The Book.

Somebody once left me a small pocket Bible. Inside the front cover was a small group of hand written words.

“Inez & Jim Bouch 1947, here in we trust,
Life is short, don’t make a fuss, take each
Chance, in God we trust!”

I liked those words, I kept the Book, still have it stowed away, use it now and again. Just lately its been more out than in, and I was getting to thinking it was my age. But no, it was something else, perhaps the realisation that we are not invincible and not immortal.
I was riding today, in fact early this morning, just after sun up. Gracie and I were across country, out on the moor near Corrie. I had decided to take off and not miss the early morning light.

The drive was short and the journey uneventful, Gracie was in fine spirits, ready to go and ears up. She was saddled and off we went. The miles passed and the grass and trees seemed to blend into the perfect day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, albeit, the temperature was around -2 deg.
We had been gone for over an hour, and my heart was light, I could feel the smooth lithe and rhythmic movements of the Horse beneath me. Each and every step, was a symphony of sinew and strength.

My reverie was abruptly stopped, and I found myself among a small grove of spruce trees, high on the moor. The sky was a wonderful hue, orange and then violet blue, I could just see the sun leaving the horizon on its upward climb to the end of the day.

We had been here many times, good times, and some not so. But today was a good day, or so it seemed. There was a breeze beginning, I watched the mane of my horse being ruffled, as each hair was lifted and dropped again, by the wisps of air.

I was about to head home when I noticed the long dead body of a sheep, by the looks of it, probably died of old age. As we moved forward, a matter of a few steps, to check more closely, there was aloud crack above and now behind me. Startled, my horse whipped round, almost unseating me, Just in time to see a large dead bough, from a Spruce tree, come crashing to the ground. It landed where only a few moments earlier, we had been standing.

Needless to say, all sorts of thoughts rushed through my head, but there was one that stayed.
What if we hadn’t seen the dead sheep? Maybe it just wasn’t my time, but the really odd thing was, I had with me the Book, from Inez & Jim Bouch.

Foot note: Inez & Jim, were my late Great Aunt & Uncle.