Okay. So it’s the first day in December. This’ll be a good month, for sure. This is because the 21st is the winter solstice, meaning that the days will again start becoming lighter. My neighbor Kirby once said about the solstice, “30 seconds, what’s the big deal?” I replied that to me it is a big deal because it’s a sign of much needed change.

The same holds true of June 21st, the summer solstice. I’m not as fond of that particular solstice because it means that the days will be getting shorter. We spent the 2019 solstice in a tent in Wyoming – we’d been caught in a snowstorm. I then could only think that darkness was on the verge of impinging on us, and I was right.

Alys and Raudi

I don’t like the onset of darkness. What I dislike the most around here is usually Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I come in around 4 p.m. and it’s dark. And it remains dark. Pete doesn’t get home until 11 p.m. – this is a long time to sit around in the dark.

This year was a bit different. The main reason why I took the EMT class was because I’d then be occupied on Wednesday evenings. And Pete changed his schedule so that he didn’t teach so late on Thursdays. This year, this made the darkness easier to bare.

We are now in the darkness home stretch. I can deal.

Today was a good day. El is now gone, so we easily resumed our old routine. We could not do what we usually do so well with her here because this would be rude. She’d have had to find something else to do when I studied in the a.m. And she would have had to find something else to do when we got the horses out in the p.m. She didn’t have warm enough gear for riding.

I reviewed the chapter on poisoning and watched the video. Then I took Tinni and Tyra for a walk. We met up with two younger women who were from Bethel.

Pete and I again met up with them when we were at the Murphy Road Turnoff. We were then preparing to ride Raudi and Hrimmi. Such kind and curious individuals. And they were dressed for the weather. I directed them up Jim’s Road Trail so they could hike up to the bench. I hope we see them again.

The horse outings were uneventful. I never, ever take their good behavior for granted. There are many, many horses out there that are ill behaved because of the way they’ve been handled. Not ours.

Now this evening I am resuming studying – I’ll be done with my tests by December 14th. I have decided that if I do well that I am going to go to Iceland next September and go on a sheep round up. It’s just too bad that I won’t be able to take any of our horses. But then, who am I, to even consider breaking a law that was established in 800 a.d. Well, maybe I’ll be able to bring one of the horses I ride there back home with me. If it is a yellow dun mare I’ll name her Sunshine.

Next: 333. 12/2/19: Ranger, Stormy, and the Winter Blues