Wednesday, December 31, 2008

My New Dog, Rikki!

What a way to brighten up winter—I got a new dog! This one comes with an especially emotional tie: Rikki belonged to my sister-in-law whom we recently lost to Inflammatory Breast Disease. On December 29th, Rikki made the long cross-country flight from North Carolina to Sea-Tac Airport, where I met her at baggage claim. I am excited to have this sweet, beautiful Australian Shepherd join our Maple Valley family, and especially honored to have such a special way to remember my beloved sister-in-law by.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

White Horsekeeping

“Green” horsekeeping doesn’t do much to describe my life today. Today it’s WHITE horsekeeping! And probably the most positive thing I can say about it, as a horse person, is that it’s very beautiful. Which it truly is. But as a horse person it totally cramps my style! I can’t ride or exercise my horses. I can’t haul my horses anywhere covered to ride and exercise them because the roads are too snowy and icey. I can’t clean paddocks well. I freeze when I’m out for any length of time... I know, I know. I need a little cheese with my whine. You would think that someone who grew up in the Chicago suburbs with all the snow and sub-zero temps we had there, and who lived in Anchorage, Alaska for several years, would be better equipped to deal with a couple weeks of snow and cold.

The reality is that riding and working my horses is so much a part of who I am that I never get used to “down time,” no matter how much I prepare for it.

A week ago we had about 4 inches of snow, which around the Pacific NorthWET usually doesn’t last long. But, thanks to Artic temps, this is lasting. And, adding insult to injury, last night we got more snow. The long-range forecast is for all of this white stuff to stick around for some time yet. Blah!

So it’s time to quite feeling sorry for myself and to start to work on some winter survival skills…. Stay tuned!