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January 19, 2021: A Conversation with Raudhetta fra Alaskastadir

This conversation took place during a trail ride this morning

Alys: Raudi: You ready for an outing?
Raudi: No.
A: No?
R: No.
A: Look, it’s beautiful out. There’s eight inches of new snow on the ground.
R: I have a full bucket of hay here at the hitching post.
A: Is all you ever think about is food?
R: Look. If someone came up to you and, mid-meal, tried to coerce you into going for an outing, would you abandon your food? I will answer this question. You would say, “No, I want to finish eating the meal in front of me.”


Raudi and Tinni at the hitchin post

A: Yes, your analogy is coming through loud and clear. But you have been eating now, for nearly three hours straight.
R: Let’s go for a record and make it four hours straight.
A: You want me to come back in an hour and then suggest we go for a ride?
R: No. I want you to come back in an hour and put another flake of hay in this muck bucket.
A: Who’s paying the bills around here?
R: You are.
A: Because I pay the bills, I am technically your boss. And as your boss, you need to do as I say.
R: Ohh, so much for all this egalitarian shit that you’ve been talking about.
A: Yes, so much for egalitarian shit. You have far more say than do most horses.
R: And right now, I’m saying let’s take a day off and chow down.
A: I would consider this, but Tinni needs to go on an outing.
R: Let’s ask Tinni what he thinks.
A: He’s right here next to you. Tinni, do you think you should get the day off?
Tinni: I would like to get out for a bit.
R: Well then, why not take him and the dogs for a walk?
A: Because this would be a bit of a slog for me.
R: A slog for you? What about Tinni and me?
A: I have, all total, two legs. You two have, all total, eight legs. You can more easily break trail than I can.
R: The road has not yet been plowed or sanded. I think that it would be better to wait until the job is done. The drivers don’t slow down.
A: Pete says that the road will next be graded and because of this, that the machinery will be moving slowly.
R: I have never seen these machines move slowly.
A: You know, we’d never get any rides in if I lived in fear of being run down by a plow.
R: Winter, hmmm, a few months off would be a good thing for us all.
A: You know, come spring, you are going to thank me for my insistence that I get you all out nearly every day in the winter. Other riders will appear and their horses will be stiff and sore before the ride is over.
R: All right. I’ll strike a deal with you. I leave now, with you and Tinni. When I get back, I get a full flake of hay.
T: Me too.
A: Deal.
R: Well then, let’s go.

Next: 20. 1/20/21: Happy Days are Here Again

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