sitting in Mangrove valley chasing light beams

Our Saturday started out so foggy that Pie and Sovey had trouble finding each other in the pasture. Earlier, at 6am, Mom had fed the boys their breakfast in their stalls and she said that Pie was mesmerized by something out his east window. When I turned them out I could hear a loud banging in the distance, but because of the fog, I really couldn't tell what it was. While I cleaned the stalls, Mom investigated and discovered that the house next to our "barstool-apple-friend" was being re-shingled. We decided to ride in spite of the hammering. While we tacked up it became clear that Pie was super nervous about the mysterious noise in the fog. He was pawing and practically jigging in the cross-ties. I offered him some "down" time in his stall with his hay, but he only stood and stared out his window. I resumed tacking him up, but he was anything but cooperative. I know that my Mom would have bowed out of the ride if she knew how truly scared and antsy I thought he was, but I really have faith in his ability to work through his fears. I just maintained our usual calm routine. I pretended that he wasn't hyper, and finished tacking up. With Mom on Sovereign and me on the Big Boy, we headed out around our pastures and then through the fields. I could feel Pie calming under me, but he still was craning his neck in the direction of the roofers. Pie is a serious chow-hound and he was indignant that there was such a commotion near his beloved barstool with the apples. He just could not reconcile the fact that he might miss his apples today because of the scary noises. We quietly walked south and west with no problems. As we started north up the field, I saw Mom and Sovereign heading diagonally away from us. "Where are you going?" I asked. "I'm not going near there!" Mom yelled. Suddenly, Pie and I had a clear view of the whole scene. About six men in bright shirts with nail guns were walking around on the roof of a ranch house. They were working quickly and shooting nails loudly, but, just then, Pie spied his apples! Conundrum!!! I leaned forward and kissed him up, completely relaxing my seat and reins. He slowly and bravely walked over to his apples. Mom and Sovey joined us. The boys were marvelous!! They didn't mind one straw and now have another "scary" experience under their belts...um...girths. After their snack, they calmly walked right by the ranch house to our bridle paths in the woods as if they see this type of thing all the time. In addition, they relaxed the rest of the day in the pastures because they understood about all the noise. I like to help a horse find the answers when they ask.