The morning sky on Monday, last day of March. The sun rises and begins to light up the western mountain trees.. I was encouraged at the start of the day. However, it quickly darkened, the wind picked up and brought with it, hail and snow the remainder of the day.

Sunday, the 30th, was a beautifully sunny day-- cold but a strong sun with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for our now traditional Sunday trek. We saddled up and headed out, well layered from toe to head.. Today we traveled through 3 towns- Springfield, Chester and Lower Bartonsville (part of the township of Rockingham). Across the snowmobile bridge again. Then up an icy Stellafane Road, over Breezy Hill Road and down Pleasant Valley Road to our destination.

Rushing brooks on either side of us, very pretty. You can see the roads are ice every where. Not much trotting until we get into Bartonsville.. where the road turns to tar and the sun is very warm. Almost to the bridge-- our goal for the day.

Here's the Bartonsville covered bridge, built in 1870. It is what is called a town lattice covered bridge and 159 feet long spanning the Williams River. It is one of the longest in Vermont. The longest is south of here- 277 feet. The Windsor covered bridge is the longest covered bridge still standing in the US-- but technically it belongs to New Hampshire. It spans the Connecticut River between Windsor, VT and Cornish, NH. I think there is a law that you must dismount and walk your horses across the bridge.. an old law-- but we opt to stay in the saddle and take our chances on being ticketed and fined :)

Here you can see why it is called a lattice construction.

As we exited the bridge on the other side, there were some professional photographers who had traveled to Vermont to snap some sights-- they were so excited to have the photo opportunity of having horses crossing the bridge for their photographs ! They were intrigued also by the "fuzzy" horses.. which they had never seen nor heard of. We exchanged e-mail addresses and hopefully they will send the photo's they took of us !

Train tracks on the other side of the bridge, running along the Williams River.

Having accomplished our "bridge crossing" -- we head back onto the other end of Green Mountain Turnpike, which in colonial times was the main road from Boston to Montreal. Along the road are many old large homes that once were stagecoach stops. This road is a nice ride on horseback, a muddy bumpy ride by car. Traveling by stagecoach on a long trip would tire me out. The town of Chester is on the right, town of Rockingham on the left.

Again -- we missed the train by minutes... it passes us on its way.

Along the Green Mountain Turnpike is one of my favorite barns. I am always hoping someone will at least put a new roof on it to preserve it.

On the way home, we find fat pussy willows on a tall pussy willow tree... I am not sure you can see them in the sun--- there is a sign that spring is nearing. I also spotted a phoebe during the ride. First one of the season.. another sign of spring. Now Mother Nature needs to get the drift that it is, indeed, time for spring. Is She mad or just plain confused ?

Enjoy your day ~

Sunday morning and the wind chimes are not saying a word today... no wind-- since the temperature upon awakening was 18 degrees... I am thankful for that. Botanists say that trees need the powerful March winds to flex their trunks and main branches, so the sap is drawn up to nourish the budding leaves. Perhaps we need the gales of life much in the same way, though we dislike enduring them. I believe I have had enough of that old yankee fortitude building.. I am ready for the gentle breezes.

There is a Spanish story about the borrowing days - a shepherd promised March a lamb if he would temp the winds to suit his flocks. But after gaining his point, the shepherd refused to pay over the lamb. In revenge, March borrowed three days from April, in which fiercer winds than ever blew and punished the deceiver.

March borrow it from April
Three days, and they were ill,
The first was frost,
The second was snow,
The third was cold as ever't could blow.

Yesterday must have been that "third" day.. with winds as cold as ever't could blow. We did venture out for a quick ride on the snowmobile trails. In the woods, we were warm- on the roads.. my eyes were watering with the frigid wind and I truly thought the wind would blow me right off my horse! The wind was definitely the "rude and boisterous tyrant" to quote Thoreau.

Here we are heading up the nicely groomed and packed trail. We reach the top and the woods open up to offer a gorgeous view.. worth braving the cold !?

Time to head home... load the stove and warm up ! We have to cross the snowmobile bridge, which is a perfect opportunity to prepare for our April RAC contest...

Enjoy your last days of March ~

What is this strange phenomenon ? something we have not seen since our first snowfall~ grass !! Although it has been cold, the wind and strength of the sun is steadily melting the snow... and we are seeing- in addition to lots of manure piles-- spots of grass here and there. The snow melts from beneath and now the fence, which I raised several weeks ago, is too high. An encouraging sight. However, this was on Thursday. Friday we woke up to this- A heavy wet snowfall covering all the evidence of spring. The robins are back in full force though and this kind of wet snow will not last long--- wishfully thinking.....

