Dog is testing me. Of this I am sure. Dog wants to know if I’m going to stick with what I said a few days ago, which is that I’ll enjoy winter in Alaska because it provides me with much-needed time to reflect, read, write, AND draw. I further went on to say that I would rather be here than be a snowbird because then I would get nothing done. I added that I wasn’t at all envious of our friends Claudia and Frank, who several sources have said, are having the time of their life down in the Lower 48. The last I heard, they were in sunny, warm Arizona. This morning, I even reiterated this to my friend Sarah. I was so upbeat it was sickening. You’d think I’d have taken a double dose of Prozac.

If I stuck with what I said, I’d be disingenuous. I don’t want to be disingenuous. I want to be forthright and honest because these are more admirable traits. I want the next generation to speak highly of me. After they pass, what anyone thinks will be inconsequential.

I say disingenuous because to tell you the truth, winter does have a down side. And we are now experiencing this down side. We woke up to rain and snow mixed this morning. The ground was on the verge of being sloppy. Ice had formed on the gates and latches. I was dismayed to see that the horse poop was mixed in with the snow. This meant it was going to take twice as long as usual to clean up.

I first checked in on the chickens and goats who I gave some food. The goats stayed put and did not follow me outside. Me Heidi of the Alps? Not today. I was the harbinger of some of the shittiest weather on record.

Tinni, who while wet wasn’t shivering, a good sign. And I next checked in with the mares who while wet weren’t shivering, also a good sign. They also all began to chow down when I gave them hay. Tinni walked out of his small area when I began cleaning up, went over the mares and attempted to eat with them. He did his usual morning roll and went back to his stall area. I cleaned him off with the metal brush and blanketed him – it took a while to get him dressed because the first blanket was too small and the straps on the second blanket had been adjusted for his larger counterparts.

Clean up did take a while. This is because I filled the buckets with a snow/rain mix. Pete, who usually waits for me to come up before serving breakfast came down to the paddock area and emptied the buckets.

Yeah, it was an inside day. I worked on Forks, tended to the ponies, then worked on Forks some more. I did not take any of the horses for a walk, which is unusual.

Actually, I was quite happy considering the sorry state of affairs outside. But at the same time I found myself wishing that I was someplace warm, and getting ready for a lengthy trail ride. This, I then realized means only one thing and that is that I’m only human.

Next: 316. 11/12/18: A Conversation with Tyra