Some folks might have called it a dreary day due to the lack of sunshine but for me it was perfect autumn weather, an ideal day for a carriage ride in the country, drawn by the most magnificent of steeds. Her name is Florentina and she lives on a farm with her mother, at least three cats, a faithful dog and a few pigs who are waiting to grow up and be sent away. Let's not talk about what will happen when they are sent away. Life on the farm is relatively good for Florentina. On the day we visited she got to practice what she has been trained for, taking folks on a ride in a buggy. Actually I don't know if you would call it a carriage, a coach, or a buggy since this opportunity doesn't come up that often nowadays. So I will have to describe our conveyance to you. The riders are protected from the rear by a windbreak which only partially covers you. The view from the side and the front is still fully open. You sit high and have a vantage point well above the fields through which we traveled. There are two wooden poles which are used to attach the carriage to the horse. She wears blinders as well as assorted leather straps which provide the driver one means for communicating with her. She responds well to the tone of voice and the words of the brother and sister who have trained her over the years. As we set off it is apparent that she is stiff just as I am after sitting for too long and correcting papers. As she catches her stride we speed along. Driver and horse are well aware of possible distractions: a tractor on or near the road, an Autobahn overpass or another coach passing from the opposite direction. At one point she shies from a large piece of straw on the lane. Her trainers accuse her of sloth as she begins to poke along but as we approach our destination, Mia's Backhaus, she hurries a bit knowing there is a treat waiting. We all look forward to Kuchen and Kaffee at Mia's. Florentina is freed of the carriage, covered with a blanket and set loose in a meadow. She even has company, as another horse and goat occupy the nearby pasture. This goat's job is to keep her horse company. Inside we delight to freshly baked gooseberry cake and buckwheat cake. We are sharing the space with the members of the local shooting club who are also enjoying the culinary delights of Mia's and viewing a power point prepared by one of the younger members. I can't imagine too much shooting in this group where the average ago looked to be about 80. In any case, they were seated in a typical Westphalian arrangement with all the men at one end and all the women at the other. Florentina was none too happy to leave the pasture but finally was readied for the return trip. Not only did it seem shorter but it was shorter. Florentina definitely knew we were heading home, no more doddling around. Just before arriving at the farm we encountered a large contingent of hunters packed into a van and a somewhat larger vehicle carrying their bounty: mostly hares and a few pheasants. I don't know the name of this type of hunting but someone makes a lot of noise and a line of hunters pace through the fields as their prey are roused out of their hiding places. I must say, I enjoyed the live animals I encountered that day much more than these poor creatures hanging from the outside of a truck. I had a lovely moment with one of the farm cats who was most affectionate. The dog enjoyed the human hand as well, cozying up to the heater and then freezing out in the barn and having to search for a nest of hay. During our ride I saw many cows who were very curious about our interruption of their tranquility. They would stare and then suddenly spook and all run off in the opposite direction. Horses out grazing, especially the Haflinger (an Austrian breed) with a blond mane, usually came to greet Florentina. They are very social creatures. As I accompanied Florentina back to her stall I saw her mother nuzzle her. This was followed by sugar cubes, treats all around.
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