The practical side of yard life
The ride that turned into a cup of tea
Fictional yard diary · Ellie and Rob
Ellie has a rare afternoon free, and the weather has plans of its own.
I had put the afternoon in my diary in capital letters. RIDE. That was the entire entry, which made it look like I was either very organised or shouting at myself.
The plan changes
At two o’clock the wind rattled the yard gate and the rain arrived sideways. I looked at Rob, who was standing under the shelter with his hood tied so tightly I could see only his nose. We decided to leave the ride for another day. I was disappointed. I had been looking forward to doing something with the afternoon that didn’t end in wet washing.
Bramble was quite happy to be fussed over while we finished our jobs. Rob told me about his day. I told him that one of us had left a teaspoon in the saddle cupboard. Neither of us could explain how it got there, although we both had theories.
Fifteen extra minutes
We made tea and stood just inside the barn door. The rain sounded almost impressive from somewhere dry. When it eased, we went back outside and watched Bramble turn his face into the breeze.
By the time we left, I’d stopped feeling like the afternoon had been wasted. I wrote RIDE in the diary again for next week. Underneath, in smaller letters, I wrote bring biscuits.