February 16, 2010

A treat of a day


What a treat of a day - just look at this weather!

The days are getting longer, and the sun has started to warm some again.
Such a wonderful feeling.
I got so inspired when I woke on Saturday this weekend that I promised my daughter I would clean the terrace from snow.
That was before I had a closer look at it.


I was knee-deep in snow, and I only had one large shovel.
Well, a promise is a promise.
I guess some sweat and exercise won't do any harm...

Sweating. Sweating.
Hm. I can't use up all hours of sun on snow shovelling, must get time for a ride too.


Hi. What are you doing? Is it warm in the sun?
Sniff, not very. I'll stay inside for another week or two.


King of Hunt has another approach to winter and snow.
He watches, very interested, but from the Outside.
Matcho Cats with an image don't sit in windows.
One can miss out on Something. A mouse or two perhaps.



But the icing of the cake this wonderful day was a trail ride with my daughter.
We set out, all four of us, eager to enjoy the beautiful weather.

When passing the Icelandic horses at our neighbour stable I missed a real camera. My cell phone is not doing justice to how the horses contrasted against the horizon, and the intensity of the blue sky.


After having some trot and canter intervals we let the horses walk for a while.
Good boy, Charlie!


Even if you can feel a slight warmth in the sun, it is still low.



Don Quixote and Sancho Panza?



After another long nice canter up the hill, we took a stop and relaxed a bit in the sun before taking on the last part.


Fame loves to get the opportunity to admire the surroundings. She is just one very curious horse.


Finally we turned home again.
When the sun sets, the air gets chilly almost immediately.

I love the look of the snow now when the days are getting slightly warmer. It gets kind of sugary and glossy on the surface.

Thanks for accompanying us!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely ride - thanks for taking us along with you!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Thank you for the virtual trail ride. It was invigorating. The snow is beautiful against the sky. And the horses pictures are wonderful. The terrace will clear eventually, but it's more important to ride I think.

trudi said...

lovely pics!! what an enormous shovel and what a lot of snow.

Di said...

gorgeous pics as usual! I love your cats!

Shanster said...

What a wonderful ride! Thanks for taking us along!

wilsonc said...

You live in such a beautiful place and the pictures are such fun to see. One of my husband's dreams is to be able to ride in the snow like that. It's beautiful here in Oregon too, but we see more mud than we do snow ;)

Wolfie said...

Magic, just magic. Thank you for sharing!

HorseOfCourse said...

Thanks for your nice comments all!

Today it has been snowing again, and more to come tomorrow.
I should have guessed cleaning that terrace from snow would be a waste of time,lol!
Still, no harm in being optimistic...I only benefit from some extra exercise!

HorseOfCourse said...

Oh, I have forgotten myself.
Welcome Promise as a new follower!

mugwump said...

My daughter stopped by and looked over my shoulder, "Who is this? What kind of horses are those? They're beautiful!"
Thanks for sharing.

The Odyssey Farm said...

What a beautiful day for a ride! Thanks for sharing. We got a lot of snow (for Kentucky) on Monday, but we just get stressed out about it instead of going for a ride.

Virginia

The Equestrian Vagabond said...

thanks for taking us on another lovely ride in Norway! i love the cold, but... i'm glad i'm here inside reading about it : )
Fame is like Jose! Admiring the surroundings.
- The Equestrian Vagabond

HorseOfCourse said...

Mugs - give my regards to your daughter, and tell her she has a good eye for horses, LOL!

Virginia - welcome!
I am happy when the snow comes, because then we get good working conditions for the horses. Beats frozen or muddy ground anytime!

Merri - thanks!
Fame is very curious, or interested, when we are out.
I had to stop her from marching straight out in the snow on the ride - we would have got stuck - because she wanted to investigate something.
I indulge her, not always but sometimes, because I think it is fascinating to see what she is up to. When we are in the arena doing dressage work, it is very much me setting the agenda.
I find the trail riding a refreshing way to relax for us both, and also to let her take a larger role in what we are doing. If she wants to check out a path, why not do it? If it is within reasonable time frame, or area. She asks politely, often by a slight hesistation, and sometimes by "floating" towards it, but never persists when asked to go on.

Once Upon an Equine said...

Beautiful pure white snow and blue sky. Glad you had a nice day.

allhorsestuff said...

Perfectly gorgeous...all of it! Kitties in the snow and..loved that snow shovel!All topped off, yes like icing, by a wonderful bareback ride! Great photos and I felt like I was there!
!
KK

HorseOfCourse said...

OnceUpon and KK - thanks!
Yes, it was a wonderful day. I am glad I took some pics, because the weather turned again this week :(