Pete and I weren’t mentally prepared for snow. I guess it took too long in coming. I myself had been lulled in a sense of winter complacency. The sun was shining brightly, the trails had firmed up, and I was having a good time getting horses out.

I’ve since had to shift gears. Yesterday and today I instead got the dog out. Skijoring is Rainbow’s favorite outdoor activity. She’s the perfect skiing companion. She doesn’t pull so hard that either Pete or I have to fear for our lives. Rather, she pulls a moderate amount. She’ll sometimes get up to speed on straightaways – this is always a lot of fun.

Today I took Rainbow around the loop, which had not yet been plowed. We were doing well, that is until a loose neighborhood dog leapt out at her. Rainbow lunged in its direction – she clearly meant to say hello—and I lost my balance and toppled into the snow. The

other dog lunged for Rainbow and in seconds the two dogs were literally in my face. I started whumping on the other dog with my ski pole. The owner, who was standing close by, reached over and grabbed his dog. I’d learned when Rainbow was in agility training not to stick one’s hands close to fighting dogs. This guy apparently did not know this. What I wanted to say, but did not, was that this is what ski poles are for.

A neighbor who I hadn’t seen in years helped me up. (She’s a semi-recluse.) Rainbow and I then took off down the road. We can’t yet hit the trails because the snow’s so deep. This weekend the snowmobiles will take care of the problem. Sigh.

On my jaunt I discovered that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is issuing permits for moose hunting. I was told that this is going to cut down on area road kill numbers. This doesn’t make any sense at all. The area moose population took a nosedive last year because they couldn’t get around very well – this was because we had record amounts of snow. I asked Fish and Game about this and was told that three permits a week are going to be issued to hunters, and that this is going on indefinitely. So we now have year round hunting in our backyard. I wish someone would arm moose. Then the playing field would be leveled.

I kept myself from obsessing about this by shoveling out the horse pen, which is the front area which houses Raudi, Siggi, Tinni, and Hrimmi. I got the mats cleared of snow. This’ll make manure clean up much easier, and as well, will give the horses more leg room.

Pete and I will be plowing and shoveling all day tomorrow – all day being during the five or so hours of daylight. We’ll at least look industrious. As I have learned, being slothful doesn’t go over very well around here.

Next: 367. 12/14/12: Rest and Recovery for Tinnii