A long day today, doing book project stuff. Decided that making calls to schools and the like is a waste of time. Most places already have enough books on hand, and don’t need any more. It’s far better to get bookcases in place, and to keep them in stock. This is what I am going to do.

This is what I was thinking as I drove into town. It was by then snowing, a bit more furiously than yesterday. It’s now sticking but not piling up. Fall is on the wane and winter is on the upswing.

I made the usual distribution stops, then at the Mat-Su Borough building, I realized that oh oh my left windshield wiper wasn’t working. I peered out the left-hand side as I drove slowly down the road. By now the snow was really coming down. I got as far as the Meeting House and then decided to wait and see if it let up. It was 3:45 p.m. It did, and I drove home; just had to deal with semi splatter on my windshield.

Chris Romano drawing from Raudi's Story

I cleaned the pen, did a really good job. I let all the animals run loose as I usually do, then gathered them up and put them back in their respective pens. I next got Tinni out. It was dusk when we started out, and dark when we finally got back home. Shadow rode him. He did his skitter thing just a few yards down the road. Shadow, fortunately, stayed put. After, I got Hrimmi out; I took her around the loop and also on the trail. By now, it was dark. I went inside before I took her out and put on my reflective coat. I also put my headlight on.

I started out going down the road with my headlight on, then turned it off, thinking that if I was on the trail and it went out, I might have a hard time finding my way around. Fortunately, the dusting of snow on the ground made it easy to see.

Both Tinni and Hrimmi seemed to enjoy their respective outings. And so did I, so I am going to make evening outings a part of my regular horsey routine.

Winter, a time for contemplation, reflection – the long evenings lend themselves to this. I was, this time around, struck by the fact that being around the animals has a calming effect on me. All is then again right with the world. This is good because right now, the book project endeavor is stressing me out some. I get books on Saturday, and then have to move them out quick because I don’t have a lot of space for storage. Right now, I’m attempting to figure out what I’m going to do with about seven boxes of fiction, six of which are romance novels. I guess that I’ll make a few phone calls and see what happens.

Always, my thoughts turned back in the direction of the respective horse I was walking, and what fine animals he/she is. And so, this is why night walking is going to become a part of my winter horse routine.

Next: 299. 10/29/21: Winter is Here