Wow!

When it was light enough to see outside, I was surprised to see that it had snowed!


first snow
horses in first snow

My farrier arrived at 8 AM and concurred that the snow was quite a shock. We’re feeling a little cheated out of our Fall trail riding season when there’s no bugs, the woods are beautiful, and it’s a nice mild 60’s to 70’s — not 20’s to 30’s!

I got 50 bales of hay delivered yesterday. I’m used to getting 100 bales at a time so this looks pretty meager.

hay bales

But both Murphy and Luke did a quality check and gave their approval.

horses eating hay

Despite the dusting of snow and sudden freezing temperatures, Java and I still took a drive up north. We went to the Jay Cooke State Park, which is not very far from Duluth.

We started on the path that took us to the swinging bridge that goes over the St. Louis River. The bridge didn’t so much swing as bounce up and down and make a loud squeeking noise. It made Java a little nervous.

dog on bridge over river

But the view was beautiful.

St. Louis River
St. Louis River

The paths were a bit tricky and I had to be careful not to trip on rocks and roots or slip on the wet, slimy clay. Java kept me from slipping backwards a couple times.

path through woods

There’s still quite a bit of green to the treescape. But the maple leaves are as lovely as usual.

Fall leaves

We had two does cross the path in front of us but they were gone in a flash, much too fast for me to capture a photo.

Java had bursts of energy and mischief. I know I shouldn’t let her play tug a war with her leash but it makes me laugh and I have a hard time discouraging anything that makes me laugh.

dog playing tug a war

I was reading KB’s blog Romping and Rolling in the Rockies today and I like the way she describes the draw of being outdoors, no matter what the temperature, of taking on physical challenges, and spending time with our animal friends and the animals that so often hide from our view.

St. Louis River

The sound of the rushing water blocked out all other sounds at times, including the troubled thoughts that tried to whisper their way into my head. The park was a sight, sound, and piney scented extravaganza! It lifted my heavy heart.

St. Louis River


It was a wonderful day and I think Java concurs.

dog taking walk

Similar Posts

4 Comments

  1. I am so glad you still got to go out today! What a beautiful place!
    And snow? Brrrr…. I hope to not see any of the white stuff for quite a while!

  2. It is a gorgeous view from the bridge with lots of green still in the trees. I bet that you still have some fall weather ahead of you. I’m glad that Java isn’t the type of dog who is freaked out by that bridge. Many dogs, perhaps including my K, would not like it at all!

    Glad that the hay passed the horse’s taste-test, and thanks for the kind words about my post!

  3. Isn’t the snow just a special, special treat. I am glad you got out, I have never been to that Park, it looks like a beautiful place. Java looks like she had a good time! We were in Duluth today..snowed the entire day:(

Comments are closed.