A week of wild weather and a soft landing

What a week of weather we've had! The snow was absolutely lovely giving us crisp, sparkling, magical mornings. Driving out to the barn was breathtaking as the sun cleared the horizon. I've envied John--perfect weather for taking some time off from work! It's hard to know I will be spending the day inside on days like this.

On one of these perfect mornings, I stopped to take some pictures on my way to the barn. Here's the sun shining over some hay fields. Just look at the height of the snow banks!

As I drove along Knight's Pond Road, the sun streamed over the fields. The early morning light brought out the texture of the snow and the frost crystals on the weeds.

The horses can't wait to go out and frolic. The minute I pull open the barn doors, Rolex begins pawing at her mat, Harley gives me a good morning "giraffe face", and Ruffy nickers for food. Then the games begin while I go back in to get their breakfast. Ruffy, our chow hound, is always the most focused on eating. We suspect she may have had her rations reduced when her racing days were winding down, poor girl.  Here's our fast mare enjoying her breakfast!

One last look at the gorgeous day before heading off to work. Ah, isn't winter lovely? I can't imagine living somewhere with no snow.

Then the rain came--compressing all the fluffy snow and leaving us with icy roads. Friday afternoon, under a drizzly sky, John and I tacked up for a meander up the road. The snowbanks were too high to ask the horses to plow over, so it was a road ride, as we meandered back and forth around the icy patches. Since commuter traffic was beginning to pick up, it was just a short jaunt up Thurrell Road and back. Enough to stretch their legs and remind Harley it's safe to go out front from time to time.

Saturday morning was spent driving back and forth to the town sand supply so we could coat the icy driveway at the barn. Bucket after bucket was spread out and with the sun's warmth, a lot of the ice broke up.

Finally, we tacked up and headed down to Orris Falls with Harley leading the way until fast-walking Rolex passed him. At the first water crossing he balked. That set the tone for the next crossing! Rolex didn't want to cross either, but level-headed girl that she is, she thought about it and then leaped across. With the edges crumbling into the fast moving stream,  Harley gave a mighty leap after her. But once we turned around, he approached sideways and caught me off balance as he gave a big jump and then floundered in the snow on the far side. I came off but was cushioned the be soft, snowy landing. Harley took off up the trail, but probably stopped when a) he had to cross more water, and b) Rolex was not with him. As I began trudging up the trail, who should come back, ears pricked, looking for his girlfriend? Thankfully, he didn't terrorize any snowshoers on the way!

I clambered back on, with some help from John due to the deep snow. Before I'd even picked up my stirrups, Mr. Prancypants was off, jigging for home. We cross the brook without any shenanigans and rode the little loop nobody travels. Back on the main trail, we encountered a family snowshoeing, their kids playing in the snow along a little stream. Yikes, people on both sides of the trail. Harley's ears swiveled back and forth as he peered at the people with funny things on their feet, especially the little people down by the water. See Lisa, I told you swamp demons reside here!

Closer to home, out of the woods, Harley relaxed enough for John to take a photo.