home

Home > Dispatches > Daily Dispatches 2018 >Daily Dispatch #25

January 25, 2018: Almost a Snow Day

It was snowing and cold when I got up this morning. Pete, who got up before I did because he needed to take the truck to the mechanic, did get the woodstove going. He also gave Tinni his Adequan injection and all the horses some hay and warm water. I cleaned up the poop, hauled it up behind the hoop house, and gave Tinni his Slurpee. He now expects this – three times a day he starts pawing the ground when he sees me coming with the metal goat milking bucket.

It didn’t seem too cold to me. But the garbage shed thermometer read -2° F. And the cabin thermometer read 0° F. My cutoff point for riding is O° F, so I went



back inside and figured that it was going to be a snow day, meaning that the ponies were going to get the day off.

I worked hard and in a concentrated fashion on Part I of If You Come to a Fork in the Road, Pick It Up. I have now found my voice. It’s an odd phrase, and some don’t take stock in it. I found this out in graduate school. Those who did not were the social constructionists, who believe all we are and all we will be is shaped by others. Well, I know what it means to have a voice and have that voice come through in one’s writing. If I did not, I would not have moved my more informational introduction, entitled “A History of the Alaska State Fair,” to the end of the book. My intuition also tells me that my new introduction, which begins with a chapter entitled “Four Weeks Before the Fair” will be a far better readerly draw.

At about 1:00 p.m. I looked out the window – it was snowing lightly. I went downstairs and prepared to go outside, putting on two long underwear layers and over that, my RefrigiWear suit. I then tended to the horses and took a few photos. It WAS cold but not THAT cold. So I got Tinni out and rode him around the loop. I got out his rump rug, which hangs over his butt and wraps around my middle and lower legs. It kept us both warm and we had a nice ride. After, I prepared and then took Tyra around the loop in the opposite direction. She got balky early on. I just didn’t have it in me to fight her, so I got off and we walked the route.

There was still some daylight when I returned home, so I put Tyra away and got Raudi out and we did some agility in the Playground of Higher Learning. Then I did the same with Hrimmi. I did all I did with all four horses well knowing that I had late afternoon chores to do. This included cleaning the goat pen and bringing down more water for the horses.

I am glad I did what I did – my only regret is that I didn’t get out sooner. Now, as I write this, I can hear the wind coming on. The wind, this is really what’s going to be a good reason for a snow day. But I hope not.

Next: 26. 1/26/18: A Conversation with Ryder

Horse Care Home About Us Dispatches Trips Alys's Articles