I never pay attention to the forecast. I’m not a fan of watching the evening news, and I don’t listen to the radio on a regular basis, so I’m pretty much out in the cold when it comes to knowing what’s going on with the weather….literally. It snowed in the night and I didn’t even know there was a chance of snow! In my opinion, snow just makes chores that much more difficult, so I wasn’t all that excited to see it. But snow seems to have a different effect on children and animals.
Our kids are usually sleepyheads and hard to wake up in the morning. But using the tactic, “Come look at the snow!” got them out of bed in a hurry. It was much the same when I let the cats out to investigate. Tinkerbell went running and leaping out onto the deck, reaching under the thick layer of snow as if it were a blanket with a mouse underneath it. She skittered this way and that, tail arched in crazed delight as she carried out her silly pantomime. It felt good to start the day with a laugh.
When I got to the horses, they behaved pretty much the same way Tinkerbell had. They ran back and forth through the corrals and down to the creek, stopping to blow through their noses with that horse-language alarm signal. Then they’d all take off again, tearing around and bucking like crazy. Even old Cricket put on some fancy moves. I tried to catch them on camera, but my shutter is slow, and I only caught half of Milo’s wild spin:
Milo is an expert at showing off. He is not a spooky horse at all, and will step over, around, and among things without hesitation. But when the horses start to running or feeling their oats, he usually puts on the biggest show.
You can tell by Cricket’s expression that she is egging Milo on and trying to drive him away. They all have to exert their authority and remind the younger ones where they belong in the pecking order when the horses get to running around like this.
The buckskins were having a hay day all their own. They naturally avoid the other three, but Milo’s antics were catching on quickly, and they went racing away to the creek and back at full speed.
It was fun to see them enjoying themselves and getting some exercise as opposed to standing around their hay bale like they have been doing lately. Then they all stop and stand still and listen, and it just feels so beautiful to be a part of their electrified silence on this crisp morning.
