EEYHA! I have been locked out of this (cyber) ranch for some reason only known to the younger generation. My pass word was kidnapped by some unseen hombre and the new one was a liberal. Wouldn’t work. My son asked about the lack of postings and I explained, as best I could, my situation. He sighed that , “poooor dad” , sigh and said he’d look into it and walla! Back in business. To much has happened since the last posting that it would be easier to fill the Grand Canyon with a garden hose than to relate all the stories. So here is the latest. Hope you like it.
Grandson training: Grandpas need to set good examples. That is our primary calling. We know from experience that what we say is one thing, what we do is quite another. Being a role model is a serious endeavor. Great fun but with little to no margin for error. If you blow it you’ll be blessed with a little “genetic mirror” that will scare the he*^ out of you! They can look more like you than you look like you!
My daughter Atasha brought my grandson Jerdan for a long over due visit to our “lil house on the prairie” last month. The fourteen days slotted for this vacation seemed to pass faster than Zorro can swish his sword. None the less Atasha was able to schedule more stuff into this short time frame than I thought humanly possible. One of the high lights was she invited two of her old and dear friends out to the ranch to ride horses and let the kids play with each other. They have a total of five girls between them, ages two thru six. Since Jerdan declares that he was five and three quarter at the time he was sandwiched between all of the little ladies.
The weather had been beautiful. With this many youngsters in the house a change was predictable. Yup! High winds, cold overcast then snow! The eldest girl Anna is horse crazy. For kids snow is a reason to go outside. Not so much for parents. None the less we got Amigo out of his stall and let the girls take turns riding him while I led him around. The three year old was the lone exception. Peer pressure being what it is I’m thinking that the next time she’ll ride too. Now Jerdan had been a little reserved his own self about riding. The day before, however he saw the joyful glee exhibited by Anna while she was riding that he wanted to share some of that too. I put him up behind Anna and led on. They thought that was so cool. Slow but cool. They requested a little more speed. I slow trotted myself and the trusty steed followed suit. Did I say slow? They wanted even more speed and much greater distances. Now trotting in Cowboy boots with spurs is something you can only imagine unless you’ve tried it. Alas the spurs jingled, the boots slipped thru the slick grass and the riders reveled. More! Longer! Faster were their demands. The horse did fine. I had visions of a Advil assisted nap! So it went. This little posse circled our pasture time and again. I was grateful that we didn’t possess more acreage. Satisfying their riding quotient was not possible. I made some lame plea as to the horses lunch was waiting. They understood and wanted to help feed their hoss.
Regretfully the moms and girls had to head back to the wiles of the real world, for them being jobs in the city. Poor folks. Jerdan, however has not been quite the same. We rode virtually everyday. Culminating in him riding in the “wrangler class” at the Tombstone Ghost Riders mounted shooting practice. With his borrowed cap gun blazing the young cowboy face down all of the outlaw balloons. Nerves of steel. His four year old competitor, Isabelle graciously let him use her pink handled pistola and they cheered for each other. Yup! You guessed it. I got to lead Mijo thru the course of fire to the instructions of Cowboy Jerdan. Faster! Faster! and EEYHA! was all he could say.
I smartened up. For the rest of the visit I rode Rusty and ponied Seeker with Cowboy Jerdan in the saddle. Jerdan asked. Baba can we trot? Without hesitation I replied. You betcha! All day if you like! EEYHA!
{ 0 comments }
Twitter
Facebook