When I was a youngster living in Red Deer, Alberta my sister Linda and I frequented the nearby farm of one Mr. Brandt for horseback riding lessons. We were initiated on bareback then graduated to Western and finally English saddle. Although I haven’t ridden a horse for decades, I recall that my preferred animal was a Quarter horse which was between 16 and 18 hands high, not insignificant to a wispy child. I also spent summertime vacations at so-called “dude” ranches where the horses tended to be less agile (though I recall on an outing to the hinterland having hobbled our team during a violent rainstorm so they didn’t evaporate into the bushes overnight).

Today by some anomalous influence when I was beginning my customary adventure along the Appleton Side Road I had the sensation of riding a horse. The adjoining expansive farmlands were the picture of rural delight. Only moments earlier the atmosphere had been cloudy and rainy; but suddenly the skies cleared and the rolling turbulent clouds parted to expose the azure sky and sunlight. The hills rolled up and down like ribbons.

Though I soon abandoned the fiction of riding a horse, I was nonetheless consumed by the vicarious pleasure of driving a car. This un-athletic preoccupation was expiated by my early morning tricycle ride about the neighbourhood. Thus sufficiently exonerated I continued the metaphor of horseback riding in my motor vehicle. As you might expect I am more a pleasure rider than a cross-country racer.  Yet my imagination readily embraced all the elements of a sporting ride. Today was one of those very special days when all features connect. I admit to the inexpressible allure of a well-controlled automotive engine.

Upon returning home the landscape continues its unqualified exposition. In the distance boaters and boarders materialized upon the mixed complexion of the late afternoon river. The nearby crops have burgeoned following the torrential rains. The entire pathway as far as one can see is a variety of dark and emerald green tinted on occasion by yellow crowns. The summertime season is not without its inebriating additives.