I woke to another perfect day. Paul and I scrambled to get in a bicycle ride this morning. The nearby town of Clermont has a trail that winds around Lake Minneola; it links up with other trails and you can take it for literally forty miles. The bikers share it with skateboarders and roller-bladers. I have roller blades, too, but I’m kind of lethal on them and have occasionally put my elbow guards to good use.

Next on the agenda was snagging our tickets for Halloween Horror nights. This link explains what it is, http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com, but I think my friend Jim’s explanation is better – it’s the best Halloween party in the world (warning—it’s not for small kids)!

After that we buzzed up to my parent’s house in the Villages. This is a retirement community where residents can – and do -- drive everywhere in golf carts; it concentrates on lifestyle and features free golf and all kinds of sports and clubs, from pickle ball to theater to swimming. We took off in the golf cart (what else?) and munched on tasty wraps at Urban Flats before making the trek to the polo field to watch the game.  (http://www.thevillagespoloclub.com/index.html) It only cost three bucks each to get in, and the public is welcome!

I’ve been involved with horses most of my life, but had never been to a polo match before. The horses are catty, small, and aggressive. I’ve heard polo is a gentleman’s game, but it didn’t look much like a tea party to me. The riders tore down the field at a breakneck speed, lather flying off their horse’s necks as they balanced in the stirrups and swung their mallets. Divots of grass flipped loose from the horse’s hooves; the crowd roared. I liked it even though it would have been cooler to play instead of watch. Hint: Bring binoculars, a lawn chair, and if you’re really smart, a tailgate feast. It also helps to briefly acquaint yourself with the rules.

I shot photos of the players of both the Mexican and The Villages teams but they didn’t have time to chat. The game is intense, and the breaks are short and busy, filled with talks about strategy and swapping tack and tired horses for fresh ones. The Mexicans squeaked out a goal in the last few seconds of the game to win.

On the way back to my parent’s house we stopped and fed carrots to the buffalo. They have black tongues like sandpaper. One of the cows had a calf – very cute!