Wizard Ride 154: Beechwood Park

Do you remember golden days and golden summer sun
The sound of laughter in our ears
In the breeze as we would run?
And the breeze would touch your hair
Kiss your face and make you care
About your world
Your summer world
(The Zombies, Beechwood Park)

Oh, and about a ZILLION DEERFLIES.

Friday, 6/25/10

Yuck. In the words of my blogging buddy Funder, it seemed like a good idea at the time…

Wizard and I embarked on a morning trail ride. I covered his ears with an ear net, I greased his ankles with Bug Balm, and I sprayed him with fly spray. All of this fly protection seemed to only encourage the flies further, and they swarmed by the dozens around poor Wizard’s head and body for the entire ride. They also mauled my arms, leaving angry welts where they bit me.

The only way to get away from them was to go faster, so we trotted about 4 miles with a few walking breaks. This was a good exercise for Wizard, since he wants to canter on trails and not trot. He broke into a canter just a few times and I was able to easily bring him back to a trot. We rode past the perilous pigpen (there are no pigs in it), across the street and back, and down a few long paths. Other than our bloodthirsty visitors, it was a really nice ride.