Dosanko

The horses on the ranch are a special Japanese dosanko breed.
They are short in stature and 'put on' thick winter coats for this time of year.
...hardy animals who can survive these cold winter Hokkaido days.

Here I am with a friendly mare.

On days I am feeling blue...all I have to do is step outside and spend time with these amazing animals. They make me feel so peaceful.




t

Oh oh oh oh

You know the Internet is just amazing.
Living so far away from family and friends back home
makes me appreciate e-mail like nobodies business!

I recently got a message from a friend and in it she wrote that
she loves to dance. I know she loves to dance but for some reason
she decided to remind me. I responded that I love to dance too.
...which of course she also knows.

So last night I was alone...I put on the oldie but goodie 'Your Momma Don't Dance and You're Daddy Don't Rock and Roll' and just danced.

That's all.

Me, the music, and some pretty fun moves.

t

Quite a day

Our landowner decided to use one of the strong studs to make a short trail in the deep snow. Once packed down, the other horses will be able to use the trail too.

The stud (Tenryo is his name) was breathless after his hard work. A good time for me to try to ride him.

Wow! He is quite the horse.

I can only imagine that riding Tenryo is like being behind the wheel of a high end Mercedes Benz. The ride is both smooth and powerful!

The ponies ride more like our Suzuki escudo I'm afraid.

After the exciting horse ride I had a spin on our landowners snowmobile.
Speeding through powdered snow in the sunshine! Need I say more.

And later as the sun was setting, I decided to take my cross country skis into the forest. It was marvelous looking at the pink sky as I made my way home.

It really was quite a day.

t

Eyes Wide Open

This morning I woke up in a panic.

I had a nightmare that I couldn't open my eyes.

I was walking on a trail by the seaside with my parents and my sister when I realized I couldn't see them or anything else. Try as I might to open them... my peepers were glued shut.
And there was nothing anyone could do to help me.

After what seemed like an hour, I managed to get one eye 'unglued' by prying it open with my index finger and thumb.

Something was wrong.

I don't wear contacts...but there was something that felt like a dislodged contact in my opened eye.

I pulled on this bit and without much effort had my cornea with some attached jelly
sitting in my hand.

Up until this point I was pretty calm... but now I went ballistic!

My sister insisted I put the bits in a plastic container filled with water until we could find an eye specialist who could possibly pop them back into my eye cavity...much like an adult tooth that gets knocked out can sometimes re-attach to gums when put back in place soon after the fall.

Everything was blurry in the dismembered eye and the other one was still closed.

I felt so helpless.

Thankfully I woke up...only to find myself in the land of the seeing again.

Everything looks different today.

t

On the Trail

As I cross country skied... troubles were on my mind.

About an hour in, I found myself absorbed in sunlight shining
through rows of leafless trees, endless tracks of deer and fox...
and then how my muscles ached and my tummy growled.

And now I am sitting at the computer with a clear mind, rosy cheeks,
and a smile on my face.

Seems I've left my troubles on the trail.

Happy 2010 everyone.

t