Chasing Rainbows

  Three weeks. Three weeks worth of rain. "Lord, I know I asked for you to send some our way, but isn't this a bit much? Oh well, you know better than I do." Aaron Adale sat on his front porch looking out over his land, observing the effects of all of that rain. The entire Two Rivers Valley had been drenched with a storm that just seemed to hover over the area where the Jenkins and the Wild Horse rivers joined before they emptied into Thompson Lake over in the next valley. Nobody could recall that much precipitation lasting for so long during the usually dry late summer/ early fall period. Sure, Two Rivers was known for having lush pasture land. This was mostly due to the perfect location where abundant water, elevation, and temperature combined to make it the best land in two counties for cattle and horses alike to graze upon. The valley sat up high enough to stay out of the heat that permeated the rest of the Pavella Desert Basin, making cattle raised up here some of the juiciest, tenderest, and most sought after beef this side of Chapiqua Springs.

  The Adale family had this land for four generations. In all of that time, the rest of the country had went through times of war, peace, famine and plenty. People had first settled the area with horse and wagon, back when men still carried cold steel that shot hot lead. Since then, with the advancement of society, transportation progressed to train, then plane, cars, and trucks. Although, now it seemed, horses were back in the picture (this time, mostly in trailers being pulled by pickups). Some were used for rodeo, some for pleasure, and others were still being used for the old, traditional ranch duties. These duties mirrored those actions that were performed the countless cowboys and vaqueros that preceded the new breed of ranch hand, men more comfortable with a 4x4 and travel trailer than a horse and a bedroll.

  Aaron Adale was a far cry from the seasoned rancher that Grandpa Luther had been. Old Grandpa Lute would have been a Hollywood screenwriters dream, riding, roping, and even busting his own broncs. Both he and Aaron's dad, Sonny, had worked this land. They made it through the hard times and actually made a pretty good living, supporting their families back in a time when moms didn't work outside of the home, by choice not necessity. Aaron had made ends meet for as long as possible before having to make a large decision. Facing the loss of everything due to rising expenses, like the truckers having to raise their prices to due to rising fuel costs and feed bills going through the roof. He had never thought he would see corn prices so high, but with this new wonder fuel, E-85, it just got to be too costly to feed and send the cattle off to auction. Facing a mountain of bills, Aaron had swallowed his pride and broke the land into four parcels, keeping the largest, greenest 200 acres for himself and his family. Two parcels were in contract, with the other having went at a nice price tag to a developer who had started construction on a new luxury resort for people wanting to vacation away from the desert heat in summer.

  Mornings were generally a lot noisier now with the construction going on, but Aaron figured he couldn't really complain all that much. With the sale profits, he had been able to pay off his debts and now was able to spend time with his grandson Jesse. With the lower property taxes, no more freight bills, and lower feed costs, the ranch was definitely back in the black. Gone were the days of rounding up strays, branding cattle, and so many other chores that had consumed men, money, and time almost equally. Looking out at the old split-rail fence that he had helped his old man replace, Aaron thought back on the men, animals, and past events that had been such a part of his life on this land when Jesse rode up on his horse.

"Grandpa, are you ready yet"? Jesse sat there on the back of a big dun colored horse that he had named Brooksun, named tongue in cheek for the country music duo, Brooks and Dunn. "Sure thing, did you double check that cinch?" Aaron knew his grandson when it came to horses, at ten years old, the darn kid knew probably more about horses, tack, and riding than the majority of the adults in the area. Not too bad for a kid raised in the city, without a real chance to spend much time even around a horse. He had definitely made up for lost time since he and his mom had moved in a year ago after he had lost his dad in a tragic accident. Aaron felt bad for his grandson and tried to always be patient and understanding when it came to his never-ending questions.
 
  Jesse was chomping at the bit for his grandpa join him in his favorite "after storm" game. Even though he knew better, Jesse always told his mom and grandpa that after a rain, when the sun started to reflect off of the moisture in the air, and created huge colorful rainbows, that he loved to go chase them before they were gone. Chasing rainbows was the greatest because you could ride and ride without ever coming to the end. This generally made for a long ride back home, but that never bothered him, he loved riding that horse so much, he'd go for miles if you let him.   

  Grabbing a handful of mane and swinging himself into his own saddle, Aaron Adale felt happy. He felt the feeling of inner peace that comes only when one is able to step away from the hustle and bustle, and really see what is important in life. He had had the "life" so many sought after. It had afforded him things he would have never gotten otherwise, yet he never felt better than anyone. He was just a man who knew what he wanted and had been blessed with the opportunity to get it.

"You better hold on tighter to them reigns or old Brooksun might get away from you" Aaron teased his grandson, "now, let's go catch us a rainbow".