Wow, winter wins!

As Granny Rita used to say:

"Man proposes and God disposes"

As competitive as I am, I put my head down to the wind and said to myself, "That's it, I am GOING to get this tractor unstuck...". Little did I know that I was going to say that six times easily this week. The last of course being today, in the blizzard of Maryland blizzards. Miraculously, each time, that tractor screamed itself out of the 3 or 4 feet of snow predicament it was in, thanks to the tutelage of my precious husband. I am actually really amazed by the truck as well, as it has yet to fail, even when roads have not been plowed. Humility has befallen me in a way that I have not felt in a long time. Happily, the horses are munching away and not at all in awe of the present situation. Content expressions on their faces, they are obliviously nickering at me, "Where's the food?"

This has been the story of life over the past five days, shovel in hand and grim determination from the core. Stall cleaning and turning out have become so arduous that I dream of my roots in the Caribbean island of Trinidad, which has not been in my conscious thoughts for a while. No offense intended to my wonderful Trini counterparts. Either way, the job gets done and it's on to the next day. If there are any holes in the construction of the barn, any window missing caulking, any door not shut all the way, it is suddenly apparent in a very offensive way; a foot or two of snow piled up on the inside of the barn. Otherwise, the barn is holding up well and warmer than expected. There is still electric and water so that the horses get what they need.

Extra Special Mention:
Emma Evans, the barn manager at Great and Small, has been stellar. What a determined spirit we have here. I have to say, having someone watch your back is priceless. Kudos to you, Emma, you portray the finest of human qualities; positive attitude, fortitude and conscience. Thank you.