January 16, 2010

There’s just something about a few warm days in the middle of winter to renew spirits around the farm. It’s most evident in the horses, but all the animals seem to be charged with extra energy and lifted moods!

Yesterday got to 54 degrees and we let the horses out in the side pasture that we had over seeded late last summer, which now supports a pretty good cover of ryes and clovers. They were out there bucking and romping together before settling down to graze on the dormant grasses. Louie was maybe the most excited – he was “pacing” in a trot here and there, and sort of acting like a colt. I decided to get his lead and walk him around the yard and back field so he could graze and I could spend time with him, so I went back to the stable for his halter and lead.

When he saw me coming back towards the pasture with his lead in hand, he came running towards me from over a hundred yards out, head high, tail flagging, and did a four legged sideways sliding stop at the gate, finishing with brightened eyes and a whiny! It was as if he was saying “did you see what I just did!?!” His motions were beautiful and athletic. The sun and warm temperatures must have soothed the inflammation in his arthritic joints and released his pent up energy! He was all full of it and ready to go! And a lot of his energy transferred right into me…

Lou and I spent the rest of the late afternoon in the yard, moving from one patch of grass to another. We wound our way up through the bare branched apple trees that seemed to be reaching out to us with crooked fingers, and then over to the bee hive where the grass still had some green in it. We wandered back and forth along the fence line, and over near the house. Lou grazed while I shared my thoughts with him…and every once in a while he’d pick up his head and lean towards me quizzically as if he wanted to answer “yeah, I understand”, or “that’s pretty stupid!”, just as honestly as any other friend would answer.

Today I am re-living those moments from yesterday afternoon – it was just so great to see Lou so energized, and to have the chance to share so much time and so many glances with him…