There are upward and downward spirals. It is harder to be on an upward spiral, this as opposed to a downward spiral, because the laws of gravity are such that one has more momentum going down than up.

The weather has, of late, put me on a downward spiral. Because the driveway and road are glare ice, it’s hard now to get around safely. I don’t feel good about taking the horses out because of the road conditions. I figured I’d feel differently once we got ice shoes on them, but this morning Josh, our farrier, bow wowed out of coming out to our place because, he said, it was -20˚F in Wasilla. It was -1˚F here.

Cottonwood across Jim's Road/Trail

I just want to ride. I just want to be able to get around safely. Is this too much to ask? I have been thinking a lot about moving someplace else, someplace where I could have horses and ride year around. Dunno. It may be that weather-wise, there are few ideal places to live. And those places that are ideal, everyone else is moving there.

It was difficult, summoning up the energy to keep moving, given that it is now so difficult. But in a last-ditch effort, one that I thought might send my spirits on an upward spiral, I decided to go for a walk with Pete. We decided to first go around our neighborhood loop, and then check out our trails.

The walk around the loop – a few trees were down here and there. We came upon on neighbor Poncho, who lives at the corner of Samovar and Sybarite. He was sitting on the tailgate of his pickup truck, holding his chainsaw, and staring out into space. In front of him was a logging truck full of wood. To the right of the pile was his ice-coated driveway. And up the driveway a ways was his plow truck. The front was lodged in a berm.

Poncho explained that the driver left the wood at the base of the driveway because he could not get up the driveway. So Poncho has no choice but to cut the wood and haul it up to his place in his truck. As we were talking, his truck slid downhill some. We left him, sitting there, pondering his next move.

We continued on our walk and turned onto the trail. 100 yards in and we came to an obstruction, a huge cottonwood had fallen across the road and now blocked the road/trail. We examined it closely, took photos, and walked around it. I felt bad for the tree but was pleased because now come spring, ATVs and swamp buggies will have a hard time getting around this tree.

We continued on. There was a lot of tree debris and the trail, and in several places it been blown in. It appeared to me as though Mother Nature had taken matters into her own hands, for which I thanked her.

It would be a lie to say our walk sent me on an upward spiral, for I’m still thinking that I don’t want to remain here. But I’m cheered by the fact that as far as our trails go, Mother N   ature is solidly on my side.

Next: 8. 1/8/22: Winter Malaise