The summer has flown by. I took time off from blogging knowing the season would be wild. And it was! Horses filled my landscape. Training, competing and coaching. So nourishing for my soul. Now as the fall brightens our world with color and the days slowly shorten, I find myself once again with a few minutes to jot down thoughts/blog. I am not a huge fan of winter but am a huge fan of the seasons. Seasons, I feel, put perspective on life. Allow us to appreciate differences (one can barely recognize New England landscapes season to season), develop resilience (to put on the layers and layers of clothes needed to stay warm in New England takes RESILIENCE) and deepen compassion (I can not help but feel huge compassion for two and four legged creatures that spend a lot of time out of doors in super cold damp temperatures).
Cooper's Crossroad has been busy settling into our new "home", Elm Farm. We now have a wonderful herd of 5, 3 ponies and 2 horses. I try my best to use Cooper as my mode of transportation between Dusty Dog Farm and Elm Farm. Not only is it fun but it slows me down just enough to allow me time to "check in" with me.
Cooper and I have gotten very familiar with the route. Dusty Dog to Elm Farm and back is a fun ride. I have now ridden it since last December when the notion that Cooper's Crossroad could have a home came about. The ride I take is out through our hayfield at DDF to the Keene Rail Trail. There I head (usually trotting or cantering) to Whitcombs Mills Rd, Felt Rd follows and VOILA Elm Fam. I cross tie Cooper as I work or visit with the animals there. Then off we go back to Dusty Dog generally on the road. Cooper and I are comfortable with the route and have brought more and more friends with us as the season has worn on.
Late summer I was riding Cooper home from Elm Farm. The fog was thick as Cooper and I clip-clopped home along Arch St. A bank of fog encased the pond and creek that normally gives a lovely view of open water from a bridge. Cooper stopped and stared out at what USED to be a pond, NOW was a wall of fog. I could almost feel him wonder what was beyond the fog? Immediately I made the mental analogy to trauma awareness. For many, our vision is heavy with a fog over trauma awareness. This fog CAN burn off but it takes the bright light of awareness. Awareness of what trauma does to us. What adverse childhood experiences do to our brains, our life span and our quality of life.
Daily, weekly, during Farming For Resilience and Pathways to Wellness sessions, I am grateful that Cooper has led me to see beyond the fog.
Enjoy the change of seasons and what they do for us!
All the best, Christina
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