Cozy Contemplations - 28. Chapter 28 Gifts

It was a beautiful late afternoon.  Thanks, Val. 

You know, this brought something back to me that I'd forgotten: neighbors riding their horses down to our house so my sisters could go riding with them.  I was too little to want to get up so high, but I loved petting them and all of a sudden your description brought back the smell of those palominos as if I was standing there.

Usually words bring an image from my past, but this time, the smell came, then the bristly feel of their hair, then the picture.  Magic, my dear friend.  Thank you.

xoxoxoxoxo

1 minute ago, ColumbusGuy said:

You know, this brought something back to me that I'd forgotten: neighbors riding their horses down to our house so my sisters could go riding with them.  I was too little to want to get up so high, but I loved petting them and all of a sudden your description brought back the smell of those palominos as if I was standing there.

Usually words bring an image from my past, but this time, the smell came, then the bristly feel of their hair, then the picture.  Magic, my dear friend.  Thank you.

xoxoxoxoxo

 

Aww... thanks, buddy. There is a smell their coats give off when the sun is shining on them... it's a wonderful smell.   And right now, her winter coat is bristly, but still soft... not at all like her sleekness in summer. I loved seeing her dozing in the sun... in the summer they are constantly swinging their tail and shaking their heads because of flying insects, but today, nothing was moving... until she yawned.  xoxoxoxo

To me, that yawning is a sure sign of the bond between a pet and its owner.  That shows a level of trust and comfort where defences are down.  Sure, sometimes it could be a sign of tiredness, but most animals can sense your mood and respond to it in kind.  Frisky shows their excitement at some fun ahead, and skittishness shows uncertainty about the situation, but it takes a level of trust for relaxation to be the reaction. 

My best times with a pet were often the ones playing, but many more were when we'd just be together lazing around and just...being.

19 minutes ago, ColumbusGuy said:

To me, that yawning is a sure sign of the bond between a pet and its owner.  That shows a level of trust and comfort where defences are down.  Sure, sometimes it could be a sign of tiredness, but most animals can sense your mood and respond to it in kind.  Frisky shows their excitement at some fun ahead, and skittishness shows uncertainty about the situation, but it takes a level of trust for relaxation to be the reaction. 

My best times with a pet were often the ones playing, but many more were when we'd just be together lazing around and just...being.

I was there when she was born, and she is now 25. She trusts me, for sure, but I know what you mean. She is a very expressive animal, and she is constantly whickering to me when I am outside... not just when she's hungry. I trust her too... I am her person... always have been.  xoxoxo

I consider myself a city girl, yet my ideal home is a cabin somewhere country like where I can see the stars at night.

I consider myself a city girl who’s not really an animal person, yet I’ve always respected their place in life and our world, even more so after I became good friends with a deeply devoted dog lover, she provided me with an understanding of how some people love and trust animals more than people.

Your writing impresses me on any topic but there is something in your tone about nature and your animals....it evokes this sedate intimacy....like whispers in nature’s chapel; 

Or sharing a hot drink in front of a fire on a chilly night.  Quiet appreciation for what should be appreciated more.

Thank you, my platonic, renaissance friend.

🍻

13 hours ago, FanLit said:

I consider myself a city girl, yet my ideal home is a cabin somewhere country like where I can see the stars at night.

I consider myself a city girl who’s not really an animal person, yet I’ve always respected their place in life and our world, even more so after I became good friends with a deeply devoted dog lover, she provided me with an understanding of how some people love and trust animals more than people.

Your writing impresses me on any topic but there is something in your tone about nature and your animals....it evokes this sedate intimacy....like whispers in nature’s chapel; 

Or sharing a hot drink in front of a fire on a chilly night.  Quiet appreciation for what should be appreciated more.

Thank you, my platonic, renaissance friend.

🍻

Seeing the stars at night can shrink our problems, once we see how small we really are. I have never lost my awe for the vastness and fullness of the night sky, something our long gone ancestors would have viewed nightly. I am lucky enough to have that 'cabin' in the country, and I do not take it for granted. ... sedate intimacy... like whispers in nature's chapel... how poetic and beautiful is that.   

It will be a sad day when I lose my girl. Horses have always been in my blood. We are both retired, but we still have that incredible connection... she brightens my day with her antics and her whinneys. I once said to my mother, back when I was in my early twenties, that I liked horses more than I liked people. I think it disturbed her, but it was how I felt at the time. Horses, and other animals, do nothing but give. Once you have their trust, you have it for life. 

It seems to me, I am not the only 'renaissance' person in this conversation.   Thank you, my platonic friend, for such a lovely comment.  Cheers... Gary.... 

These are beautiful gifts, and some of the best ones. Sun, birdsong, forest green... these are gifts to savor. Thank you for sharing them. 

48 minutes ago, Parker Owens said:

These are beautiful gifts, and some of the best ones. Sun, birdsong, forest green... these are gifts to savor. Thank you for sharing them. 

It was a day that brought me out of my cocoon.   I hope there are a few more before wicked cold rules my endeavors. Thanks, Parker... I just got back from a walk in my woods, over to my property line, and then out to the road. I see something different and wonderful every time, like an old fallen branch that strongly resembles my son's bearded dragon. A  treasure partially hidden in the dead leaves.  

4 hours ago, Headstall said:

 

 

It will be a sad day when I lose my girl. Horses have always been in my blood. We are both retired, but we still have that incredible connection... she brightens my day with her antics and her whinneys. I once said to my mother, back when I was in my early twenties, that I liked horses more than I liked people. I think it disturbed her, but it was how I felt at the time. Horses, and other animals, do nothing but give. Once you have their trust, you have it for life. 

 

 

Her antics and her whinneys....being there from her birth and these 25 years later.

Her constant whickering to her person that she trusts for life....

Those things mean that when that sad day comes that she is no longer physically here, that she will always be with you.  

If a life well loved is a life well lived, I have a very certain suspicion that as evidenced by your equine soulmate, (among other observations) you live very well.  

🍻 😘 

2 minutes ago, FanLit said:

Her antics and her whinneys....being there from her birth and these 25 years later.

Her constant whickering to her person that she trusts for life....

Those things mean that when that sad day comes that she is no longer physically here, that she will always be with you.  

If a life well loved is a life well lived, I have a very certain suspicion that as evidenced by your equine soulmate, (among other observations) you live very well.  

🍻 😘

Yes, she will be with me always. I owned her grandmother, a Thoroughbred race horse, and first cousin to the famous Northern Dancer, and I bred and raised her mother(we are allowed to cross with registered Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses), one of the most successful Appaloosa show horses Ontario has ever seen. She is with me still, in my heart, and her daughter is an extension of her. We share the same closeness I had with her mother. Horses have given me so much in my journey. Thanks, FanLit.  

5 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

 

Thanks, B.