November Day With Horse

After some good conversation over coffee, I headed west to the ranch. The weather was nice but, as the afternoon progressed, the sky was clouding up. I wanted to have a couple of restful hours with Cooper, my old horse. My favorite time at the ranch is when there aren't other people around, but there was an old guy with his barking dogs by the barn when I arrived. Turns out he owns Cooper's neighbor. The man smokes a pipe while in the barn. I'll have to say something to the people who run the place.

There's a spacious view that makes me feel like I'm deep in the country, even though Boulder is about a mile down the road. Old cottonwoods, prairie dogs, ponds, and a mesa. I see rattlesnakes and coyotes regularly. Eagles sometimes catch the thermals overhead. Tractors and trucks. It's a working cattle ranch that's the real deal.

 Cooper is getting his winter coat. The cooler weather revved him up. He was full of piss and vinegar, charging around the arena at a dead run, stopping only to roll in the dirt. Happy horse.

Cooper with his summer dapples.