What a day!

Velvet was finished eating so I gathered her and started toward the paddock she stays in with the other Cloth girl, Satin. I call them the Cloth girls because of their names, Velvet and Satin. I rounded the corner of the barn and I could see the sun was low in the Western sky. As I neared the rope gate with Velvet, Satin started toward us. She came to greet us. I led Velvet into the paddock and started to the opposite side to fill their water tank for the night. The late afternoon is so peaceful, not a sound to be heard. I looked all around and there are no sounds. What peace this is. This is living in a storybook. I can look all around in three directions and see for over a mile. In the Western sky jets are leaving their vapor trails but I hear no sound. The sun a huge ball is getting lower.

As I turned the water on Velvet approached me. She was not even thirsty. She came over to be made over so I rubbed her head. She responded by coming even closer and then she tested the water flowing into her tank. She stood there looking off in the direction of the nearby pasture where more horses live. Let's see, there is Ann's Mountain Treasure, high point yearling filly this year. A few yards away is Flair for Fury who brought home a truck full of blue ribbons this year. She is the World Grand Champion, dark brown chocolate two year old filly belonging to Whispering Oaks Farm. They are grazing the lush fall pasture. Oh, I must have been dreaming because it has been arid here since July. Only a few brief showers since then. Not long ago there was about a one inch shower. It did manage to revive new growth but not much.

Ann and Flair are nibbling at the tender grass that has managed to reappear. I forgot to finish my story about the Cloth girls that live in the paddock. There is Velvet a gorgeous bay three year old mare and Satin our now mostly white five year old palomino mare. WOF Dock's Velvet was high point champion last year. She is still standing by me in the quiet afternoon sun. She stands there as I begin to scratch her back. She is loving it. Her head stretches out as far as she can get it. She turns to look at me and ask me for more of the same.

As I turn the water off and head back to the other side of the paddock the other Cloth girl comes to greet me. Venture's Golden Satin is looking intently at me wanting some attention too.

Winston Churchill once said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man."

These two Cloth girls certainly have made that true to me tonight. So there I stand scratching Satin on the neck and she stretches out her head too. Velvet at my back and Satin in front of me, they are both loving my company and are kind of competing for my attention. There I stand between two very fine Rocky Mountain horses. Satin has had a great year too. While the others are home from their training barns, Satin was ridden by me and had a pretty good year. Satin and I accomplished a lot this year and she has come a long way since she appeared on the farm last Winter. Below is a picture of Satin and myself competing in the ACTHA competition at Van Bert Farms in Stanton, Kentucky held in October.

I hadn't noticed but the sun has dropped below the horizon. What a splendid November week this has been. Here it is the eleventh day of November and I am out in a t-shirt. Leslie, who is one of our friends came and rode with my sister Mary and myself today. We were riding in short sleeves and it is November. WoW!

The evening is so very peaceful as I head back to the barn to finish the afternoon chores. WOF Rockin Andi is still hitched. She is another winner home from the training barn. She had a stellar end of the year. Early on she was very sick, but came back to the show circuit with a vengeance. She was taking no prisoners. What a time for them to relax and be horses. It is so good to see them be home from the hustle and bustle of training, transporting, and showing. Now they have time to relax and get ready for the coming Winter weather.

Not a sound anywhere but the crunching sound the horses make eating hay. Water tanks filled, hay in to the horses, everyone is unhitched and ready for the night. So am I. How can I ever tell a story good enough to have you feel the extreme peace I feel tonight? As I begin to think of this peace that has flooded over me I can only say that it comes from God. I remember one other time in my recent life that this kind of peace came over me. That time I was sitting on the Ambassador Bridge coming out of Canada when I was driving an eighteen wheeler for a living. That time it was the peace of God in a big way.

Tonight, I know it is the peace of God. What a special gift from God for me tonight on the eleventh day of November, 2010, Veteran's Day.

Now I hope you have those kind of peaceful days in your life too. May the peace of God that passes all understanding be yours too.

Bob