Saying Hello: New Horse in Town

     Vermont. There's a new horse in my backyard, four long years since Athena's death. I hadn't intended to get another beast: all that work, you know, mud season, frozen water buckets, flies, endless manure. And the final heartbreak of saying goodbye.
     But my live-in mate blew my mind the week before last Thanksgiving, asking me to look at a photo on his computer.
     "Whaddya think of this picture?" he asked casually one morning, bringing his laptop over to me where I sat on the couch with my laptop and my tea.

     "Which one? Oh, well, it's a horse." 

     "Whaddya think of him?" he pushed. 

     "Well," I looked closer. "It's a very nice horse, a Morgan." I turned back to my screen.
     "You want him?"

     "Wha... ?" Shocked pause. "What did you just say?" 

     My mouth gaped open. He started to giggle. Then I narrowed my eyes and shook my finger in his face. 

     "Don't mess with me, that's not funny, mister. Don't. You. Mess. With. Me." I gave him a final, firm wag of my finger.
     "Really!" Jim said with delight creasing his face. "You want him? You want to go see him?"
     With that, I jumped on him, both hugging and punching him. For the rest of that day week, our house was punctuated with alternating screams of joy and stern warnings from me.

* * *

     And that's how suddenly I reopened my heart and took a chance on "Chance," the sturdy, middle-aged Vermont Morgan. Whom you shall meet in subsequent posts as well as read my other stories about these creatures, and about my wild, loving, fun, scary, and unforgettable experiences in the Horse World.
     Would you tell me about your horse? I'd love to hear from you in these pages.

     Thanks for tuning into this first post. Hope you'll check in again.