From horses to ATVs, how the times have changed

Sitting here watching the Christmas tree and enjoying the glow of the fireplace I am reminded of Christmases of my childhood. Of course, when I was a child the tree was not fake, instead it was a genuine pine that me and my brother had ridden our horses way up into the mountains to find and bring home. And the fire was not an artificial effect made by lights, it was a genuine crackling wood fire in a barrel stove.

Today I get ATV accessories for my Honda ATV, when I was a child it was toys and sometimes horse riding apparel such as a new pair of jeans or cowboy boots, maybe a halter or lead rope... even Chip and Chocolate (me and my brother's horses- well, ponies, but we were 11 and 13, they were horses to us) would maybe get something to unwrap, I know the dogs were always given something to unwrap. Even if it was just a Milk Bone tucked into some wrapping paper.

I miss those days of riding through the mountains, spending sunny afternoons laying on Chip's back staring up at the sky, and just generally not having a care in the world as long as I had my friends and my horse. Somehow laying on the back of an ATV is not quite the same as laying on the back of a grazing pony.