Friday, December 16, 2011

The `b'ness' end of things

A few days ago I was out for along ride in the lower elevations.  Rolling desert rocky terrain below the snow line, waaay out into the unpopulated AZ ranch country.  Fewer than 3 vehicles on the road per hour. 

Rolling along after mile 25 on an out and back I needed to find a place to do my `b'ness.' 

I spot a break in the Juniper and Cottonwood trees and brush to the side of the road and pull over.  As I'm crouching my way through the brush it opens up into a completely empty green and brown grazing pasture.  The pasture is only about 50x50 meters and abuts a steeply rising rocky hill for about 800 feet. A quiet `spot' of beauty in nature.

There is a wide gate to this fenced in area.  The gate has a heavy lasso-type rope holding it closed against a strong post with firm barbed wire in either direction.  I look around carefully to assure that no one is there and that there are no horses or livestock that will charge at me. 

I open the gate and move off to the left about 10 yards behind a copse of big Manzanitas.  I proceed to do my `b'ness.' 

As I'm gazing at the immense beauty and noticing the utter quiet and silence my attention falls to the copious evidence of horses having done THEIR b'ness here, too. 

When I'm finished and get myself all ready to return to the bike ... it hits me: 

I turn to see if MY b'ness is bigger than the HORSES b'ness! 

Once again I am confirmed in my ability to hold my own against mother nature's best :)

Confidently and filled with utterly pointless hubris I let myself out of the gated pasture and resume my biking. 

I'm still feeling `proud' of the `b'ness' end of things.

Irrational and myopic ... but so, so human. 

(I wonder if there will be a horse that returns to the grazing pasture and ... does the same thing).

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