Almost Christmas

It's been a while - time is passing so quickly and there's no way I'm going to ever get the things done I need to get done in the next 8 days. Finally I got my packages and cards (at least most of them) mailed on Monday. Have to get the rest of them in the mail - i know they will be a few days late. Hope to get tamales made Saturday and have to finish a christmas stocking for the new baby.

John left today to go to Casper on business. He'll be back tomorrow evening and then Sunday he is flying to Canada for 4 days on more business. Hopefully the weather won't be so bad that he gets stuck up there. On the 23rd, we are heading to Colorado to spend Christmas with the granddaughters (and their parents of course). Quick trip as we have to be back by Tuesday morning to go to work. Hopefully the weather will cooperate to allow us to make the trip down there.

I love Christmas - even though we aren't going to be home, I had to put up both trees, lights everywhere and am listening to the christmas country channel on xm radio. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle though and overlook the reason for the holiday. Time to pull out the Christmas books and spend some time reading all the good stories that I enjoy every year at this time to renew my Christmas spirit.

I am enjoying the peacefulness of winter. Every morning in this cold, I get to bundle up and go out to feed the horses. Like clockwork at 7:20 they are either waiting for me at the barn or just ambling down off the hill. On Tuesday, I had arranged for the ferrier to come and remove their shoes for the winter - he was going to be here at 8:30 - perfect timing. I would feed the horses, they could eat until 8:00 and then I would catch them up and tie them to the post so they would be waiting for him.

Well, of course, the horses decided to change their routine and by 8:15 they hadn't showed up at the barn yet. So, I went on a horse hunt - they like to sleep about as far away from the house as they can get so that is at the far northwest end of the property. The wind was blowing like crazy as I headed out to find them. Climbed up the ditch bank, crossed the bridge and headed over the hill, finally, they saw me and Dudley decided to come toward me. Badger was following, so I turned around and headed back toward the house with them practically on my heels.

Right before I got to the bridge, they stopped and decided to head back up the hill. I called to them, crossed the bridge and started on down. They headed east which wasn't the same way I was going but I figured they were just going to their normal place to cross the ditch. I got back to the barn and they were still up on the hill watching me. I grabbed the grain bucket and waved it at them and they started walking further east and down the hill.

I expected them to come around at any moment and after 5 minutes when they hadn't, I decided I was going to have to go back up the hill and entice them in with a few mouthsful of grain. Wasn't looking forward to that too much as I really do not like walking down an icy hill with two big animals at my heels wanting food. I headed up the least steep hill and expected to find them when I got to the top but instead, I saw nothing.

I turned back around to head a different direction and then saw that they had gone clear back around and were both at the barn eating nicely. I stopped at the house and picked up the halters and lead ropes and went out to catch them and tie them up. Just in time as 2 minutes later the ferrier showed up to do his job. So all turned out well, except for the fact that Molly and Remington took off for another one of their 9 hour runs.