snow walk

Jude, Ollie and I went out for a late-morning stroll today...It was lovely and snowy, but not too cold at all. We bundled up and I brought my camera. We played in the yard and then walked up the road and back again. We saw chickadees, woodpeckers and squirrels, plus some dog-like pawprints in the snow (coyote?)..We are far from any major road or town so it is absolutely quiet when you step outside. No sounds at all, until the saucy red squirrels spot you and start chattering away (: As we walked down our forest road, I surveyed our land and imagined what the pasture would look like with the fences mended and a horse peacefully munching on the grass within...
Recently I almost adopted a retired racehorse. The timing was crazy and it would have been an insane scramble to get everything ready, but still I was up for the challenge - and the joy - it would have brought me. I have wanted my own horse since I was a little girl. I was one of those ridiculously 'horse crazy' girls; I have hundreds of horse drawings that I created, I went to horse camp in the summer, rode at a little stable throughout the school year and (for fun) studied the horse's anatomy as if my life depended on it, painstakingly drawing diagram after diagram and testing myself on the names of the parts of the horse, tack and breeds. I was a total horse geek!
So, when my Mom called and said my Dad's buddy was giving away his horse and Dad already talked to him to secure the deal I was shocked, excited, scared, and completely disbelieving. I mean, I have waited my whole life to get a horse so it was hard to wrap my mind around the whole thing. Well, to make a long story short, it did indeed seem like things weren't in place well enough for it to happen. The barn isn't ready, it's the middle of winter, the fencing is open in spots, and I just had a baby...My Dad's buddy gave his horse to someone else who could take him in right away and I felt both sad and relieved at the same time. I will get a horse though. I'm glad this happened because it woke up the little, horse-crazy girl inside of me; I never thought I would see her again (-;
I certainly am going off on a tangent! Well, here are the snow-walk pictures then (: I can't believe how pretty it is here! We moved here in mid-October so I have seen the land's changes from autumn to winter. I cannot wait to experience the awakening of spring and the fullness of summer!

^__^