This year, more than any other year, I’ve been taking note of the change of scenery when riding out on the trails. There are a few plants and flowers I don’t know, but I have a handle on most.

Right now, the wild geraniums, wild roses, dandelions, watermelon berry plants, and wild high bush cranberries are all in bloom. Bugs are everywhere. There are not as many birds as there used to be – I have been seeing numerous robins, and some magpies, that is the local citizenry. Today a spruce hen flew up directly in front of Raudi. We passed, then another one crossed the trail, so as to join its mate.

I was going up the far bench trail when I saw a porcupine. It waddled off into the

Alys and Hrimmi

bushes. Raudi saw it too, and stopped, and fortunately she remained rooted. There used to be porcupine, a huge one, that hung out around the Murphy Road trailhead. He was named Mikey. I haven’t seen him in some time. I named the one that I saw today, Mikey Junior.

I didn’t see any four wheelers or dirt bikes out on the trails. As I was rounding the bend of Suicide Hill, I saw a maroon helmet in the grass. I looked more closely – the person had just come off her horse. I had Hrimmi (who had no concerns at all about either the rider or the horse) stop, and then Cath, a neighbor, popped up out of the grass and got back on her horse. I recognized her by her voice, rather than sight. This was because a half hour before, as I was coming down Pete’s trail, and Hrimmi stepped sideways, off the trail and forward. I had no time to stop her. My face connected with a branch going crosswise across the trail. For a brief moment, I was tangled in branch. When finally, the coast was clear, I noticed that my left lens, my distance vision lens, had popped out of my glasses. I considered going back and looking for it, but I knew that there was no way I’d be able to find it. The vegetation on the trailside is now very lush and very thick.

I cursed because I knew that I was on borrowed time with that lens and my glasses frame. I had, a few days previously, noticed that pin holding the glasses frame together had popped out.

Cath and I exchanged pleasantries, then after passing one another, continued on our separate ways, me in the direction of home. I thought, I have everything in the world these days except for two things, the first being my left lens and the second being someone to ride with.

I got home and fortunately located a spare pair of glasses. I’m due to get new ones in July. These will do until then. So this matter is easy to deal with. Finding someone to ride with, I think is an impossibility. Cath just isn’t interested in riding with me and there are no others around who are horseback riders. Oh well. I say, be thankful for what I have. If I didn’t have any horses at all, I would bemoan this in particular.

Next: 164. 6/14/21: One week until the Solstice