Winter took me by surprise this year. All the sudden, it was cold, and there was snow on the ground. I am ill-prepared. The five-gallon buckets that I use to haul manure to the compost station are now stuck together. Pete put insulation on the horse water buckets, but the water is freezing up, which means that we have to heat water on the wood stove, then haul it down to the enclosure and empty it in the buckets.

Winter tracks on the driveway

We have been using the hand cart to haul the water, but soon we’ll be using the sled. We have just a dusting of snow on the ground. I have been using the hand cart/dolly to haul the manure to the compost station, but soon I’ll be using the sled and taking it up behind the hoop house. There is seven years of accumulated manure in what used to be a pit but now is level ground.

I asked him today – in the spring Bill Schmidtkunz will again take the manure and spread it on his roadside flower garden and potato bed.

The horse hay that we recently purchased has, because it was high moisture, clumped together. The horses are eating it and as of yet suffered no ill effects.

Late this afternoon Pete and I went for a ride on our trails. The sun was a low orange ball in the sky – the light reflecting off the Talkeetna Range was pink/orange. This is called Alpenglow. I was cold because I was wearing my uninsulated rubber boots and my Marlboro Woman coat. I need to go through my gear and find a warmer coat and boots. It isn’t quite yet time to bust out and wear the Refrigirware Suit. Pete and I both keep our suits on nails behind the refrigerator. Mine is really worn. I will, this year or next, need a new one.

Ranger will soon be wearing his goat coat.

The dogs are, as of yet, unaffected by the seasonal change. Soon enough, they’ll be digging snowballs out of their feet.

The chickens are spending increasingly more time up on their pole. I am now putting their food and water in their roost.

I’m being more attentive to the Subaru, which I have named The Great White Hope. I start it five minutes before going anyplace, and when I come back from feeding the horses in the morning, check the windshield to see if there’s ice on it.

If there is, I scrape it off with the scraper. Used to be, I’d use my license or credit card.

The wheel on the new gate is going to have to be removed. It’s going to get stuck in the ice and snow.

Pete did get several five-gallon buckets of sand a few days ago, so we’ll put it on the icy spots on the trails and driveway.

There’s a seldom expressed adage, we get older, we get wiser. It is seldom expressed because no one believes it. I want to believe it. We’ll see what my thinking on this is come spring.

Next: 298. 10/30/22 Comment on Moose Range Plan