The first of December was covered with snow,
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me, and ten thousand more to go

Sweet baby James, James Taylor

I am, I’m told, tone deaf, which means that when I sing, I think that I’m hitting all notes right, but rather, I am hitting them all wrong. So I generally don’t sing around people, just around the animals. It’s my way of letting them know that I’m in a good mood.

The temperature was in the teens today, so it was, of course, a good day for a ride.

The sun, when I set out on Hrimmi, was low in the sky, a muted yellow-brown ball with soft edges. There were snow flurries on and off all afternoon, that is until around 3 p.m. when it was again overcast.

Alys and Hrimmi

Riding Hrimmi, I broke into song and found myself singing James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James. It’s one of the few songs I know all the words to. And as I was singing, I realized that it was December 1. What are the odds of this? I asked myself. The answer was, of course 365 to 1. Knowing this, I sang this song several times. Maybe tomorrow I will change the date to December 2.

I was barely able to get all the horses out because it is now dark at 4:30 p.m. If I do as I did today and first get out at 11:30 a.m. I don’t have enough daylight time.

Dark time is a good time to do as I did, which is clean the goat pens. This is an arduous job if I put off this task. It had been three weeks since the last cleaning – this was not due to laziness on my part, but rather, because the low temperatures intervened. It is hard enough in above 0 weather to get frozen bedding off the mats; it is near impossible in below 0 weather. Also, I had to clean Sassy’s pen.

I felt bad because the bedding was so soiled. But as always, I felt good afterwards because I knew the animals would be more comfortable.

In between rides, I made a few project calls. It is strange, but some days go well, and some days do not. Now, on those that don’t go well, I quit early. Today turned out to be what I call a “paydirt” day. Yes, the Sutton prison is most likely going to take the National Geographics that came up on the TOTE barge. And yes, the DMV is most likely going to want a bookcase. And yes, we will soon be getting the kids books from the Ma-Su Borough School District warehouse.

The warehouse haul is going to take up a lot of room. So I am now looking for places to put the boxes. I don’t know how anything that seems so easy could be so difficult.

December 1, 2021 is now history. However, the light dusting of snow remains. So I can sing the same song, over and over, again tomorrow.

Next: December 2, 2021: My Parents Legacy