Special friend lures kid from mtn. home
The summer of 1973 was in full swing and my mother had decided to take us on a trip to her father’s farm in East Galway.
We woke up early that morning and filled the car with luggage for the overnight stay and enough stuff to keep three children busy on the two-plus hour trip.
The air temperature had fallen rapidly overnight which caused heavy fog to lay low to the ground.
For the first part of the trip my mother had the wipers of the old green Pontiac going to clear the mist from the windshield.
My four-year-old brother busied himself by belching out his own original songs and my sister quietly read a Laura Ingalls Wilder book.
On my sketch pad I scratched images of trees that turned into dragons at night.
I couldn’t wait to reach our destination. My grandfather Burgess was quite a character and I loved to visit him and his gentleman farm.
He had huge sheep, roaming geese and beef cows.
Also on the farm were horses he boarded for friends and two tall ponies for us kids to ride. My favorite was one named Mini Poo and my mind was fixated on the opportunity to ride her again.As a young child she seemed huge to me, but she was gentle as a puppy.
We finally turned to drive up my grandfather’s dusty driveway and my mother announced our arrival with two short toots of the car horn.
I rolled down the window and took a good whiff of the farm air. Once we unloaded the car and were fussed over about how much we had all grown, my grandfather Burgess took my sister and me out to the barn.
I couldn’t wait to get there to feed a carrot to my trusty steed. He took out Mini Poo’s blanket and saddle and got her ready for riding. Then my sister and took turns leading and riding through the back pasture.
My grandfather leaned on the wooden fence and kept watch of us.
We went down by the pond and scattered the geese by stomping our feet. They bellowed back at us with a deep low honk.
One of the braver ones chased me for a bit and tried to give me a nip, but I was too quick for it.
I didn’t want to stop riding but my grandfather had to feed the animals and tend to a few other chores. We reluctantly put Mini Poo back in her stall.
In the cool barn I discovered wasps nests and cobwebs, barn cats and birds nests, and hundreds of bales of hay.
I climbed some piled bales and peeked into the corners of the barn in search of where the cats were living.
I liked a day away from the mountains, as long as I could geta chance to ride my Mini Poo.
Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller, lives at Big Moose Lake.ltmitch3rdny@aol.com
