Wednesday, June 15, 2011

They've taken over my life!

I've noticed that most of my blog posts are about horses, the real ones, and related equine activities and less and less about my sculpting and model horses. It hasn't been intentional, but almost without me noticing I have been exploring other interests in my life and just plain dealing with life in general. I can feel my creative urge to sculpt returning, but slowly, while my obsession with the beauty of horses has not changed at all. In fact, my 'real' life has become more and more entrenched with horses to the point where I sometimes feel they have taken over our lives and our purpose in life is just to serve them. "Our" herd of four, innocent as they appear dozing in the shade of the barn, are becoming adept escape artists and our lack of reliable equine containment systems (good fence!) is starting to assert itself on the top of our priority list. Well maybe not the absolute top, but close.

How can I be angry when they are so pretty?






With the riding season getting under way I can't help but remember of how little I could do last year when I had a bout of sciatica. I couldn't ride any real distance until late August. This year my back is holding together, knock on wood. I've ridden 145 miles so far, and hope to get 500 in by November. A few pack trips would be great too, maybe even some trailer camping in new to us areas like the South San Juans or the Lizard Head Wilderness. In the midst of my strong desire to do as much trail riding and back country stuff as possible this season is the reality of one of my friend Cindy's husband Jerry battling lung cancer. It is through incredibly good fortune that we picked this lovely area of the state to move to, and that they happened to live right up the road. They were exactly the right people we needed to know at the right time in our lives, as adults entering into horse ownership and back country activities. While I knew some stuff, having grown up in a rural area and having ridden horses from age 9 to my 20's, there was a lot left to learn (and still is). There is nothing so helpful as becoming friends with people who know horses, really know them, to help guide you along the way. Not the common 'order barking' horse experts found almost anywhere there are horses, but people that truly have an understanding of horses from countless hours and countless horses.

Jerry is off the chemo and feeling well enough to do a little riding, and we are planning a back country pack trip next week. It is hard to focus on sculpting when something like this comes up, and if he wants to go camping then we are going camping, it is more important than anything else this summer. We don't know how much longer we will have him for, and time is of the essence. Chances are we will still learn a thing or two from him along the way :)


2 comments:

Sian said...

My prayers for your friend..

Unknown said...

ah sara.. I know how that is. ..sometimes life does get way more important than doing our art even though you may have that itch you get to sculpt or paint or do art.. sometimes you just can't.. people and relationships are way more important and it so good that you realize that and cherish that because so many people don't.. ..I do miss seeing you work.. new pieces I mean but we can all wait till you good and ready.. maybe just work on stuff you are close to being done with when you do have the time..lol!.. and Im so happy your back is feeling better! I went thru that in my 30's and had the surgery.. when it was so bad I couldn't even walk I couldn't put it off anymore.. so.. I hope your back holds out! and have fun riding..Im jealous you get to do that.. I do have a new mare ..a morgan ( wish she was a gaited one though like our 2 gelding here) and she is suppose to be a great trail horse.. has been all over Mt Rainer and even been a pack hose and a pony horse too.. ( she has been shown I think and I found out she is also harness trained) we took our first ride on her last week and wow is she a hot little pistol.. lol but we were told she was like that in an arena.. so we took he in the round pen and she was a bit better.. but still very very up-headed and a goer.. lol. heck she is 23! has cushing and we had to put more weigh on her and get her to build up some muscle which she has.. she had no fat along her spine or butt or shoulders had a long skinny neck..( thats still pretty straight for a morgan but some are like that..no big crest which might be a good thing with all the laminites we have problems with here!).. she sure did fill out nice though! lol now to get rid of her gut! lol she is a cute little 14 hand dark liver chessy with a long silver mane and tail. pretty girl and very well bred! so maybe I will get her out on the trails.. I hope so.. so have fun!
Becky Turner