Fields

I thought I lost my cell phone the other day, so I retraced the steps of our last trail ride with C. and her other horse, Monet (eventually I found the phone at home). It was a nice stroll and I was able to take some pictures.

When we were growing up, our grandfather had some property, including two fields across the road from our house. He used to mow them every year using an old mower and a vehicle he had built himself (!) and named the Doodlebug. I thought this was amazing then, and even though I've since learned that other dads and grandpas did the same, I find it even more so now. Who on earth can build a car?

Our dad had the Doodlebug hauled to our house. When we sold the house, we had it taken away. It made me wonder yet again why everyone can't keep everything forever. It also makes me think of the days when everyone rode horses.

It was slow and strange to walk the trail that I usually ride. How great must it have been to buy a good horse and get to your destination faster and in more style? How long did your horse stay shiny and new? What kind of larger radius did you now travel in?

Large animals are a lot of work to own. Then as now, rich people could pay less rich people to do some of the work for them. But I imagine that most people did most of their own work. Most people must have kept one or more horses and cared for them. I sometimes get exhausted caring for Molly, even though C. is caring for her most of the week. I often wonder how people managed it. A smaller radius to travel? More children? A longer day and a shorter commute? Perhaps they tried to accomplish fewer things in a day, and still the days felt just as full as ours do.