Winter Walk~

It's been so Sunny!  So very nice!  We've been experiencing a streak of seven consecutive days of temperatures above 40 this month!  Today, though - it cooled down into the 30's.  With the wind gusting to 20+mph, the feels like temperature was in the teens.

The water tower we see from home~

Nika has been wanting to get out for a walk.  Today, I decided to walk to my friend Doris's house.  She has kindly agreed to watch Nika while Butch & I are away in June.  Nika was also invited to spend some evenings & days while I'm gone this summer & Butch is working.

I was surprised how at ease Nika was, she laid down & yawned while we were there.  Of course Doris had to show her where the cookies were kept too!  Her big immaculate & well fenced backyard will be perfect!

On the way back, we took the big hill!  It's quite a climb to one of the highest points around town.  I still can't get over how huge the deciduous trees grow here.  I think these are Oaks, but I'm not yet familiar enough with them to know for sure.

View to the east~

The hill drops off on all sides. In days of old - there are stories of the speeds kids with sleds or bikes, reached on the way down!

The way we'd come up~

I'd been to the Y earlier in the day. I've been dedicated to three-days a week for almost a year now. Two plus miles on the Elliptical in 30 minutes, with half of that time at a 30% grade.  Now, the hill I used to feel on the way up, was much easier!

We start down Elm~

At the bottom of this very long hill, is the Home Place. There's yet another drop in our backyard to the creek. I was walking in my riding boots, thinking since I used to do all my walking along side Farah, I might as well keep wearing them.

Back home~

The sun was just ready to set over the ridge behind us when we reached home.  Once the sun is down, it doesn't take long for the temperatures to drop!   Our nighttime lows have been running temperatures that are usually daytime highs this time of year!  The weatherman tells us that we have one more day to enjoy before the bottom drops out.  The last weeks of the month we drop back to our average, with nights in the teens...

Now, can I influence the Washington weather out of the rain & into the sun?!

A Mid-Winter Day~

No, it sure didn't feel like Winter today!  Sunshine, wonderful clear skies & temperatures that rose above 50 degrees!  I'd been invited to ride & couldn't go :-(  It would have been a longer drive, to what looked like a really nice area, so I hope I'm invited next time! Too much paperwork for me to do. :-(  I will be so very glad when I'm done with it all...

Farah on the move~

 By mid-afternoon we'd caught up & drove out to our storage to bag another couple weeks worth of supplement.  We always try to keep a large enough supply on-hand that if we're called away unexpectedly - Farah won't run out.

With a strong wind blowing, Butch brought our girl out & she was So happy to see us!  It made me feel bad - that our visits this month - have been so sporadic.  Farah also seems to have a better understanding with the crazy gelding in the run next to hers.  She was calm, cool & kicked back to enjoy a good  grooming.  He's as crazy an Arabian as I've ever seen, working himself up into a full body sweat every time we take her away.  Even when we close the door, we can here him tearing back & forth & whinnying...  A calming  supplement might help him.

Farah & Butch

It's hard to see, but Farah had a mouthful of grass & as she chewed - the wind blew it back at Butch :-)   We'd hoped to let her graze a little, but the ground here is so soft.  She left holes with each step - even without shoes.  The grass doesn't have the roots that you'd expect & is So slippery!

At least on the hill, she's learned to handle the slippery nature of the footing & the wind doesn't seem to bother her as much as it used to.  We checked out the indoor arena & it's very nice.  Here, I think I'll be doing more riding in it - so will have to make up a lesson plan for us both.  She seems to be thriving & has kept herself pretty fit - all good!