides. She's one of those ventriloquist snakes. Oh, you haven't heard about ventriloquist snakes? . . . that's because your mother only teaches you boring science. Ventriloquist snakes can project their voices. They especially like to project their voices to cute bunnies. They hide behind the bunnies then say things like: come and pet me, I'm a cute bunny! And that's how they get you.

Miriam also learned about rhodensia--the family to which both beavers and a man biting flower belong.

The thing about Miriam is that she lives so much in the world of imagination that she wants to go along with Dad . . . but she learned at a very tender age that Dad teases constantly. It makes her slightly wary. Dad has always delighted in testing Miriam to see just how far he can take a joke before she becomes suspicious. Ventriloquist snakes--fairly believable. However, when Dad and her were discussing their friends and Dad said he had a friend but they didn't do anything so Dad didn't have any good stories about his friend, Miriam was instantly curious. She asked, "Well, what do you do with your friend?" To which Dad replied, "I keep him in a cage and look at him."

This was met with a short silence and then a long, "Hmmm."

Cowen with his favorite thing in the world. Fahzell. Today, while we were eating birthday cake, Cowen said, "We should save some cake and give it to Fahzell. She'd like it." Horse love.