These are couple-month-old pictures, from a day when I helped Mr. Rancher gather cows.

The day started as a leisurely ride with nonsensical chit chat about whatever came to my mind. It was the perfect temperature, not too hot not too cold. Then, as inevitably happens while riding with Ty, I started to fall behind. Si didn’t appear to be walking any faster than Salt, yet we were still steadily losing ground. I nudged Salt on, we trotted to catch up, and the process of being out-walked started all over again.

We repeated this process the whole ride to the far corner of the pasture. Then the unexpected happened, though why this is still unexpected to me is a mystery.

That little blob of a cowboy and horse you can spy riding away down the road had just instructed me to loop around another corner of the fence, come up the draw, gather any cows I find, then meet him back at the road, or thereabouts.

Yeah, sure. That sounds just like something I know how to do. On my own. My first time ever riding in this pasture.

Off we go, Salt.