A Different Drummer

This is Rose.

She is a completely gorgeous horse and she lives on the property.

Rose is one of a handful of horses owned by the property owner, where we rent our small home in the country.

LC is currently feeding the horses for the owner and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.

My Mountain Boy was raised in Eastern Tennessee and grew up a farm boy.

Actually he bounced around a good deal as he was growing up, but dearly loved the couple who raised him for a good part of his childhood.

They provided stability in what would have been an unstable world without them, and it was in that environment where he learned to raise crops and care for farm animals.

There are times when he talks about his child hood and I realize that he misses that lifestyle.

So while the weather is absolutely freezing cold right now, and while the ground is now covered with snow, LC is greatly enjoying caring for them...............

Blackie.

He is now a domestic animal but the unmistakable signs that he was once a wild mustang are all present - the long mane, the rounded and shorter and stockier frame.

Buddy and Petey in the background, and all of them watching for LC because it was time to feed them.

Horses learn quickly who provides the food.............

Winters in Wyoming are windy, extraordinarily cold, and extraordinarily beautiful.

After the smoky haze we had all summer as a result of the wild fires that swept through the western part of the country, the sky is now regularly crystal clear.

Winter was, and continues to be, my favorite season of the year................

After dumping bags of groceries onto the kitchen counter I grabbed my camera and rushed outside.

I snapped a few quick pictures of the horses before walking out to the road to snap a picture of my guy and my dog who were both walking along the road.

Jamie was dancing and playing in the snow and I smiled as I watched both of them walk a short way.

On the way back I could tell the moment when James finally caught sight of me. 

She instantly began dancing and tail wagging. 

There is something special about dogs, and the sheer and uncomplicated joy they feel when they see their people..............

After taking our old pup back into the house I followed LC across the field towards the barn, so that I could take pictures of the horses eating.

I don't mess with them too much.  I have little experience with horses, although I have learned a lot about them while living in Wyoming.

They are intelligent and curious creatures.  They have a good memory, critical thinking skills, and their own individual personalities.

I could get attached to them pretty easily because they are beautiful and sweet things.

And so I leave the horse tending to LC................

This picture clearly demonstrates how cold it was outside when I took these pictures.

The sun shines brightly and often in Wyoming, but in the dead of winter it provides little in the way of warmth...............

Snipper.

Tall and beautiful and intelligent and always first in line for both food and attention...............

He deals naturally and effortlessly with animals.

They sense the goodness in him..............

I took these pictures while still watching the horses feed.

Carter Mountain covered with snow.

Wyoming is a beautiful state, but even more beautiful when it is covered with snow..............

I am making an attempt to start my own business.

I needed to do something. 

Something.  Anything. 

Something.

LC and I prepared for a couple of months and I have been at it seriously for almost two months now.

My own business.  In these uncertain times.  In this economy.

Does it make sense to try such a thing right now? 

No.  It really doesn't.

But (going against the grain as I always seem to be hardwired to do) I am giving it a shot anyway.

It is only partially paying for itself right now so either it will go or it will not and time will tell the tale...............

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away............Henry David Thoreau