No bleak mid-winter here!

Today may have been the shortest day of the year, but we were blessed with pale sunshine, bracketed by subtle sun-up and sundown colors.

I took the moonrise shot from horseback in the arena, while three black-tail does grazed in our lower pasture.

Tonight all three of us went on a walk in the bright moonlight, although my cranky knees limited me to two miles. Not sure what to do about that, except to remember to have an Aleve on board before we go. I sure am proud of my honey for staying faithful so far to his daily exercise regimen!

This morning I finished a book I bought for myself earlier this year, after following the author's blog for quite some time. I finally started it last Sunday on our road trip to Walla Walla and then, of course, didn't want to put it down. That's my problem with good books – they suck me in, and it's hard to drag myself back into the reality in which I must function. I slalom back and forth between the 'book world' and my own until I – reluctantly – read the final page. (The coaster was a Christmas gift, and held my hot drink while I read.)

We're coasting into a quiet Christmas. We'll have a special Christmas service at church tomorrow; Sunday I'm going to bake cookies and figure out the next two days' menu. I need to make time to drive over a see a friend who is only in town a few days, and keep knitting on a Baby Surprise Jacket for a baby that's due next month.

Today when I turned the ewes out in the pasture, Vienna stood at the fence closest to my ram and baa-ed repeatedly. I was very tempted to set up an afternoon tryst in the Ram-ada Inn for her and Blake, but realizing that lambing would occur around Memorial Day weekend when we usually go horse-camping stayed my hand. It will be another lambless spring at . . .