Horses on Wheels

As I was driving to work recently, my progress up a long hill was slowed by a pickup truck pulling two horses in a trailer.  I was struck by the irony of seeing horses transported by wheels powered by engines whose strength is measured in "horsepower"  when it used to be that horses once hauled our wagons and goods instead and the wheels only turned because the horses pulled them.   These days, we have to haul our horses in trailers just to get to some safe open space where we can enjoy riding them or letting them run free.

I guess that's one reason I love driving trips that take me to rural areas and wide open spaces and fields where horses run free.   I got caught in an old-fashioned cattle drive last summer and here is what I saw:

Driving in the city and being slowed by a big truck, construction, roadblocks brings my blood pressure up.  But being stuck behind a cow and her calf (see the little critter underneath her) makes me realize there are still places left in our country where time moves with the rhythms of nature and peace abides.