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December 22, 2013: Time to Motivate

I woke up and discovered that overnight a few more inches of snow had fallen. I went out and tended to the horses and the goats – determined that both the ground and the air were somewhat sloppy and gloppy. It was the sort of day in which any rational human being would rightly say “This is a good day for remaining inside,” and then act accordingly, maybe making a huge breakfast, and then after reading the newspaper. This would be followed by one’s first taking a nap, then later reading a book.




I so badly wanted to follow this hypothetical suit. But this was not to be, and I well knew it. First of all, the dogs needed to be taken on their daily outing. I wasn’t up for a snow slog, so I acted upon what at the time I perceived to be a brilliant idea, which was to ride Tinni and have the dogs come with. This was sort of a motivational compromise – the animals would get exercise and I would (sort of) get to kick back.

All except Jenna were up for this. She stood on the porch as Ryder, Rainbow, and I left, and wished us well. I did not at all insist she come along. This was her choice, as it was mine and all the other critters’. It turned out to be a most wonderful outing. It was a bit foggy, the footing was packed snow. It was also incredibly quiet, since the ‘bilers hadn’t yet ventured out. I hopped on Tinni and the dogs followed in single file, just like when we were out on our long ride. Tinni was chipper and the dogs bright eyed and alert. It was definitely the stuff dreams are made of. We ended up back where we started, at the base of the trailhead. Tinni waited patiently as I hooked the leashes to the dogs. It was wonderfully uneventful.

Once home, I tied Tinni to the trailer so that he could finish his lunch; then I took the dogs back up to the house. I changed out of my wet clothes, put on dry ones, and ate lunch. After, Pete and I headed out and got Hrimmi, Raudi, and Signy ready for their outing. By now the snow/rain mix was tipped in the direction of rain. Even so, I had yet another wonderful ride. Raudi, as she was two days previously, remained calm and focused the entire time, even when Hrimmi went tearing past us. Beautiful to see, the little pinto horse racing along, with snow plumes behind her.

Came home and began getting caught up on dispatches. Tonight I’ll be working on revising my story about our summer trip.

This is the really odd thing about today. I had a hard time motivating myself to get out, both times. I didn’t do it because I wanted to do it, but rather because I knew the animals needed the exercise.

Yesterday, while at herding, my friend Marj said that she hasn’t been doing much of anything outside lately. She has a horse that she boards, but she hasn’t spent much time with her lately. Marj does, admittedly have an excuse. She works up on the North Slope, a week on, a week off, most of the year. It seems to me that a schedule like this would be deadening, for you could not adhere to a set routine. So Marj has an excuse. But she got me to wondering – why is it some people (like many we met last night at the search and rescue gathering) choose to lead exciting and interesting lives, and others do not?

These days, animals are a motivator. Otherwise, I’d stay inside, read, write, draw But here’s the catch. If today, everyone around here had motivated, and decided to go tromping in the woods, things would have been way different for me. Instead of now reveling post-quietude joy, I’d instead be grumbling about the fact that there are too many people in this world. So, really, I need to count my blessings and be happy about the fact that so many (at least today) elected to stay inside and vegetate.

Next: 282: 12/23/13: Mr. Siggi’s Legacy