fire horsing forward

It’s still winter around these parts… But at least the weather is normalizing a bit. It’s only freezing out?? We’ll take it! It hasn’t been quiiiiite warm enough to meaningfully melt any of the snow, tho hopefully that’ll come this week.

somehow only very few new pics, so enjoy this nice shot of Ms Fire Horse Herself, She of Big Emotions, from the last snowstorm

In the meantime… It feels like time to get back on the proverbial — and literal — horse. 2026 has already been a lot of things to a lot of different people… for better, but unfortunately often for worse too. 

We’re imminently approaching the Lunar New Year — the Year of the Fire Horse — tho, which is apparently a time to embrace our independence, challenge authority, and trust our instincts to strike off down new paths, while not shying away from pivoting or adapting as needs arise.

bc…. the current snowstorm is still with us LOL… gotta love mares tho, look at that tidy little path out to the pasture, clearly demarcated by breadcrumbs manure piles

To me, that leaves a lot of freedom and openness to interpretation. That linked article says,

 “It’s a time for big change and big emotions,”

Which… feels somewhat strangely dichotomous considering so many folks are feeling cooped up, restrained and stir crazy, kept inside by a vast array of perilous external forces… Literal, figurative, take your pick. But maybe that’s also the point, the actual sign of the times?

pathway marks a direct line straight to the round bale lol

Anyway. I dunno about you, but “big change” sounds good to me. Well. Ok, let’s back up a sec. I’m actually a bit more of a Wood Ox, personally. More of a ‘dependable planner’ type, admittedly change-averse in my own day to day operations… LOL. 

But it’s a sentiment I can get behind if we’re talking about the general times!! 

well. **almost** a straight line— clever ladies dogleg over to the heated water trough on their way in and out

Because as it is, there seems to be an increasing feeling of general restlessness and malaise with everything going on. Shifting seasons aren’t likely to fix all (or even any) of that… But maybe the improved conditions can inject some much-needed energy and motivation into the collective psyche, right? Maybe??

speaking of injecting much-needed energy… this gadget continues to be useful in the face of persistent cold!

For my part, I finally dug the trailer out of its snow cave, zapped the truck battery back to life, and hauled Ms Mondeuse over for a dressage lesson with trainer C. Sure sure, we’ve barely ridden at all in recent weeks and the animal is straight up feral. But. Eh. Who cares. We’re following our Fire Horse intuitions, not getting bogged down in the rigid details, amirite?

older pic, lately have had the best success with hooking both positive and neutral cables directly to the corresponding bolt nuts on the battery. ymmv.

And it was good! Tho you’ll have to take my word for it bc obviously we don’t always have friends tagging along taking pics and video of every little moment LOL (sigh). 

all the better for gettin where we wanna go!!
(yes, this is the only actual picture from our lesson LOL)

And ok, maybe it wasn’t, like, classically “Good” in terms of getting stuff done, being productive, furthering Doozy’s dressage prowess, etc etc etc. More like small-g “good” — keeping horse between rider and earth despite unplanned dance moves; staying patient with a sense of humor when the mare can bolt on a balanced 15m circle… etc etc, you get the picture! 

replaced the pastern wraps we’d been using with new navy DSBs snagged with a recent gift card

It maybe ain’t much lol… But I’m here for it anyway. Getting my fix, focusing my time and energy on the things I love doing. 

Spring is coming. The Fire Horse is coming. And if the Chinese lunar zodiac is to be believed, Times of Big Change and Big Feelings are also coming. 

flashback pic of my mare and her sweet glare <3 <3 <3

For as tiring and relentlessly oppressive as this winter has felt, it has to end eventually, right?