We managed to get out on the roads for a few meandering rides during the week riding horses that are already under saddle increasing their saddle hours. Oyy Ivan is being worked in the indoor and he is now under saddle, loving every minute of it. He is still young so he is being worked slowly and lightly. He is so willing and I am incredibly impressed with his attitude and intelligence. He is out of Ptesan-Wi, who has given us some super foals over the years, and Homefire Curlies' WCC Benjamin. I have mentioned before how pleased I am with the offspring of Ben and this spring, 3 of the 6 foals he sired are under saddle (2 of them have been sold already).. all exhibiting the same intelligence, trainability, willingness and great movement. Ivan is so cute when he is being tacked up-- as you hold the bit in your hand to warm it up, he reaches for it, anxious to suck it into his mouth as if it was a kind of treat! Ivan has a nice forward big walk and a smooth fluid trot. Can't wait till he's older and ready to do more!

OYY Elektra is also being worked these past weeks in long lines. She is coming along excellently. She is being worked in the indoor as well as ground driven down the driveway and road. Her sire - OYY The Mighty Quinn - is an very athletic fun mount and I am sure Elektra is going to be too. She's a tall girl, at almost 3 years old she is 15.2 hands and lots of growing left to do.

This past Sunday, my daughter and I went for a shorter ride than usual. We had visitors coming to the farm in the afternoon, so we changed the itinerary. The sun was out again and the scenery inspiring.. a super ride out.

Due to the sun shining, on this ride-- our shadows accompanied us the entire way :)

One of my favorite routes to trot down. This road used to be a dirt road with almost no houses and no electricity. Lots of trails off to the right and left. I love the way the trees cast their images across the road.

Here is the opening of one trail we love -

If you look closely, you might be able to see the blue saplines criss-crossing which adds an interesting obstacle for our horses and us... ducking under each one as we go along. Today-- too much snow still so we stick to the roads.

And--- if the need arises -- how handy to find this along the ride !!

Enjoy your day ~

The Moonset this morning .

The full moon in March is the first full moon of Spring. It is also called the "worm moon" as the warmer days of spring bring thawing of the ground and the birds begin their activity of searching for worms. I am not sure if that is the case here in our area... too much snow still. If I was a worm, I would not want to come out yet. Night time temperatures are still hovering around 10-15 degrees. This first full moon after the vernal equinox is what determines the date of Easter. Seems to be an early Easter this year--- Easter egg hunts in the snow !!

March did not come in like a lion this year-- but it is leaving us with brutal winds and cold. They do say "as the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen". Yesterday, we did manage a wonderful sunny ride--- seems lately I have been memorializing our rides with overcast days. I took lots of photo's this time because there was all sun and clear blue skies. Outfitted in many layers-- we headed out as usual-- toward the hole in the wall, past the Apple Tree Farm with a view of Mount Ascutney and down to the four corners.. up a very muddy Trebo Road which in my lifetime was not a through road with only 4 or so houses on it. It can still be a challenge in mud season.

Pretty icicles along the way.








The horses were just as excited as we were to go out on their weekend scenic tour. We trotted side by side for a few miles. Past the house built by Pearl S. Buck, Pulitzer prize winner for her book-- The Good Earth.

The present owner breeds Morgans here.













When we got to the end of Trebo Road, we turned onto Route 103 which is the main highway headed toward the ski areas. We had lots of traffic slow down to take our photo's.

This round brick silo has some history and is very unique.

Lots of sights along the highway - This BIG house is called the Wright Farm. I always thought it was probably an old Inn because of the shape and size-- however, it's funny the discoveries you can make when on horseback instead of driving a car. You see more-- it's apparently the first court house and was built in 1766.

We are just entering what is called the "Stone Village" of Chester, Vermont. It was fun trotting down the sidewalk.

The Stone Village is a cluster of 30 dwellings which line either side of the street all erected by 2 brothers from 1834- 1850's all built from local granite. The quarry is located up on Trebo Road. We actually got off the road and looked in the woods for it, but never found it-- maybe we'll go back in the summer.

This is one building which is not constructed of granite-- another old Inn-- which has a floating ballroom upstairs ! It's empty and for sale for anyone wanting a hefty fixer-upper project ! Look at the beautiful front door.

Here's the old North Street School,

still with the bell on top. Don't you love the granite posts along the roadside ? Some of them still have the hitchrings on them for people to tie their horses when they came to town.

Photo of the stone church and another very pretty house along the way.

After passing through the Stone Village, we head past the Gristmill which is now home to a Wellness Center. The stonework here on the bank of the Williams River is gorgeous.

Cross over again onto the sidewalk and head into what is called Chester Depot.

It's called the depot-- because guess what ?? That's where the train station is-- I made Zoe pose by the station... even though she didn't want to--- we Vermonters are sensitive about looking like tourists.

The brown building in the back is where I buy my grain and other supplies. It has been in the Erskine family a long time. They have pretty much anything you could want or need and service with a smile :)

We turned back for home, just missing the train by seconds.

Another super ride... and so much fun to ride with sunshine-- the cold did not matter. We got some great trotting in and a couple of canters for a mile or more here and there. Of course, during the ride we spent some time discussing our next journey...can't wait !

~Enjoy your day and Happy Easter ~