Dogs and Cherry Blossoms

Have you ever just wanted to drop everything and wander into DC with your dog to see the amazing cherry blossoms? Tim and I did that one weekend and found that seeing those colorful, delicate blossoms was a Godsend after hiking around DC for miles and miles with our dog on a leash who was lunged at by hundreds of playful dogs on their own leashes who just wanted the walk to be over with and the play to begin!

Okay, let's face it. Cherry blossoms are over the top. Like nothing we normally see in everyday life at the grocery store, in our jobs, on the highway, on our bikes, or at the local frog pond. Those blossoms are just specatular. Seeing them puts me in a good mood immediately. Even if I have recently felt like screaming or throwing something at a passing car. The blossoms calm me down, create a soothing sigh deep within me, and lift my spirits with all that PINK.

Now, let's talk about dogs. If you are not into them, skip this part.

I love my dog. I love every dog that has come into my life for so many reasons. Kiva, my dog of five years, has added joy and play to my life. Tim and I laugh with him, play, and joke with him. And he gets our jokes!

Each morning I wake up to find that Kiva has his head perched on one of my legs and is sound asleep until I stir. He senses my every thought and move. As I slowly rise out of bed, Kiva is alert and ready to go wherever my sleepy eyes take me. After a shower, Kiva is patiently waiting for me to descend the stairs for my second cup of tea (Tim brings me my first). As I prepare this sacred second cup, Kiva watches with the eyes of a pro who has spent years knowing what comes next. I sit down to read the paper, and Kiva sits on my feet looking up at me as if I saved him from the last tornado that passed through and will never forget the allegiance he owes me.

I always end up on the deck to watch the birds and finish the paper, and Kiva is now excited beyond belief because he loves the outdoors...if I am out there with him.

Loyalty. That is what a dog is. Unabashed, blatant, sincere, honest. Loyalty.

Kiva's large, dark eyes never stray far from me as I move about outside feeding the squirrel, refilling a bird feeder, watering flowers, calling out to a neighbor. He is always alert for any change in my behavior, making sure he is not left behind. Making sure he is a part of my pattern for the day.

I feel so safe with Kiva. If anyone comes to my door, he is at once the most ferocious watch dog on the earth, barking and growling threats at anyone who might persist in knocking or disturbing our quiet morning or afternoon. I was once in my truck with him and when some poor man approached my vehicle as if to ask a question, Kiva almost went throught the window, scaring the man to the opposite side of the street in seconds. And yet a child approaches him, and he goes down on his belly to be petted and loved. How does a dog manage situations like this?

One late night I laid in bed thinking about how lucky Tim and I are to be together and to have Kiva with us. I thought about how we spin and spin around the sun while children run and play, horses whinney in their fields, toads wallow in gardens, and those of us who have dogs keep them close to our hearts. And with good reason.

Daydreamin'

Some of my best daydreams are generated from the back of a horse. Try riding through a quiet field or forest on a horse you trust...yeah, I know, never completely relax...but that advice goes to the wayside when on a horse you have been riding for years, and that blue sky is beckoning you to breathe in the world around you and think about all those dreams you have been storing up for weeks.

The soft hum of insects creates a musical sort of background

Familiar fragrances of creek and foliage dance through your mind

In a haze of memories and visions, you seem to shut your eyes

And just dream a little dream while your horse walks on, ignoring the whistful smile on your face...that she can't see anyway.

Perhaps she is dreaming her own little dream.

And when you leave her, she trots along her fence and remembers what it was.

Brainstorm! Ride to Write!

Last night I went to a cookout with my horsey friends and enjoyed listening to the talk about family and love of horses. Right before we ate, my friend Susan whispered to me...her horse was hurt. We walked out to the ring where her beautiful Arab mare was now penned in away from the herd with a paralysis in her head and right leg...totally unexplanable and so painful to witness. This lovely mare with bright eyes now casts her eyes downward, unable to blink with her right eye...enable to move her right ear that lays limp on the side of her head.

I marveled and thought through tears...this can happen to any of us and to any of our horses.

I honestly do not know how my friend was able to go through with her cookout...but then I realized that she was throwing this party in honor of her oldest daughter who is about to launch herself into a college career...and let's face it...life. How can you cancel that? As a mom, I know you simply can not.

This morning I woke up thinking about that lovely Arab Mare, praying she will recover somehow. My husband and I went out on our bikes to ride a good 20 miles which gives me time to reflect and dream. I so want to teach horse back riding again to children but I also want to teach writing. With six books published, I feel I can offer a view of writing from a perspective that can be enjoyed and studied.

So I came up with something like...Ride to Write...or Riding to Write...Riding and Writing. I plan to advertise and see what happens...but this is what it will look like. One or two girls/women at a time will spend an hour or so a week with me learning to ride and then write about the experience. I also will offer pieces to read on horses...horse care, horse safety, etc. so that the clients may read, research, talk, discuss, and then write according to their learning and ideas.

The riding will lead to writing...and the writing will facilitate more riding with correct balance and a love for the horse.

Wow...I am excited and will let you all know via my blog if anything comes of this. And I cannot forget that I am an artist who loves to draw horses...perhaps that will become part of the experience as well. Happy Trails! Melanie

My First Entry...Thoughts on the HorseHeart

My friend Darlene encouraged me to create a blog...about anything at all...just to start writing. So here it is, and I wish to share thoughts on the horse heart...the heart goes both ways...from the horse's perspective and from our own.

My horse heart beckons me to the barn on an early morning just to catch Windy's eyes as they reflect whatever she has experienced before I show up. One such morning brought the sun with me as I climbed out of my truck in time to see her standing on the small hill watching me intensely. Before I had time to react, I heard her strong and familiar call before she galloped toward me like a child. I laughed out loud holding her beautiful face in my arms while scratching her in her favorite place behind her ears.

Those are the mornings worth getting up for. The bridle goes on and then the saddle slips easily onto a back it has known all is life. As I swing one leg around Windy's strong back, I anticipate the ride, the thrill of being one with the horse, and the positive energy that bonds me to this animal and has for the past 14 years.

Her thick, red mane reflects the sun as it dips and weaves with the clouds overhead. I love to grab a handful as we go faster and feel the wind on my face...the very same wind that has just left hers. She feels my legs signal her to turn this way and then that, and like water in a changing stream, she responds. Her sure footed gaits lift me to those places where I am not afraid as the world spins by me.

My horse heart opens and lets everything about her fall into place there where we can speak in our own language and laugh at the same bird antics in the sky above us. I will miss her when I leave...but she knows I will always be back soon.