For the past hour it has been raining, sleeting, hailing, and thunder and lightning. It’s late at night. It’s sort of scary. Pete’s at the musk ox farm, at a benefit. I am in the house. The last time this kind of weather happened, I was in a trailer. This storm is just as bad as that storm. It does not seem as bad because I am not in an aluminum box, one with broken plastic vents and water pouring through.

I got home from EMT class and then got out at 6 p.m. I took Hrimmi and Ryder on our trails. I thought about getting Tyra out, but the sky was looking ominous – a gray cloud cover was rolling in from several differing directions. Though I felt bad about not getting her out, I sensed that a storm was coming. This turned out to be an instance in which I did the right thing.

This is the first time I have experienced a storm like this one here – and nothing like this in the fall. I remember a few summers ago when I was training for the CTR on Raudi – I was riding home – the clouds were coming my way. They were blue-gray in color. I

hustled, got home, put Raudi away, and went up and into the house. Seconds later the sky opened up and it rained really, really hard for about an hour. The rain was interspersed by thunder and lightning. I watched the storm from inside, and the horses watched the storm from inside their shelter. Then, like now, I was weather wise.

This, I am thinking, is what climate change is all about. It feels to me like nature is rebelling and saying to us that if we don’t take better care of the environment, that we are going to suffer the consequences. And, of course, we hear her – but aren’t willing to do anything about it.

This reminds me – every time we go into the EMT bay we are to put on a pair of rubber gloves. Me, I am now using the same pair of gloves over and over. But I am going to tell the teacher and see if she can make any recommendations. Sixteen sets of gloves, twice a week – that’s a lot of crap going into the landfill.

We all have to be more cognizant of what’s going on. Last week at the Backcountry Horsemen meeting, it was said that Matanuska-Susitna Borough trails might become off limits to horseback riders, the reason being that, presumably, we leave manure on the trails.

I said that if it wasn’t already, but a bigger problem is on the horizon. The trails in question are located adjacent to the landfill. The trails will become history if the land they are on is designated for landfill use.

So, everything is seemingly connected. Keeping those gloves out of the landfill is yet another step in the right direction. So, next on my list, send a message to my EMT teacher and ask her what we can do about this.

Next: 275. 10/5/19: A Conversation with Stormy and Ranger