Winter Drive By

When I went to the barn to visit the horses yesterday, Abby and the herd could not have been any more inaccessible to me. 

 Diablo.

They were in the far northwest corner of the pasture, far from the barns and access lanes.

 Sultanna, my NaMoPaiMo model.

I could have parked by the new barn and hiked out to them, but I didn't feel like walking through the mud that is down by the gate and then across three pastures.

Sultanna and Trouble.

I checked the lane to the old barn that also serves as the driveway to the old farmhouse, but two cars were parked there and blocking it. Normally, when they horses are in this pasture, I go down that lane to visit them.

 Hokey.

What I could do was drive alongside the pasture fence on the county road that borders Tim's property. There's no place to pull over and park, but if I watched the traffic, I could slow down, even stop, and take a look at my girl. I have to be careful because there is a blind rise just east of the lane to the old barn that blocks my view of any traffic that is coming.

Abby and Hokey.

So, that's what I did. I was lucky in that there were no cars or trucks coming either way, so I simply stopped my car and rolled down the window.

 Abby reacted immediately when I called to her - she turned and looked at my car

I could almost see her thinking and wondering why I did not get out of the car and come see her. (Doesn't she look like she's thinking, "Well? What is the delay?")

But with no place to pull over and park, I did not want to risk getting out of the car for a visit.

Of course, I felt terribly guilty at getting her hopes up. That had not been my intention. I'd just called her name spontaneously without thinking it through. Next time that I end up doing a drive by herd check, I won't make that mistake. But hopefully, the drive bys will be few and far between. I much prefer our usual visits.