Month: November 2017

Highwaymen and Frozen Gates!

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20171129_080621We had a heavy frost again this morning – so much so that the latches on the gates were frozen shut and I couldn’t shift them.

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Luckily, one of the gates also has a bolt which was still movable so the ponies were able to go out!

I was also fascinated by the hurdles  round the sheep pen – they are hollow and the uprights fill with water.  This is what had happened this morning!

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I love these mornings, despite the bitter cold.  They are really beautiful.  Plus, they mean that it is finally cold enough to wear my highwayman hat cover.  It is lovely and cosy!

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Mud, Glorious Mud

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We have had a lot of rain over the past few days.  Also hail and sleet.  Things are starting to look a little soggy!

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In fact, the gateway into the yard got to the point where we just had to do something about it.  We had some branches taken out in our woodland and the work has left us with a large pile of wood chippings.  These are excellent for putting down on the mud!

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My parents were very kind and put down a load of chippings on Friday.  They are wonderful!   I can now get into the yard without having a struggle and getting covered in mud.  The dog likes it too – she might be a country dog but she hates mud and will do her best to get round it!

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The rain hasn’t stopped us getting out and about though – although other people’s fields are looking even wetter than ours!

The Gathering Gloom

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Things are getting pretty dark here.  It has been dark when I get home for weeks but now it is also almost too dark to ride before work as well.

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Not quite though – I can still squeeze in a hack if I am super quick and don’t go very far.  In fact, the only good thing about working on Sundays is that when I have to do so I start an hour later  – plenty of time to ride!

It hasn’t helped that this week I have had a terrible cold which has made my energy levels plummet.   Getting up in the morning has been even harder than usual.  I am on the mend now though and hopefully I’ll manage to have a few more early morning rides before the darkness sets in.

Autumnal Ramblings

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Things are beginning to look wintry here.  A lot of the trees have lost their leaves and the countryside is starting to look a bit brown.

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The hedges are taking on a new kind of beauty – there is a lot of lichen visible now the leaves have gone.

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Every so often though, we still come across a tree which is a blaze of colour.

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Galahad and I had a lovely lazy hack today, rambling through the countryside and enjoying the autumnal scenery. It is a good time of year.

Being Realistic

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This week I have not ridden much at all.  Partly that is because I am currently in sole charge of all the animals.

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When there is a limited amount of daylight I have to prioritise.  The ponies can run around the field and exercise themselves to some extent.  The dog doesn’t have that opportunity!

Although I miss the riding I still get to spend time with the ponies.  They are always pleased to see me in the mornings and especially the evenings when I feed them!

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Plus the dog and I always stop to say hello.

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Every winter I have to accept that my riding gets curtailed – it won’t be long now before it is too dark to ride in the mornings as well as the evenings.  It’s just a case of adjusting myself to a new routine of only riding a couple of times a week.  There are lots of compensations though – things like log fires on cold evenings!

 

Freezing Rain

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It has been rather cold here for the past few days.  The wind is biting and the rain is freezing.  Literally  – there were bits of sleet in it today.  Luckily it stayed dry for our hack today but we got pretty wet yesterday.

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Our neighbour has moved out and the new people were moving in yesterday – we met one very fast small van and a slower, larger one.  That one got slightly wedged between two cottages and we had the fun of watching it try to extricate itself.  The ponies were fascinated!

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They were very well behaved though.  We have a field right on the side of a fairly busy road and lorries frequently drive past it very fast.  It has been invaluable in making sure the ponies are not traffic shy.

Bonfire Night!

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We have been pretty lucky with the fireworks this year.  Most of our big local displays were last night and although we could hear them there was nothing to see here.

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We left the ponies out so they could run if they wanted but they didn’t seem overly bothered.

Once most of the fireworks had finished the heavens opened.  It was windy as well so the rain made a dreadful noise on the windows.  This morning however was beautiful and Cookster and I had a lovely ride.

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It was still rather blustery though!

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Dawn Ramblings

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Now the clocks have gone back my riding has had to move from after work to before work.  Which is just as well – it was starting to get a bit tight for light after work anyway!

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I have never thought of myself as a morning person (I do not like getting out of bed!) but once I am up I really do love the early mornings.  I love being up before the sun and I so much enjoy the chill that we have at the moment.  It is great being able to ride above the mists too.

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One of the best things though is the light from the sunrises.  It is just beautiful, especially when it is shining on the autumnal trees which are looking particularly lovely at the moment.

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It is a beautiful time of year.  I love the autumn!