Horsies

I'd like you to meet a few of our neighbors.

For the past week or so, some horses have been put out to pasture alongside our road. Each morning, I take the dog and the little one on a walk, and we get to see them. What a treat.

I've always loved horses. As a kid, I loved Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, and watched The Black Stallion and National Velvet over. And over. And over. One lucky winter break, my parents enrolled me in a horse camp. The camp consisted of more grooming and memorizing than it did riding, but I still thought I had died and gone to heaven.

That doesn't mean that I wish I was a jockey, horse trainer, or any such thing. But it does sound lovely to befriend a nice Quarter Horse, take it on rambling rides around the countryside, and feed it apples from my hand.

For more lovely horses, see this post.

Walks

I was a tiny bit jealous -- in a nice way, of course ;) -- when my friend told me that she and her baby go on hour long walks every day and have done so all winter long. But they live in Southern California. Not only is it freezing here in Utah, but have you seen the road we live on?! In the summer, it's lovely, but in the winter, it's a steep, rural, dirt road full of potholes and mostly covered in snow and ice.

We've had some slightly warmer days in the past couple of weeks, though, so I've started to brave it. I bundle Ingrid up in her beautiful snowsuit*, pack her into the Ergo*', and away we go. She seems to like it in a cautious sort of way. I like it for the fresh air... and the hope that it'll do something about this post-baby tummy of mine.

* Thanks to Granny & Papa, Ben & Kate, Caroline & Paul, and Mom & Dad!
' Don't worry. I figured out after we took this photo that I'm not supposed to carry her facing out like that. It's too bad, though, because she loves looking out.