Horsing Around

I love this photo of Lindsey--she is completely happy because she is on the back of a horse. At long last she has resumed her riding lessons, which were aborted by our move more than two years ago, and she is thrilled.

The ranch where she is riding is a little slice of farm life that completely amused Joey and me while we observed her first lesson. In addition to the horses, there are geese (one of whom protectively pecks you if you get too close to the owner), roosters and hens, and a mischievous goat, shown below eating a magazine.



At first I was worried about him consuming this type of material, but the stable girl quickly assured me that the magazines were actually planted there specifically for the goat to eat, as they kept him from shredding the actually important paperwork. He reminded me of a toddler who had to be corrected and distracted constantly.

Perhaps the high point for me was observing the goat head butt the goose in an attempt to get at its feed. This was not smart, and the goose quickly put him in his place. Later he was seen head butting the feed trailer as it came in for a delivery. In Darwinian terms, this goat will not be long for this world, but he sure is pleasure to watch...since he's not my responsibility and it's not my property, of course!

I would never want to maintain a working ranch. But it sure is fun to visit one. I, for one, am glad Lindsey is riding again!