The ponies were spicy after 8 days off, but Wednesday morning we were on the road again, New axle in place (thank you Seth) with some rubber bits inserted between axles and wagon bed for a bit more give. Neighbor Jason (a skilled woodworker) came over and shortened the hip pocket boxes by about 3″ and moved the little rollers back and everything looks good and feels a lot better – minor changes, big results! We had a long mile downhill on gravel (Cavallo hoof boots made the difference there!) and then Laura met us at the bottom of the hill and held the ponies while I took the boots off, because the rest of the day was on the truly lovely Holmes County/Mohican Valley Trail and I don’t want the ponies to lose the ability to go barefoot when the going is smooth.

Our goal for the day was 12 miles to the wildlife area/park down by the Mohican River in Brinkhaven which offered a privy, a picnic table pavillion, special permission to spend the night, grass for the ponies to eat and an interview with the Mayor, Christopher! The ponies settled down after the first mile and jogged along in a steady rhythm, the sun was shining, Thick was happy riding shotgun, the turning radius of the Mustard Seed was much improved, the trail was absolutely lovely – I was driving along wishing that there were trails like this across the entire country – bicycles, people walking their dogs, a woman wearing a baby and enjoying the fresh air, the occasional Amish buggy, the trees turning greener by the day as Spring rolled in, flowers and squirrels, tranquil creeks, the ponies seem in accord as they walk for awhile, then pick up their jog again, everything feeling so peaceful and good.

I knew there was an underpass towards the end of the day and that the ponies had likely never encountered such a thing. I wasn’t worried, but I was paying attention. As we were approaching it, an Amish buggy pulled by a long-legged bay Standardbred came up behind us. I wasn’t sure of the protocol, but he was Much faster than my boys so I pulled over and stopped, yelling out as he went by “My ponies haven’t been through here before so I’m hoping that your horse can set a good example!” The man waved, the big horse didn’t hesitate, Franklin and Theodore were a little squirrely, but followed right along – and then they decided that they were going to keep up with that long-legged bay and suddenly they were cantering down the road and I had my hands full. I think they recognized the Amish buggy with the orange triangle and figured that there was food and rest in that direction! The turn-off to Brinkhaven was coming right up and I managed to get them slowed down in time to make the turn – whew!

Nobody at the park to hold the ponies while I unhitched (something we still need a bit of help with) and so I pulled up to the pavillion, tied the ponies to a post, a little drama but within 15 minutes they were happily grazing on their tethers and I was able to roll the wagon back to a flat area near the road and get things set up for evening. Rain was forecast so I stashed the harnesses and the boot box under shelter and tucked in for the night. At 10:30 I woke to headlights, a car, male voices (perhaps a little intoxicated?) and people crossing the lawn towards the ponies. I stuck my head out of the canvas and said “Hello.” “Are those horses!?” “They’re ponies, they pull my wagon.” And somehow this was enough and they apologized, got back in their car and left.

In the morning Christopher, Mayor of Brinkhaven came down for a “Who Is My Neighbor?” interview and then held the ponies as I hitched them up. When I learned to drive teams, back 40+ years ago, I was taught to put the Rock on the left and the Dragon on the right. This morning I decided to swap the ponies to fit that configuration and see how it felt. It felt like they went from pulling kinda far apart to literally bumping bellies, but early days. First adventure of the day was the beautiful Bridge of Dreams – the second longest covered bridge in Ohio – and then half of our 12 mile day on the multi-use trail. A leggy young doe amble-gamboled across the trail ahead of us, chipmunks stood up on the side of the trail to see who was coming, again, I was just blown away by the beauty. I’m coming to a whole new appreciation for Ohio!

After Danville, horses are no longer allowed on the trail and I got a little lost finding my way to the Howard-Danville Road, but the 4th time I stopped to ask for directions we were successful, left onto Rambo and into the world of hills and traffic, a little more tense, but the ponies were doing well and on we went, following the directions of our Hostess for the night, Michelle. Or at least I thought I was? We should have been getting very close. A car pulled past us and stopped in the next driveway, an old man got out with a pink cell phone, explaining that it was his wife’s phone and he was 80 and not sure how to make it work but she wanted a picture. I stopped on an uphill, foot on the brake, let the ponies rest for a moment while he got the pictures, and then asked a bunch of questions. Somewhere during the dialogue, I started to suspect that I’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. I texted Michelle with the number on the nearest mailbox – yup – heading the wrong way. She said to hang on and she’d be right there. The old man was in no hurry, and his car was blocking the driveway I needed to turn around in, but eventually “let me just get a few pictures of the back” he got back in his car and went home.

There was a large gravel lot up the driveway a bit, so that was my plan for turning around, but unfortunately the ponies had other plans and cut things very sharp, so sharp that the Mustard Seed started to tip over and I bailed out on the uphill side – Michelle jumped out of her truck, I caught the ponies and held their heads while we figured out what to do. Michelle is incredibly strong, but one wheel was firmly lodged under the center of the wagon and the other was spinning in the air. The ponies were staying blessedly calm and I said “what we need is about two more strong people!” Then a state highway trooper stopped his car at the bottom of the road. That’s the sort of thing that can be very helpful or a ticket to hell, but, out of options I waved frantically until he drove up behind Michelle’s truck. “I don’t suppose you could help us clear this roadway obstruction?” He was young and blond and not smiling. Then a big truck came over the hill from the other direction, Michelle flagged the driver down and he came striding down the hill to help. Michelle had figured out where to lift to keep the wagon in one piece, the guys each took a side and lifted the entire front of the wagon straight up, I swung the ponies around and got the wheels returned to their proper places (but still pointing the wrong direction) and the guys returned to their vehicles and took off. Somehow in the midst of all this it didn’t occur to anyone to grab a camera and take pictures – because that’s reality in a crisis!

