Keeping Secrets

June 15, 2024
Dawn came warm.  The insect nations were stirring in their countless masses.

"I'd like to ride Firebird today" Skye said. Grace paused a moment before answering.

"The hyper-local weather report calls for breezy. What I'm hearing over the station radio is the potential for actual wind. So let's see how the next few hours go."

Firebird was built for speed, not necessarily trail riding. So they chose to head up the mountain, toward the back country, utilizing the relatively smooth dirt road. Such that anything in Chilao was smooth.

Firebird welcomed the chance to stretch out.  The girls were just getting their mounts into a hand gallop when unexpected company appeared.  A wild filly jumped out onto the road first, her dam close behind.

The wild mare and foal changed direction.  Rather than cross the road they shied away from Grace and Skye. They were running on the road now. The mare was big, and she was moving, but she was no race horse. The girls gained ground quickly.

Firebird and Windy Boy leaned into their power.  Firebird overtook the big sabino mare fairly easily.  Soon they were running side by side.

"Careful!" Grace called out.

Skye looked right into the eye of the big sabino mare. The mare was determined to leave her pursuers behind, but she didn't have speed on her side.

The big mare turned suddenly, her foal like a shadow, and headed off the road and into the tall grass.  Grace and Skye reined their horses in, staying on the road bed, watching as the mare and filly made their escape.

"That was the best ride ever" Skye beamed as they head back toward the ranch, Firebird reluctant to take a flat footed walk.

"That was a pretty good ride" Grace said, smiling.

June 16
Skye walked around in the big empty space where their table had been just a week before.

"Did the boss really lose our table at the powwow?" She asked. "And are we in any danger from that fire? All of a sudden it looks kind of ominous."

"The short answer is yes" Grace responded. "At least yes to the table part. She said the table might be on the trailer, which isn't unloaded yet. As for the fire...hopefully the smoke is from the fire in Gorman which is fairly far away. I just looked it up. It's called the Post fire and it's at 14,500 acres.

The girls stared into the reddened landscape. It was eerie and beautiful all at once. The smell of smoke was present, but not overwhelming. There was no ash fall, only smoke in the sky. And silence. They were just out of earshot of the fire station radio. Grace and Skye watched the light change as the smoke billowed in between them and the sun's light. Eventually, they headed back home.

As the sun sunk low on the horizon, Crazy's band emerged onto the same rocky landscape.  The rock ridge offered some small bit of relief from the biting insects, but only as long as there was a breeze.

As dusk fell and shadows deepened, the band needed to choose a location to spend the evening. Crazy's vigilance as a ruling stallion also placed him in a high risk predicament; there were no dog soldiers hanging around to help ward off predators.

June 29
"I should have worn my hat" Skye whispered.

They couldn't see anything, but they could hear, every now and then, the crunch of hooves against loose rock, or the swish of a tail. Down beneath the shade of the rock ledge, there were horses.

Chamise was in bloom.  The bones of fallen pine cones lay scattered all about.  Spent yucca flowers made a soft creamy pattern across the landscape.

​The Newcomer was still with the dark mare and foal. Taking advantage of both shade and breeze beneath the ledge, they rested in a narrow passage on the sprawling stone complex the girls called Mustang Rock.

The girls took a clue from the horses, and moved, quietly as possible, into the shade. The stone formed a near perfect seat for them, but they were no closer to getting a view of the horses.

Crazy knew he had company, but the dun horse posed no threat. He was completely non-confrontational, and moved his harem of two away at the slightest request. The girls were not visible, nor could he smell them, so their presence was as unknown to him as his was to them.

Crazy's band took refuge in the shade of a towering pine, growing thick and lush after two good winters.

After what seemed like a very long time of silence, the girls gave up, and headed home.

"Ouch!" Grace flailed her arms about her head and neck. "Damn it!"

Skye tried to swat it away, but it kept coming back.

"It's a deer fly!" Skye said, trying to follow its erratic moves. "Aren't they supposed to go away after they bite you?"

The afternoon was cooling, but Grace decided the arena might be a good alternative to deer fly encounters.

"Do you want to go out again this evening?" Skye asked. "We'll use fly spray this time. And maybe ride."

"I'd love to" Grace said. "Drives me crazy when we know there's horses about, but we can't see them."

Skye was just about ready to reply when she saw Lousin and Anahit making their way toward her. Grace also took notice. Talk of finding the wild horses ended abruptly.

All eyes followed Grace as she moved alongside La Barilla, and took a slightly exaggerated step to the right. After a second, he stepped sideways to the right. She did it again. He didi it again, slightly quicker.

"I want to teach him to dance" Grace explained. "Like just a few steps. A shimmy to the left, a shimmy to the right, a twirl, maybe a few steps forward and a few steps back."

Grace brought Moose down to the arena. Skye had a particular fondness for the big Morgan cross. He was a good horse...bold, willing, a mover.

For the life of them neither of the girls could remember the name of the new shire. Another looker, with big movement and an engaging personality. Anahit and Lousin approached Grace while Skye was preoccupied with the strawberry horse.

"So you know our mom is a social worker" Lousin began. "She has three girls right now..."

"Four" Anahit corrected.

"Heather sort of doesn't count" Lousin answered, then continued. "She has four girls under her supervision right now, three of them are young and very active, and she's looking to do something with them over the summer, like a camping trip or something."

"Like horse camping?" Grace asked.

"No" the sisters answered in unison. "The little girls are wild" Anahit explained. "I mean not wild. High energy."

"She meant wild" Lousin said. "They're a hand full. Our mom has an assistant, she came to the art opening...Heather came to the art opening too, in fact. She's not looking to put them on horses. She's looking for something fun to do with them, something they'll remember and cherish, something normal and healthy like a family would do."

"Well" Grace responded, "the boss isn't here right now, and we'd have to ask her. But if she says yes, we'll be happy to help."

Skye brought down the Vanner mare and foal. The afternoon sun was sinking low in the western sky and the air was delicious. It would have been perfect riding weather to go back out looking for the wildies. But neither Grace or Skye breathed a word about it. There was a mutual, awkward silence on the subject between them...an awkwardness that they maintained between the two of them while getting on with the business of exercising horses.

Lousin wrapped her arms around the filly. "You are just the most adorable..."

​                                                                                                               #