Under Summer Skies

Saturday evening, August 23
The day began with big droplets of rain.  But the rain moved quickly, never lingering long enough to offer precious moisture to the soil.

The girls watched the sunset.  Sparse remnants of clouds fleeting into nothingness before them.

"What's the forecast for tomorrow?"  Grace asked.  

"Twenty per cent chance of thunderstorms after 11 AM. Extreme heating warning until dark."

Sunday morning, August 24
The girls would stay close to home for a spell.  The heat had a way of creeping up on you.  It often didn't seem so fierce on the outset of a walk or ride, but things could go south quickly.  Especially with dogs.  So Skye used the time to do some problem solving.  

"It's the Dilute Dungeon"  Skye said, smiling.  Skye's studio space had been transformed into a temporary home for the boss's growing collection of rather large horse statuary.

Grace perused the space, tidy as she had ever seen it, much too neat and orderly for an artistic space.  "I forgot all about this one"  Grace said, motioning to a golden Criollo stallion figure.  'There's two immediate problems with this plan though.  The first one is that you're giving up your art space and the second one is that if you decide to use it, you're going to have to cover all these horses."

"I haven't done anything up here in forever"  Skye said.  "And the lighting isn't great.  It's actually really bad."  She had a point.  Her  studio was both a lovely space, and an awkward one, perhaps better suited as a bunkhouse bedroom.

Grace picked up one of Skye's paintings.

"This is my favorite piece of yours."

"That was my very first!"

"It's the best.  It's so loose, and yet you totally feel the subjects.  Don't give up on your artwork."

"What if that was jut a one hit wonder though?"

"I'd say keep hitting."

Dude and Anoush took a short walk to the western flank of the ranch, letting Contessa and Tosh stretch their considerable legs before they embarked on their reunion with their home and their rightful owner.  Tosh was content to stay close to Dude and Anoush.   

"I'm taking the dogs back first, then going to pick up Gramma Francis."

Anoush had championed bringing Francis home and been a vital alley and asset every step of the way.  Dude has done the work of making impossible, but she had provided the guidance and unwavering support that made it possible.   The boss had also thrown herself wholeheartedly into the pursuit of getting Francis back home.  

Still, bringing Francis back into her home was not without risks, and not without resistance.  Her sons strongly favored keeping her in assisted living.  And it was not by any means ordinary to reverse that process.  Once an elder entered a senior living or assisted living environment, it wasn't temporary.  They didn't return home.  Not without extraordinary familial commitment.  Presently, Dude was that commitment.  What had begun as a reconnaissance mission to locate her wild horses had become a journey to save Francis Loop Caldwell herself.

"Her mental acuity has risen sharply in the last few weeks" Dude reflected.  "She's so excited about coming home."

"How are you feeling?"

"The water pressure throughout the property seems low.  I need to look into that.  I want to get her settled in first, get her acquainted with Jesse and his family, make sure we've got the house set up to her liking."

Not exactly an answer to her question, but Anoush let it be.  

Back at the ranch, the girls congregated at the indoor arena. The arena was almost cool compared to the outside world.

Skye brought Dude's horse Trooper down.  Lousin kept him moving more or less along the rail at a trot. "Grace do you remember what leg he was favoring?"  Skye watched Trooper move, but she could detect no sign of lameness.

"I do not. The boss might remember."  Grace said.  "It might have been something like a stone bruise.  I don't think he ever had any swelling."

"Is Dude taking Trooper to his grandma's?"  Lousin asked.

"No"  Skye replied.  "At least not for now.  He's leaving him here, and we have permission to ride him.  But.  I don't want to take him out if he's sore, or..."

Grace brought the big, colorful, baroque stallion Mateo to the arena next. He commanded attention with his flashy coat and his fondness for rearing.  Grace had gotten used to him.  He was dramatic in the extreme.  But not dangerous.  

"Have you had any success showing him?"  Anoush asked.  He was definitely her kind of horse, but she'd never indicated a desire to ride him.  

"No, but I think part of the problem was the boss.  She got sort of obsessed with his breeding and the philosophy behind it and she got him tangled up in his own pedigree.  If we try to show him again in the future we're going to call him a historical Spanish riding horse. Period."

Anahit and Lousin brought down the next horses to have some time in the arena.  The odd couple, as Skye liked to call them; Angel, the pinto Friesian sporthorse, and his sidekick, the Paso Fino gelding.  They were in every way different - size, build, and especially gait;  and yet they moved in unison, the Paso's movements almost a blur, the Friesian's gait a grand sashay.

"Have you ridden the Paso?"  Anahit asked.

"Not yet"  Grace said.  "Frankly, I don't know the proper cues to put him through his gaits, but also I don't think we have a bridle that fits him.  He's tiny.  Almost a pony."

Skye suggested that Anahit and Lousin bring down the big, buttery buckskin gelding next. 
And so they did.  Times two.

Skye's eyes grew wide.  "Who is that?"  

"Didn't you say bring down the big buttery buckskin gelding?"  Lousin asked.

"I did!"

"But not which one"  Anahit interjected.  "So we brought them both."

"Grace, do you know who this is?"  Skye asked.

Grace watched the horses pass her.  Brin, the cob, was familiar.  The lovely stock horse, not.

"Nope"  Grace answered. 

Skye fetched the next gelding.  A chance to go outside and peer at the clouds.  They were lovely, dynamic, ever-changing...but they were stalled out above Yucca Peak, and came no further.  

Grace was happy to see Skye's choice.  Spin was a good horse.  Solid.  Honest.  Kind.  Level headed.  No drama.  

Anoush brought out the day's last horses.  She did love the flashy ones.

Anoush and Grace studied the tall, lean mare, Cruella Can't Catch Me.

"Have you gotten on her yet?" Grace asked.

"Not yet" Anoush replied.  "I've seen her ridden.  She seemed to have no real concept of working with a rider.  I think she needs to get restarted, and slowly.  Maybe in a few weeks she'll be ready to go under saddle again."

Skye approached Anahit and Lousin.  "If you want to ride that Paso, I'll see if I can find some tack that will fit him."

"He's amazing"  Anahit said.  "I'd love to ride him."

The last horse of the day was Luna, the sabino Thoroughbred mare. 

"Luna"  Anoush said softly.  Luna had been languishing since the Criollo stallion came along.  "I promise you, when it cools down a bit, we'll get out for more rides again."