Michelle stuck with us as this time the ponies went up the drive and around the lot and as we were getting ready to follow her home she noticed that the connector at the front of the team pole was broken. I took it super easy the last mile to her place, got the ponies into her front field with a huge sign of relief and gave myself a moment to feel the adrenaline rushing out of my body, leaving me limp. The plan had been another mile to a camp down by a river, but considering that the single pole now needed and appointment with a welder (Michelle’s uncle turns out to be a welder!) I unharnessed the ponies, tucked them into a pasture, Michelle’s dad unbolted the pole from the wagon and put it in the back of his truck. I was seriously rattled, but Michelle and her family were welcoming, friendly, helpful, curious – and soon enough we had the wagon tucked in behind a line of round bales, pointed in the correct direction for morning, and I had 3 “Who Is My Neighbor?” interviews scheduled for the morning.

We were on the road by 1:23, three interviews completed, wagon repaired, heading towards a promised pot roast, paper map and written directions in hand, the ponies going well and Thick as happy as ever, but this is Friday and as I’m driving along I’m realizing that I’m just exhausted. I’m not having fun, I’m beat. I haven’t been doing a good enough job of feeding myself and staying hydrated, I haven’t had an internet connection since Laura’s place, I’m getting behind on editing and uploading the interview videos, I haven’t been keeping up with my journal, I’m tired and grumpy and doubting myself, my ability to keep the pace, to do all the things I’ve set for myself, to remember my manners and be a good guest every hour of every day. To smile and wave at every passing car. Everyone I’m meeting is being absolutely lovely. I’m the one with the issues. Ugh.

10 miles is feeling like forever today and the hills in this part of Ohio are brutal. The traffic is mostly polite (except for the loud blatty motorcycle who guns his bike as he passes us) but it’s still a constant tension, vigilance, not wanting to get lost again like yesterday. Then we’re finally on O’Brien road and “almost there” I tell the ponies, last hill! They’re pulling hard but halfway up the hill they just stop. I hop out and walk beside them to ease the load and that’s enough to get up the hill, but it’s a complicated business, walking while driving, I’m struggling to keep them in their lane, I’m running into the wheel, out in the middle of the road myself, praying for no traffic, it’s a very steep hill and we’re all tired – and then it really is the last big hill and we’re pulling up to a house and a barn and a warm welcome from Susan and we did it. I’m barely managing to hold it together, but Susan has offered the weekend to rest and recover, catch up on internet chores, take a hot bath in her clawfoot tub, whatever I need to do. I don’t have to hitch up and drive on in the morning, I just have to make it through dinner.

First things first and the ponies have a paddock, hay and water and shelter, enough graze to keep them busy but not so much they gorge and get sick, Michelle from last night is coming over for dinner and Theodore is expecting his own very special company. Before arriving at Twilight Farms, Theodore was loved by an Amish girl named Kariana who rode him everywhere. You can tell when an animal (or a human) has been well loved, and Kariana gave Theodore (then named Buddy) that foundation. For two years she helped him get brave and strong and willing. Her brother Jeriah was the main person driving Buddy and between them, with no clue as to his future life, they got him ready for this adventure. They showed up with their parents and their aunt. It was so lovely seeing them together, just absolutely made my heart happy to get to meet them all and hear Theodore’s backstory.

Now it is Sunday, and I’m halfway through the backlog of YouTube videos and most of the way through this blog post. My time here has been nourishing, body and soul, and I’m hydrating like it’s my job. Susan took me out scouting yesterday in her truck, looking for the route with the least big hills between me and my destination (the other factors are the shortest distance and the least traffic – but it turns out that the hills are the biggest thing I need to take into account with route planning through this section) and Tuesday I’m heading towards the Hall Farm, North of Mount Vernon, then looking to head West – seeking out the flattest routes I can find towards Port Recovery, Ohio (the border of Indiana.)

Meanwhile, exciting news! I’ve managed to wait out the probation period so I can change the name of my YouTube channel to “Who Is My Neighbor?” I’ve got 26 filmed, 21 posted and trying to post a new one almost every day. Because the channel is still in its infancy, it’s hard to find. Pro tip – go to YouTube and type in: Who Is My Neighbor? and then the name of somebody I’ve interviewed (Barbara, Laura, Julia, Brad, Paul, Jason, etc) which should lead you to that particular interview. From there, subscribe to the channel, which should make it easier to find the rest of them. One of the most helpful and encouraging things you can do to support me right now is to find, subscribe, watch and like the videos – and Answer The Final Question In The Comments!!! YouTube is paying attention to how many subscribers I have and also how many cumulative hours people spend watching the videos. There’s a video component (Because: YouTube, and so people can see one another as real human beings – no AI/bots) but most of the videos work as audio – so you can put them on in the background while you do other things and just listen. (Tho again, part of the fun of the experiment is audience participation, joining in the conversation in the comment section.) Here’s the very first interview I did to get you started (click the lower right hand corner to Watch on YouTube.)

And here’s a video of the Mustard Seed heading out on Friday morning with the ponies fresh and frisky!