Last Week of November

Well, here we are, blowing toward December. We are having high winds today (my least favorite weather condition). It is warm, but temperatures will plummet tonight and we will have a feel of winter soon.

I left off at Thanksgiving. We continue to be grateful for many things here. Remarkably warm weather has been very welcome.

Rodney rode through with Trigger on Friday. I spent some time talking about horse training with him (serious stuff) and being impressed by his horsemanship as we chatted. He is a person who never loses track of the horse, even when talking. Most inspiring is his ability to give correction followed by perfectly timed reward to the horse. It is the genuine secret to good training. I can recognize it, but I am not always able to execute as accurately as I should. I am too easily distracted, but Rodney is an inspiration. Trigger seems very happy, and Marilyn is looking forward to riding again soon.

Jane rode later in the day. I was waiting until the full two week rest period after stem cell treatment was finished, even though I felt completely recovered. It costs enough money that I am taking it seriously, so as not to waste the cost by being stupid. I satisfied my riding desire by taking pictures. Jane, with her “eagle eye” (sorry!) saw a bald eagle arise from the dead deer! It was very exciting to see, and we left it in peace to do its job. The buzzards (turkey vultures) seem to have migrated south, alas.

We had a rainy day on Sunday. After the dry Autumn, we do not complain about rain. Niece Rachael, and her mother, Linda, were coming for a visit, and that inspired the first fire of the season. Jane joined us for dinner (which I cooked – a rare occasion indeed!) and it was a lovely, dreary late November reunion.

Linda departed early on Monday. Meanwhile, the dead deer is not being devoured as quickly as we had hoped. After goodbyes were said, dog walking resumed. The dogs are not happy about this new regime! But they are adapting, as are we all.

Dawn was quite glorious this morning, and I tried to get a picture, but the woods to the east are close, and my photos were not good. I told Rachael how beautiful it was, but mere minutes after I had seen it, the rutilant color was gone. Luckily, today was trash day, and Harlan also saw the dawn. He took pictures and texted them to me, so I could show Rachael a spectacular Missouri sunrise after all. Harlan was happy to see Rachael again. They met on her last visit and shared some stories, catching up.

Rachael and I kept trying to get an eagle view, to no avail. We took some pictures of color in drear November, also pictures of cats. We tease Rachael about being a millennial, but she is an old soul. We are so grateful that she drops into our life when she is not in the wilderness, fighting fires.

At last, our frequent hikes south to the ring to view the dead deer were rewarded…

Oisin gave an editorial comment on our activity.

The horses enjoyed another day of rest. As the weather shifted from warm to cold this evening, they were wild to come into the barn. Winter is coming…

Be safe, be well. Slava Ukraini! Peace.