The return of the bear......Last night, when I was feeding the horses, Mouse became extremely alert and stood very tensely staring into the woods. It was nearly dark and my old eyes don't function well then so, even though I walked down toward the woods for a closer look, I couldn't see anything. Steve says, "Probably just a turkey or deer." I said, "Why would Mouse and the others react that way to something they see all of the time?" Mouse was very agitated and for her attention to be somewhere other than her food--it had to be something.

When I was feeding the horses today, Sadie, my dog, started barking very loudly and frantically at something in the woods. It was so different that even the horses looked up in that same alert way they did last night. Then Sadie came running like crazy out of the woods and went straight to my truck trying to get into the cab. She kept looking behind her....oh, I forgot to tell you about the roar, didn't I? There was a roar right before she came running out of the woods. Didn't see it so can't say for certain what it was roaring (but know what I think it was) but I can sure tell you...and Steve...that it wasn't no darn turkey or deer!

Sadie surprised me jumping in my truck last night so that she could return to the horse pasture. After we got there however, her behavior changed. She didn't run around playing and dashing into the woods like she usually does. No, last night, she was both mine and Steve's shadow. It was as if she was attached to our legs with invisible string because she stayed at our heels.

All of this has made me think of something. Years and years ago, at least fifteen but I'm thinking even longer (the memory is failing fast), we had friends visiting and we took them to Cades Cove to go horseback riding. It never fails, whenever I've gone on one those type of trail rides, I always get the crazy horse. Of course, they never tell you this until you're already in the saddle. As soon as I was seated, the guide handed me a stick and said, "This guy is a little loco. He'll probably try to stop on you or lag  behind and when he does, whack him on the shoulder with this stick." I asked if he was kidding me but he not only said no, he also didn't seem to have a sense of humor at all. 

So, off we go and old Loco, as I was now thinking of him, was behaving well. He started slowing down and we started falling behind the others. I tapped him, not whacked him, on the shoulder with the stick and Loco did not appreciate that at all. He snorted and turned his head so that he could bite at my leg. That kept us occupied for a while and then Loco actually speeded up a bit, catching up with the others but grumbling all of the time about this crazy woman they'd put on him. Then Loco suddenly stops, he tenses and he becomes extremely alert. I was ready to yield the stick again and angry enough at him to really whack him just like I'd been told to do but I then I looked to see what had caught his attention and stopped his feet from moving. Not fifteen feet away was standing a very large black bear. Trust me, it looked nothing like the cute little guy in that photo. Loco has decided it is time to move on but I yell, "Bear!" Instead of having the affect it should have and moving everyone on down the trail at an accelerated pace, just the opposite occurred, every other rider stopped their horses and began to "oooh and ahhh" over the bear as if they were watching it on TV or behind a sturdy fence in the zoo and not within swatting distance of those very large and sharp claws!

That is when I decided that old Loco wasn't so loco after all. He was probably smarter than all of us because the boy recognized danger when he saw it. We left the others and their obviously mentally inferior mounts in the dust as Loco and I decided to head toward safer territory. Old Loco is probably grazing in heavenly pastures now but I will always be grateful to him for that day. I think bears are lovely creatures but only when observed from a safe distance....like several miles instead of several feet!

Birthday Pictures

He's in dire need of grooming and that visit from the farrier which is coming up on Friday....shhhh, don't tell them. Only Mouse considers a pedicure a treat ;-) ....but he's still precious and adorable in my eyes. 

Happy Birthday Danny Boy!

Three years ago at this early hour, we were trying our best to welcome Danny into the world. One of his legs was still tucked inside mom, Mouse, and Steve and I were in panic mode. Mouse never seemed the least bit concerned. She was walking around and grazing in between efforts to push the boy out into the world. He's still a bit stubborn but ever sweet. You know I'll be posting photos later today. I'll be outside with the sunrise today. 

Taken with my phone so this isn't the best shot but it shows 4 impatient horses (Riley is back there somewhere behind the other 3) waiting for Brandy to finish her lunch. Danny is trying his best to figure out how to unhook or else chew through that rope.

I was just telling my friend, Mary, this story and realized that I hadn't told about our Friday misadventures here. So, here is my email to Mary and I hope she doesn't mind me pasting and sharing it with all of you. :) Dan is doing fine but he gave me a scare on Friday. I was late getting over to the pasture to feed them and when I arrived, Danny was outside the fence. He's done this before. He's a Houdini just like his mama, Mouse! This time was different. About six or seven years ago, I went over one morning to find Mouse out and acting strangely. Like Danny, she didn't have to be led or coaxed back into the pasture. She was actually waiting on me at the gate and then she did something even odder especially for her, she refused food! It was Springtime but it was a cold, blustery day and neither Mouse nor I were prepared to be out all day with a strong wind blasting us and cold, sleet falling. But we were out from morning until five that afternoon when my vet finally could get to us. The vet had a day full of emergencies and my possibly colicky horse was low man on the totem pole of priorities. So, I walked her all day long until both she and my frozen feet and hands were protesting loudly. Unfortunately, when our vet arrived and after four hours of more endless walks and having several gallons of oil pumped into her, Mouse was no better and we ended up taking her to UT Vet Hospital in the middle of the night where she stayed for over a week and where, for the first forty-eight hours, they could not guarantee that she would live. So, you can imagine how all of that came rushing back when I find Dan not only waiting for me at the gate but laying his head up against me and whining, eager to go back into the pasture, and then refusing food! I went into a total panicky meltdown! I finally got him to take a few handfuls of sweet feed (which my vet later yelled at me about--I wanted to see if he'd eat anything.) but he seemed less than interested and kept yawning. I immediately called my vet. I got her mom at first who told me that it didn't sound like colic and then, on my second call when he tried to lie down and roll, I spoke with my vet and she told me the same thing. She told me that it was excessive rolling I needed to worry about and just to keep an eye on him for a few hours. I was of course worried when he wouldn't eat his hay but he made a bed out of it instead and lay down to sleep. I sat down beside him and stroked his head while he slept. I realized (and I know Val would say this is humanizing him and horses don't feel concern but...) that the odd, extremely affectionate behavior he was displaying were (I think) his concern over me because he could tell I was upset. I think he was just exhausted after his night out in greener pastures, lol.

Red Riley

Riley is the sweetest horse but he tends to be a bit standoffish by nature. That makes it even sweeter when he does what he did last night. Mouse was in one of her affectionate moods so after feeding them all, I crossed the fence again and went over to her and gave her a hug and scratched her withers. Danny was eating with her and he starts nuzzling me and rubbing his nose up and down my arm. That is sweet but it's more, "I don't want you noticing anyone but me," than it is true affection because when I turned to hug his neck he ignored me. Then I walked over and hugged Django who always checking to see if you brought him any treats. Danny followed and did the same notice me and then I'll ignore you routine, lol. I then walked hesitantly over to Riley because usually just approaching him makes him either walk away or turn his back to you but this time he looked up at me and I said softly, "Riley, I'm just going to give you a little hug." I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my nose in his sweet mane. He didn't pull away at all. Instead, he hugged me back, gently wrapping his neck and head around my body and holding me close to him. That really made my heart smile. :)