Winter Wonderland

It is snowing at Synergy Stables in Junction City, Oregon! Snow isn't big news in the general scheme of winter weather, but this part of Oregon doesn't get much snow. It rains here and rains and rains in the winter. Ugh. But today Junction City looks much like Anchorage, Alaska. The horses and I feel right at home. It is beautiful, and I celebrate all of nature's beauties. Today is our "sneak preview" open house at Synergy Stables. The weather and road conditions will probably discourage all but the most hardy, but we'll plan to have fun anyway.

When I started blogging (then fizzled out) a year ago, it was winter in Alaska, and I was inspired to share our stories of riding in the snow, winter riding tips, and all about shoes and Easy Boots with studs to help with winter riding. (See 2007 blog posts). The irony of this snow is that I probably won't be riding in it. Underneath the snow, the ground is soft, with mostly mud. We had frozen ground for a few days with quite cold temperatures by Oregon standards (20's...pipes froze briefly, but that's another story).

Yesterday, we thawed out and it rained and rained and rained (yes, I think there are always three "and it rained."). So, bottom line, trails are too muddy to ride, even with the snow, although over time, as I get to know the area, there may be places that work for winter trail riding. Paso friends up the road ride during the winter on logging roads, but they are heavy on gravel and my horses are barefoot for the winter.

So, I would love to ride in this snow, but will probably have to enjoy the snow from my vantage in front of the fire or on my walk to the barn. Either way, I feel right at home.