Let It Snow

If finally looks like winter! I am just like a kid, when I wake up and see a white covered world I love it! The weather pattern that came through was strange in the sense that we only got 2-3 inches but my parents, in town, got closer to a foot. They aren't more than about 10 miles from where we live but that made all the difference. Sunday afternoon we took full advantage of the fun. Doug got out the quad and the sled and the girls climbed aboard. With Okie in full chase, they had a fast paced sight seeing tour of the farm.

Hadley has a passion for angels so it was no surprise when she dropped down and went to
"flying".

The biggest challenge with the cold weather is caring for the animals. It is nice to have 2 horses because it makes it manageable. I was telling my mom that I recalled the winter Hadley was born, December 2003. It was SO SO cold and for some reason I had her horses here while they were in Arizona. Why I felt adding their horses to our herd was a good idea when I was 9 months pregnant still baffles me but none-the-less I did it. It was a long spell of snow and seriously cold temps and keeping water troughs thawed for all the horses to drink was not possible so they all got turned out together on the pasture and we kept one tank accessible. And to top it off, when I was in the hospital having Hadley, Doug's wonderful father (who has since passed on) would go down daily and care for all the horses. He was anything but a horse person but he had a heart the size of the moon and knew how much they all meant to me so he took great care of them.

Sunday evening when I went down to feed I decided to take a little extra time and I jumped on Elvis and took him for a spin around the pasture with a halter and his big heavy blanket on. It was a very warm and comfortable ride. Nothing warms you up like riding a horse in the winter bareback because their big bodies radiate so much heat up to the rider. And the quiet on the farm is so peaceful, no noise except their breathing and their hooves breaking the snow. Ahhh....

I wanted to share the picture below of a saddle my good friend, Coy Wilde, built this month. He has taken up saddle making with a master saddle maker down in Baker City, Oregon. This is his first work and it really is beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that he already has someone committed to buying it. In this picture it is lacking the finishing touches of sterling silver appointments but he will have those completed before too long. I love true craftsmanship in horse tack and Coy is well on his way. The entire saddle is made by hand, from the hand tool of the leather all the way down to the sterling silver engraving. It will be fun to follow his craft and see how he progresses.

The kids have made this Christmas season so magical. Hadley's wishes for a chest x-ray and accordion have expanded to include a pair of "new" ice skates. As if she has "old" ones?? And I am half inclined to indulge here but than I catch myself, where in the heck will she use them?? She tells me that her uncle Dean has a pond. Yes, he does but does it ever freeze solid enough that I would let my first born place a step out on it? No. And then she said we can pour buckets of water on the yard and let it freeze. I don't know. I am just a mean mommy but that doesn't sound like any way to spend time out here on the farm. So, as the big day draws near, I will have to subtly talk Hadley off the "new" ice skate train and redirect her to something more practical like an MRI or something.