Page 28 - Demo

Living with horses is living surrounded by animals, all kinds,domestic and wild. I grew up among them. My mother raisedGolden Retrievers. We had a pig named Houdini because heoften escaped from his pen. We had ducks on the creek in frontof the home. I had chickens and a devoted cat in the house. Wehad three horses. In the woods, there were raccoons and bobcats.Today, there are deer and wild turkeys in the South Carolinawoods.As a teenager, I often put a cot between the two stalls of oursmall stable in the woods to sleep for the night. I loved to be surrounded by tall pines and blinking fireflies. The haunting callof a whip-poor-will quail could be heard, “whip pooor will,whip pooor will…” But one night, I also heard horrific screaming, like that of a hysterical woman. I stayed still, albeit with apounding heart. I later learned that this was a bobcat.Bobcats. They preyed on my chickens. I'd lost several, including exquisite Golden Seabright bantams. One hen was left,Blackie. In my bedroom over the garage, I slept very lightly,aware of the danger to my chicken. The moment I heard her distinctive crackle of distress, I was flying out the door - one timeso impulsively I crashed into the closed bedroom door, beforerunning down the garage stairs, past the cars, then out into theyard. I saw a bobcat in the driveway near Blackie and the primitive chicken coop I'd made for her. I scared off the bobcat, butnot before Blackie suffered a wounded leg. She was, thereafter,a one-legged hen walking on the heel of the damaged one. My brother has a sign in his home: \you will probably always hear it.\being in or near the river. The river was home, like the woods.There are animals in and by a river, too. At the river's low-wateredge there are herons, egrets and marsh hens. The mud is alivewith fiddler crabs, tiny crabs that look like they’re fiddling withtheir one larger claw moving up and down. On nights when I chose not to sleep in the stable, I took mycot to the end of the dock. The Stono River, which is part of theinter-coastal waterway, was passage for barges, yachts and largesailboats moving up or down the East coast. Before the nearbybridge was automated, a man would emerge from a tiny roomwith a large crank that he'd secure in the center of the bridge andslowly walk around and around to open the bridge. It was atime-consuming process at a time when time wasn't so important. Cars patiently waited on either side. In the night on mycot, I could hear the large boats toot their horn to signal thebridge, but what I listened for was the blow of porpoise swimming closer to the dock than they would during the day. I couldhear their breath, but see little of their big sleek, grey shapes.Still, it was enchanting to know they were nearby. This certainlybeat sleeping in a pink bedroom!Children are free spirits, fearless adventurers, unless inhibitedby adult worries. These days, many kids are so protected theySURROUNDED BYANIMALSby Shelley (Chaille) Trevor 28 Arizona Horse Connection February, 2026continued on page 30Call Digger For YourPriefert Horse Walker!He has the experience and know-how to get you the righthorse walker at the right price!(602) 524-7338Rock Solid Frames, Inc.rocksolidframes@aol.comwww.rocksolidframes.comMany Styles To Choose From!