A good day to be at home – I have been wanting to spend time with my horses; I have not been remiss, just busy. But there has to be more to it than putting hay in their mouths and then picking up their poop.

Blustery and overcast, temps in the 20s when I first got Tinni out. I took him for a walk around the loop. We so enjoyed being in one another’s company.

As we were coming down Sybarite, that is the upper road, I saw a gray pickup truck, a trailer, and a snowmobile. I knew it was Sebastian, my neighbor. I said hello, and then, cutting to the chase, asked him if he knew that the cottonwood was blocking the trail.

He said yes. I said that it would take some work to get it out of there.

He then told me that this upcoming weekend he and a friend of his, who has some LARGE chainsaw, are going to cut it up and make the trail passable again.

When asked, I said that no, I wasn’t happy about this because it has cut down on snowmobile traffic. We then talked about the increasing numbers of snowmobiles – he said that he saw on his game camera a group of seven. And also, some came through his area at 3 p.m.

I was cheered by the fact that he said that he’d have plenty of wood to cut on his side of the trail, so our trails would remain undisturbed.

We continued on our separate ways, with me remaining deep in thought. The tree being down – this was Mother Nature bitch slapping him. What he does not realize is that if he continues to think the way he’s thinking, and take action based on the way he’s thinking, Mother Nature is going to unleash her full fury. The bitch slap, this was just a gentle reminder that she isn’t too thrilled about what’s going on.

Bigger chainsaws, more noise, increased trail access. Uh uh. I have my fingers crossed that the weather this weekend is inclement. I would like to see a huge snowstorm roll in. The predicted ice storm, well, this would make life harder for the horses who will have to have their rain sheets put on them. Tinni will stay in his shelter but the mares, who in some ways lack common sense, will be out in the thick of it.

Yeah, I am disappointed. I did want the trail to remain blocked. I should have known that man in all his glory can now move heaven and earth should be feel compelled to do so. It’s testosterone versus estrogen. And right now, estrogen is losing big time.

Why is this? And will the pendulum ever swing the other way? For this to happen, there is going to have to be a major energy shift. And, alas, it isn’t going to happen in my lifetime.

Next: 20. 1/20/22: Greatest of all Time