Winter…

The property to the left of the road belongs to my sister.  I hadn’t ventured beyond the house before, thinking that there wasn’t much else beyond it since the street itself ended in a cut de sac right there.  Oh I had seen pick up trucks turn into this road, I just hadn’t thought much about it.  That there was a horse farm behind her property was something I’d heard, but I must have always been here in the summer when the woods back there appeared to be endless. Any truck heading down this little road would just disappear, swallowed up by the woods.  If her dog hadn’t barked at any and all traffic I wouldn’t have known they’d come through at all.  I think I might have heard a horse once or twice, but the other day I actually saw a couple of them.  They were wearing blankets since it was so cold, and it was just a glimpse of them in the pasture, through the trees.  There is no real point to this story since Ozzie didn’t see them, but if he had it would have been a much more exciting story, for him at least.  And a PITA for me.  He wouldn’t try to chase them, or even try to fit through the fence, but he’d happily stand there and bark his head off at them.  I prefer him to keep a low profile so I can drink coffee on the deck and watch him wander unleashed.

I missed a few photo ops on the nice drive to the Nip the other day.  It was a crisp, clear day with nice light.  And now it’s been raining.  All day yesterday, and it’s gloomy again today.  And now I remember hating January.  Gray, cold, boring, January.  And it’s not even here yet.  Once I get this snowbird thing straight I’ll be in lush, green, Florida at this time of year.  Out photographing all the flowers and wildlife that also love to spend their winters there.  But here I am, and yes, it’s gray, but I’ll finally be seeing my oldest, dearest friend today.  Even lovely, warm, Florida can’t hold a candle to being with the people I love…