Winter’s arrived at the Ranch. The past two nights the temperature dipped to -15 degrees and there are about 18 inches of snow everywhere with more promised later this week. Daytime temperatures rise into the thirties and the bright sun makes being outside a true joy.
Last Saturday we had an important job to do; we needed to select and cut a Christmas tree. Justin has been training his riding horse, Solito, to pull a sleigh, a hundred year old cutter that he bought a couple of years ago and restored. He decided that pulling a Christmas tree would be good for Solito’s training, so on Saturday the family set out on a tree expedition.
Lissa carried one-year-old, Kenna, who was bundled in a cozy back-pack. Christine, now four, bundled too, and wearing her pink riding helmet, rode her horse Big Enough. Laughter and childish chatter echoed across the river as the little party waded along through the snow, checking out one tree after the other until finally they found the perfect one.
Justin and Christine cut down the tree and tied it to Solito’s harness traces. It made a pleasant swishing sound as they plowed downhill. Pictures were taken and finally the family headed back home where the tree has been decorated and graces the living room.