On the loose

One in the saddle, one on the ground

outdoors

  • All settled in

    I’m writing this particular dispatch from my new reclining camp chair (snapped up from Costco), three quarters of the way through a can of 14 Hands wine. Tarma slurps her dinner in her corral next to me, and my belly is full of my friend’s excellent Shepard’s pie. The puppy is sleeping in the kennel… Read more

  • An Evening Stroll

    The husband is home from his vacation now, so I seized the remaining day light, left him to watch the kid not watching the puppy, shoved Tarma’s boots on (Scoots on all four now) and squeezed in a short ride. We’re lucky to have private timberlands to ride on with volunteer maintained trails a short… Read more

  • The weekend that happened anyway

    Sometimes the universe tosses signs your way that say clearly “Do not do the thing.” Sometimes you gotta give the universe the middle finger, do some slightly sketchy electrical work, and do the thing anyway. Despite several Gremlins and a momentary defeat, a friend and I managed to load up my trailer and her husband’s… Read more

  • Down by the river

    My friends and I rode together again this weekend, twice, after the ponies received their monthly pedicure. We also mock camped in my friends yard, as it’s been over a year since we camped together and it’s always nice to just in up to the house when you forget something. On the way to our… Read more

  • A few words

    It feels odd to have such a good day, a few days after my grandpa passed at home. I have no real words to encompass all that, or who he was, to me and to others, not yet. Instead, and maybe because of him, I took a step out of my depression and had a… Read more

  • This is how legends are made

    I have recently, reluctantly, discovered TikTok, and this blog title is the name of a popular song on The TikTok. It also sums up today’s ride, Tarma and I’s first solo adventure. I heard my best friend’s voice in my head, “Just ride the horse!” I’ll let the photos and videos speak for themselves. My… Read more

  • Seize the afternoon

    After spending Monday in a slump due to a long day fixing a big mistake at work, I craved the sunshine that was taunting me outside my window. I took a chance on work not exploding for three hours and dashed out to the barn to hook up the trailer. I tried not to have… Read more

  • Tarma’s First Adventure

    I took a chance on the weather today and I am so glad that I did. We loaded Tarma up and went to our favorite nearby state park, Milo McIver. There are a series of obstacles built by the North Valley chapter of Oregon Equestrian Trails, of which yours truly is somehow currently the VP… Read more

  • Ten feet tall

    I am so proud today! Flash, Cyrus and I did five and a half miles solo at Hardy Creek this morning and everything went smoothly. I have ridden at Hardy extensively in the past but Flash has only been there once a year ago. We did most of the ride on a loose rein while… Read more

  • Pandemics and outdoor recreation

    In which I have opinions. Read more