Ikigai

Ikigai -  A reason for being.  People have commented that I am living the good life, and without a doubt, that is very true.  I am very fortunate to be able to do all I do, and for this I am so thankful. 


I have a fairly good grip on life and do a nice job with living it well and following my ikigai.  Possibly, (rule #2) I need to take it slow more often.  And every now and then, when I sit down for a good meal someone has superbly prepared, all sheets to the wind (not meaning drunk, but the original meaning - out of control, as in a ship with all three sails loose) for rule #3... I pig out and then regret it later, with a belly ache. 







Saturday 10/29 - I was both excited and nervous about the day ahead.  I don't think trailering a horse will ever come easy for me, although the more we do it, the easier it seems to become.  I love going to new places to ride, but get so anxious about the whole trailering process.  It is worth the effort though.  And I am so thankful for Joe, who often helps us with the trailering process. 

Not only did Joe take care of hitching up the trailer and driving, he helped with loading and off loading the horses, and cleaned up after them.

Amiga is great at loading now, but still rushes off  the trailer when it is time to back out.  But we see improvements dispersed with times of reverting to her old bad habit.  She just gets so scared (a little like me), trembles at the thought of backing out, and bolts backwards, as if the starting gun to a race was shot off.

Our 75 minute drives, to and from Timber Ridge Horse Camp, were uneventful.  And we enjoyed the fall scenery and people's yard decorations, like the round bale bear in the photo above. 

We parked in the day parking lot, and after unloading, Joe unhitched the trailer and drove off with Maggie to do their own adventure.  Jean and I saddled up our horses and hit the Ridge Top Trail.  In this photo, our trailer was parked down the road, basically right behind me. 


Jean and Robbie heading out from the day parking lot.  Robbie did very well leading (as did Amiga).  We took turns. 





Part of the time the trial (nice dirt path) followed along beside the road. 


Some of the time it veered in behind people's properties. 


The trail went through open fields, and since it was along the ridge top, gave us some distant views of the far away mountains.

The trail was well marked, but to be sure we were on the right path, I checked my map at each junction.  There were several other trails coming into (or leading off of) the Ridge Top Trail. 


We left the Ridge Top Trail and cut down into the woods on the Green Trail. 







Here I am leading down the trail, looking over Amiga's head.  I also took this (video).  And Jean took a photo along this spot too.  It was so tranquil. 











A creek ran along the trail and there were several little waterfalls and other water features we enjoyed. 





We were definitely doing #7 of the ikigai rules, connecting with nature.
 






The trail taking us through the ravine and gorge required several creek crossings (we counted five).  Most of the crossings involved walking in the creek, going up or down it several yards, before the trail came out on the other side.  Robbie did great with all of these, which absolutely amazed and thrilled us.  In this photo Jean is giving a thumbs up for the success.  The sunlight in the back is where we entered the creek, and you can see that Robbie is standing quietly after exiting it. 

In this spot, there was actually a bridge across the creek.  Amiga never hesitated to go anywhere I asked and is truly a pleasure to ride out on the trail. 

I looked back to see how Jean was doing on Robbie, and she too went right across the bridge.  It helped that she was following Amiga. 

While standing on the grassy banks of this pool, letting Amiga graze, I had Jean go back so I could get a photo of the rocky cliff.  At this point, Robbie decided to go back across the bridge. 








It was amazing that she was willing to leave Amiga.  Maybe she thought she was heading back to the horse campground where our trailer was parked.  I took this photo of Jean riding Robbie back across the bridge. 

  This shot is a good one of the rocky cliff. 



Here are more photos of some of the rock outcroppings and cliffs we also marveled at. 








In this one location, there was a cave under the rocky overhang with a fenced off picnic spot.

An action shot of Jean taking a photo. 

I missed a shot of Jean smiling and Robbie looking up, but like Jean's expression here when Robbie dropped her head. 





Some of the hills we went up and down were fairly challenging, with large rocks to step on or terraced steps using railroad ties.   In this photo we stopped to let our horses rest after coming up quite a hill, back to the top of the ridge.  I think I am sitting sideways in the saddle, having looked back at Jean and then to get out of the way, off to the side, of this view of the valley.
 

The best views of all, are always between the ears of your horse.

We passed quite a few horses coming towards us during our ride, and again Robbie and Amiga did pretty well with this.

We covered 6.17 miles during our 2:22 time in the saddle. 

Both horses were very hot and sweaty by the time we quit.  I think Amiga was more worn out than Robbie.  They ate hay, quietly at the trailer, while Jean and I enjoyed our late picnic lunch. 

Joe soon arrived back to the campground from his adventure, hitched up the trailer, and we loaded up the horses.  We were all feeling relaxed, tired, and content on our drive back to the ranch. 

I did chores for Jean, switching with her so I could have the day off tomorrow. 

This Ava up-date photo is from a video of her.  What a cutie, and she is getting so big. 

Sunday 10/30 - It was a rainy day as you can see from this photo Jean took from the ranch house.

 

I had declared Sunday a day of rest and did a marvelous job of it. After church I enjoyed tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich.  The dogwood just outside my office window has really gotten red. 

Jean sent this photo a little later and asked "Can you see four horses?"






Here I have zoomed in on Jean's photo.  That is our two 'passed out' Pasos. 









