Hours Before Winters Return

I took one horse, and the dogs up on the ridge east of our place. I saddled up around 3:30pm. High the day before had been near 80 degrees, but the prediction was for rain by late afternoon, so I had been watching a bank of clouds that had been building in the southwest. I scurried around, finished mowing the lawn then loaded up for the 3 mile drive to the launch sight.

I unloaded everyone then rode about a mile along a dirt road that runs just below the crest of the main northeast southwest ridge Then we left the road for a grass covered row of hills that string together to form a lower branch ridge.

The dogs were pointing pairs, and small covies of gray partridge along the way. I was heading for the far end of the ridge to where it drops off into the rolling hills of the Palouse. This would give me a nice view of town, and our little ranch.

When I got to the crest of the last hill, I dismounted, hobbled the horse, and removed the bit so he could graze while I looked over the view.

I could see three plumes of dust from tractors were my neighbors doing some spring farming ahead of the next rain.

I called Marylou on my cell phone, told her were I was, and she said she could see me, a dot 2 miles away on the nearest foothill.

After 15 or 20 minutes I caught a flash of lighting out of the corner of my eye in the cloud bank to the southwest. I also noticed rain streaks under the clouds. Between me and the clouds was my barn where I needed to be before the storm got to it.

The warm T-shirt afternoon, soft breeze with distant lighting, and an occasional low moan of thunder all gave the feeling of comfort with a slight backdrop of drama. Ten minutes after I had gotten the horse unsaddled and fed the first few drops of rain rattled the barn roof.

 This was the view of our barn and house.