When its as dark as it now, I have to seek out light. Otherwise, I grow resentful. There is not much light now – the sun rises at about 10 a.m. and sets around 4 p.m. The sun is now low in the sky. It rises, moves a bit, then sets.

So I am getting out as close to sunrise as possible and coming in as close to sunset as is possible. If I didn’t have horses and dogs, I’d most likely stay inside, shrivel up, and become comatose.

Today it was overcast, the sun rose then quickly settled above the cloud bank. It was also warmer – when my nose gets cold and my hands grow numb a few minutes after being outside, it is below 0˚F. My estimate, based on the extremities factor, is that it was between 10˚F and 15˚F. out.

Pete and Tyra

A good day, I decided, to get the horses and dogs out. I first took Tinni for a walk, and Shadow for a horseback ride. A neighbor down the way came towards us in his pickup. His dogs were running alongside his truck. He saw us, stopped, loaded his dogs in the back, turned his vehicle around, and then went the other way around the loop. Shadow and Tinni both stood watching – I could easily read their minds. They were thinking that that man does not have his act together. I thought, well, I have them trained. They see us coming and take off in the other direction.

It was quiet out on the trails. It started to snow but then Mother Nature decided to hold off for a bit. I got home and Pete offered to go for a ride with me. We saddled up Raudi and Tyra and did our trails. We rode past some Christmas tree cutters (grr, grr, grr), and I refrained from talking to them about deforestation practices. The horses cantered up the hill, and the dogs, after saying hello, followed. They had to be in awe of our slow, uphill canter.

Next I took Hrimmi for a walk and Shadow for another horseback ride. Shadow decided at the trailhead that she’d had enough and took off. I kept going. Of course, as I continued on, I did worry about her. We are no longer dealing with the perils of puppyhood, but anything can happen to a puppy or dog, at any age.

By now, the tree harvesters were out in force. I counted five snowmobiles at the Murphy Road trailhead – big and small male children on an outing. I was glad to have gotten to the trailhead before they came hauling ass down it – Hrimmi, as calm as she might be, would most likely have been startled by the noise and the smell.

Home again, home again, me glad to have sought out the literal light. In seeking out the literal light, I experienced the figurative light. In this case, the joy that comes with exercising and being in the company of such wonderful dogs and ponies.

Next: 337. 12/6/21: Climate Change?