Not only were the horses enjoying a day of rest, so were my fur babies here at home.  I think Joe's hike on Saturday wore Maggie out. 

Mama Styx napping up in the wall hammock. 

I took a short nap after lunch and then Joe and I made an effort to work on legal documents including our will.  But Joe was not wanting to be as thorough as I, so we put that on hold. 






Babe napping on the dog bed in the sun room, that had no sunshine today. 

I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading, computerizing, and napping again. 

Monita had joined me on the couch for a nap and was slower to wake up than I was. 

Below is an earlier photo of Stevie on my lap, helping me with the day's Wordle.  We didn't do too well, taking six tries to guess the word. 

Karen took care of Patty’s cats and Jean did chores for me because I had swapped with her the night before.  So the only work I really did, which is required on a daily basis was the litter boxes.  I also had to collect trash for garbage pick up the following day. 

Monday 10/31 - Happy Halloween
The day started cool, wet, and gloomy; just like the day before.  I was in no hurry to jump to action, so lingered here at my computer until heading to the gym at 11:30. 










Mama Styx was being cuddly, and actually took a little nap on my shoulder. 

I took an afternoon nap and read for quite awhile.  My library book is due back November 2nd. 

Then it was time to get ready for Elaine's 5th Annual Halloween party. 










Jean met me at the party and we had fun seeing all the really good costumes.  Jean did an amazing job painting this skeleton costume (that I was wearing) years ago when she was teaching a bone unit. 

 

We sat with Sherri (the Energizer Bunny) and Micki (The 'Fallen' Butterfly). 


Although, we did not sit much of the time because we were up dancing and mingling with the guests. 


These photos give you an idea of the costumes people wore and the dancing we did. 

A fun time was definitely had by all. 

Girls just love to have fun.

The party was over at 9:30 and I was home and in bed shortly after 10pm. 

Tuesday 11/1 - Hello November and goodbye to many of the fall leaves, except they now lay on the ground, needing to be cleared from many spots.  Jean sent this photo taken of Wanda drinking from the pond the day before. 











Jean also sent this photo, now five horses.  One of the neighbor's black horses had returned and was at the fence across the drive. 

I did research on some possible places we could go ride and 'camp' overnight at Big South Fork or East Fork.  The season is winding down and I really hope to get in an overnight stay with two days of riding time. 

Today's ride was shorter than usual because I had a party to go to at 3:00.  Jean and I did go 3.5 miles in 75 minutes.  It was warm and Robbie especially got quite sweaty.  We were greeted by the boarded 'boys' when we got back to the barn.

Joe and I went to Joan's birthday party, next door at Brian's.  There was a larger crowd than I expected, and I enjoyed meeting new folks and having fun conversations.  Joe left early to work on leaves but I stayed for a second beer and cake and ice cream. 

Micki cheering Joan on as she blows out her candles. 

Yay!  She got them out.  (2-7s for her 77th birthday).

I had popcorn in front of the TV while watching the first two episodes of the series Joe Pickett with Joe. 
 

Wednesday 11/2 -  Jean's photo from the afternoon before.  All was content with our horses and the ranch. 

I spent part of the morning deciding on, and then making a reservation to over-night with our horses on Friday. 

A photo of Rose when I sat down to rest and visit with her during yard raking. 

I had gone to the gym, and then made arrangements for being gone Friday night, and continued making plans for the 'sleep over' with horses and two days of riding. 






A few hours of raking leaves barely made a dent in the yard.  Joe had mowed (mulched) much of the yard but leaves were piled in all the flower beds, so that's what I tackled. 

I was trying to get a photo of Maggie and Rose and myself, but my two subjects were not very cooperative. 




Getting them to look at the camera or pose for a photo went from bad to worse.

I was short on time so grabbed a quick shower, dinner, and then was off to Shirley's.  We four girls, (including Patty and Judy) met to finalize our cruise payment and plan for some excursions.  






 Jean took this photo when doing chores down in the boarders paddock. Another beautiful evening on the ranch. 

I got home after my bedtime, and being short on sleep, was soon under the covers with a few cats snuggled in at my back and legs. 

Thursday 11/3 - More plans (especially trying to get a good trail map) were made for our horse overnight.  Laundry and other domestic chores were accomplished.  And I got to the ranch at almost 2:00. 

This is Jean's photo of our kale 'palm' which I am still harvesting kale from.

We loaded tack onto the trailer, and also horse supplies (buckets, hay, hose, manure rake etc.)

 

 
Back up at the house to talk through our 'game plan,' it wasn't that cold, but Maggie and Parm were sharing a sunbeam in the living room. 

I like the contrast in lighting of these photos.

I worked at more leaf removal once home, packed an overnight bag for myself, and collected food and drink to pack in the morning.

Joe and I watched Survivor before bed.

Friday 11/4 - This is a screen shot of my Facebook page, getting several answers to the question I asked about riding trails from Big South Fork Lodge. 

I was up and at-um by 3:45, unable to get to sleep when I woke at 3am.  I had plenty on my mind, mostly excitement and anticipation.  But I was also worried about being able to find and ride 'doable' trails. 

I went to the gym from 7-8:30, had a big protein breakfast  once home, and finished packing up and getting the pets ready for us being gone the next 30 hours.

Well, I am ready to go.  Jean gets off work at 11:00.  We will get the horses groomed, loaded, and be on our way, with Joe driving us once again.