I know, I know, I obsess about the lack of light. And I know that it’s only going to get worse as I get older. I’d be afraid to go to Hawaii, say in the winter, for I’d fear that when I returned, I’d get depressed and be beyond the point of no return.

I have two lifelong fears, one of which is indirectly, and the second of which is directly related to the lack of light. The indirect fear is that I might someday be buried alive. And the direct fear is that I might wake up and learn that the sun’s never again going to shine. I find both thoughts to be terrifying.

I’ve already decided that if I have any say in the matter that should either instance occur, that I’ll walk off into the woods and select my final resting place. Ahh, but no worries. The sunlight’s now returning. We really are now on the flip side of winter. Thus far, it’s been a mild one. We have not spent hours on end shoveling and scooping and blowing snow off the driveway. There’s been some ice, but it has not been like last year, when we put our lives on the line going downhill to the horse pen. Recall that we first had to put ashes and sand on the driveway surface before we took Hrimmi out. And we had to pick our way up the road in getting her up the trail. I distinctly remember heading up to the intersection and figuring out my route beforehand.

This year has been considerably easier. Last year at this time I just wanted winter to be over. I’ve been okay with it this year. Today was one of the nicest winter days here yet.

Pete had to go to school, so we first took Hrimmi for a walk around the loop. The road had just been graded and sanded, so the surface was ideal for walking. Hrimmi, who also seemed to think so, moved out nicely from the onset, trotting along beside me on a loose line. She wasn’t fidgety and wasn’t at all wanting to stop. As I remarked to Pete, she was truly enjoying herself. And Mr. T, who Pete was walking, had a visible bounce to his step.

We returned home and I next took Mr. T and the dogs for a trail ride. It was about ten degrees out. I wore my Refrigerware suit and Steger mukluks. I was toasty warm the entire time. We did the entire trail system. Tinni was upbeat and moved at a comfortable pace. I later commended myself for taking him out early, right after his warm up walk. He is older, so he does not dry off as quickly as his younger counterparts. So it works well, finishing early so that he can spend the afternoon in the sun.

Got home, came inside, worked on If Wishes were Horses. Got through the final tougher revisions – I’ll copy edit the final fifteen pages tomorrow. Am thinking that I’ll forward it on to Pete to read tomorrow. It’ll be a while before he gets to this because he has so much going on. I am next going to get going on getting my job application in to Montana Tech College in Butte.

After working, I stretched for forty-five minutes in preparation for riding Raudi. I was glad that I did this prior to doing a trail ride. I could tell that because I stretched, that I gave her a better ride. We were better able to stop mid-stride in going down the steeper hills. And I was better able to slow her down by shifting my weight backwards.

Agility work came next. We worked off lead. I had her walk through the saw horses and then stop with her two front feet in the hula hoop. As she and I now know, she must stop with her two front feet dead center, otherwise she will nick it with her rear feet. Most importantly, I’m getting an even better sense of when she wants to quit or if she wants to keep going. Sometimes she’ll just start mugging me when she’s had enough work. We then call it good.

I heard via the phone from Dick. He went for a ride at Jim Creek with Claudia and Frank Sihler. Apparently Jokla was a handful – she really wanted to take off. So I am going to give Dick a lesson on Friday. He added that Jokla was drenched in sweat after the ride. So much so that she soaked an entire blanket. He called me enroute to someplace else. I told him that he needed to get that blanket off of her. I said that otherwise, she might catch a chill.

As we talked, I found myself feeling good about the fact that most of the time our three horses are quiet and calm, both on the home front and out on the trail. And for this reason, they don’t overheat. And they’re a joy to ride. Sometimes, in fact, I have to pinch myself because I finally have what I wanted in life – which is three amazing horses, three amazing dogs, two amazing goats, and three amazing chickens. All I’m lacking is a third goat.

There is no one on this planet who is as lucky as I am.

Next: 21. 1/21/15: A Lot to Think About