who changed who?

It is hard to believe that less than six months ago Merlin was a picture in a Craigslist Ad. Now he's right outside the kitchen window. That horse is changing me, or has come into my life at a time of intense personal change—either way he's more significant than a saddle holder. He's this massive, mythical creature that is the symbol of a mythical time in my own life. Merlin met me when I was a struggling office employee scared to so much as canter, dealing with a great amount of personal pain and confusion. Now we are literally galloping into autumn together. Both of us are different animals. I'm a self-employed, full-time creative homesteader and he's a hundred pounds thinner and more trained and utilized than he has been in years. Just a few nights ago I was riding him up into the forested paths and open hayfields on my mountain, Brett and his Haflinger Dolly at my flank. We'd move the horses up and around the mountain, taking turns at the lead and exploring all the paths and outcrops. It was sublime, something that belonged in a movie. And yet, it was just a Thursday afternoon. And when I look back on this blog, just to April or May I see another person all together and I wonder how much a black horse had to do with it?