Ten-Years Ago Today~

This year's winter in Iowa has been very different from the last - our first!  I take solace in the fact that longtime residents are in agreement with me - this cold, ice & snow is a little more than what a usual winter has been for a while.

So, - with a world of white again outside the windows & an ice storm on the way - I sat down to take a glimpse back to where I was ten-years ago.  It's almost like time travel.  (Since 2000, when I started switching over to digital photography, I've backed up all my images on external hard drives, filed by date.)  Below are a few photos from a long-ago day, in a faraway place~

Mt. Pilchuck~

 This was the year our friends sold a part of their property to build a second home on the coast of Mexico.  It was called the Plateau, which is just what it was.  A large flat piece of land elevated above the Stillaguamish river.  It was accessible up a steep, rocky road from the drive below.  This farm is undisputedly the most beautiful in the Pacific Northwest.  We spent some amazing years riding here.

The drive along the Stillaguamish River~

The plateau is where we galloped the horses.  Evias would ride the young Thoroughbreds, I'd ride Khari & we'd be the sensible pony horse for the youngsters.  Khari would out-trot them at the start, then pin her ears when they'd go breezing past us.  There was somewhat of a track all along the perimeter & the views were stunning.  The Homestead was only three-miles away - we were neighbors & being adopted into this family was an honor.

The Farm~

I'd been on my way home when the clouds parted after a week of rain & the sun appeared.  It was a hard day for me, the roads were going in & the place that was like heaven on earth was being changed forever.  Ground was breaking for the new homes slated to be built.  The camera was in the Bronco, so I decided to pay a final visit to the Plateau.

End of the Rainbow~

 What I saw took my breath away~ The Rainbow arched from the far side of Mt. Pilchuck, all the way over to the farm.  The colors were the strongest I'd ever seen.  I stood in awe of the majesty of the planet we call home.

The Horizon~

I watched as the air around me changed.  Off over the distant peaks of the Cascades, dark foreboding clouds brewed snow.  The temperature dropped & the transition from the blazing gold of the late afternoon sun to the dark gray of the rapidly approaching storm was intense.

It was my last visit.  We had plenty of riding on the rest of the farm, but it was never quite the same~