Small Stone #17: Ice skating

Two hours of skating on the ice and
I feel it.
But my little girl laughed
and I laughed with her,
playing games in the cold
and I don't even notice.

Riding in the snow

Recently my husband, son and I went for a horse ride up in the mountains.  The day was warm and we wanted to get at least one more ride in before we had too much snow.  Snow wasn't on our minds when we left our house, for although we had already had our first storm, warm days had melted it away.  Only the very peaks of the mountains showed the evidence of our first storms of the season.

We had decided in advance that we would ride up the Pole Creek Trail, a trail that leads back into the Wind River Mountains.  As our truck began to make the pull up the mountain, and ice and snow covered the road, we began to wonder if our choice in locations was a wise one.

We bundled up and went anyways.

The horses slugged through the snow, breathing heavily as the trail holds a gradual climb.

I had never ridden in snow along a mountain trail before. My little boy sat in front of me and as we moved through the trees I felt as though I could have been a mountain man or a squaw following her man on their way to a new camp.

The woods were silent other than a few birds.  My son talked most of the time and we could hear the breathing of the horses.  In several places we saw elk tracks where a herd had moved through.  A snowshoe hare darted in front of us, and at one point our lead horse stopped abruptly when a moose quickly moved deeper into the forest.

We went quite a ways down the trail. I could have ridden for miles and miles, but the cool air and the tired horses signaled our time to turn around.

Life stories come out of our many experiences, and our day of riding in the snow will be tucked away in my mind for may years to come.

Recipe: Peach Butter

In the fall I enjoy making peach butter.  Much like apple butter, peach butter is simply slowly cooked fruit with sugar and spices.  It's easy to make and a comforting addition to breads and baked goods made throughout the winter months.







Peach Butter Recipe

4 cups peaches
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water

Combine peaches and water and cook until the fruit is soft.  Add sugar; then slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and clear.  Add spices of choice.  Suggestions: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.

Words in the week...

"Words in the week" is meant to be a posting where I share words I hear during the week from song lyrics, quotes, signs....anything involving words that provoke interest and meaning to life.

For this week, and in celebration of autumn:

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Foto Friday: Arrival of cold weather

I was going to our local library at about 2:00 pm when I saw these ice crystals hanging down in this tree.  Most days they should have melted already. Ahh, the visible arrival of cold weather.