Evening Ride & C-130's

It was a day SO hot it made your pants stick to your legs. Well I wore shorts, and they stuck to my bottom while riding the lawn mower.

Just before sunset, I grabbed an old pair of cargo pants and threw them on.
I ran outside and called for Badger.
He came trotting to the gate [gosh what a great guy!]

I put a headstall on him and took him to the overturned bucket in the yard. I stepped up on the bucket and hoisted myself up onto him.

Off we rode at a trot. I wanted to get to the ridge before the sun set completely.

The air was muggy, but pleasant [how could it be anything but pleasant when you are riding???].
I was happy that Badger was doing the work and not me.

The sky was full of color and I began to take photos, while Badger stood patiently.
He is a great 'mule tripod'.

I rode towards one of my neighbors who lives about 3/4 of a mile down the road. I could see her out with her cattle.

I turned to watch the sunset. It was gorgeous, going from bright oranges to deep purples.

Suddenly I hear a roar. I couldn't figure out exactly what it was and looked around for some gigantic tractors...

Then they appeared just over the tree tops ... coming out of the valley. C-130 aircraft. If you've ever seen one of these, they are gigantic! They have a wingspan of 132 feet.

Badger merely glanced at them and then stretched his neck out to grab some long grass from the side of the road.

[Being a resident of the Kickapoo Valley we've seen these aircraft off and on over the past 15 years. They come from Ft McCoy at Volk Field and use our rugged valleys as practice fly zones for Afghanistan practice I believe.
Generally these aircraft do not scare our livestock. We've of course heard others complain, but each time I get to see them, I am impressed.]

We returned from our ride with memories of a gorgeous sunset and a nice warm ride.