I did a thing.....

 Hello, beautiful.

I have been actively pursuing Facebook ads (thanks to my husband for allowing me to take over his account for pursuing horse for sale ads!) looking for that perfect horse. All I asked for was registered AQHA mare, safe for a senior rider, sound, no maintenance etc. All I got was grade horses or other breeds. Or green broke mares. 

Then I spotted an ad, with video and papers, of a nice looking bay mare and when I asked about her, she seemed to fit the bill. So, Ted and I headed out on a 3 hour drive to look at her. 

Hockey fans may recognize the name on that sign

The drive took us through endless farm country, flat and boring to most , but it's the heart of the nation for grain and feed production. 

It was chilly so I was happy to see that there was an indoor arena to try her out.  The seller asked if I wanted him to ride her first, so of course I said yes. 

He apologized that she had a cinch sore; she had some swelling and scurf, but to her credit, she didn't complain when he saddled her up, although you could see that she wasn't fond of touching that area when I checked it, she didn't get pissy at all. 

Once I could see that she was indeed sane and sensible and no funny business, I rode her. She's very soft in the face and sensitive to leg and body weight, and is what I call feely. Sensitive without being reactive. She does bridle up nicely although it may take more training to get her to stay in frame. 

I also liked that she ground tied without moving as we switched saddles to make sure mine fit her (it does). 

And Ted liked her. Bonus!

So we made the deal then and there and because of her cinch sore, he said he would deliver her for free. The probably saved me 3 or 4 hundred in fuel costs. And the best part is, the sale of Sophie was more than enough to pay for this mare. 

So he loaded her up and here she is!

I will give her time to heal that sore, and get used to her new surroundings. Once I make sure she doesn't have any colds or runny nose I will put her in with Velvet- that will make Velvet very happy, she has been lonesome! Beamer was quite excited too. 

I need a barn name for her, they were calling her Kit Kat, but I have a friend who has a bay mare called Kit Kat so that is out. 

Her registered name doesn't lend itself to a barn name, so I am open to ideas!

Winter beauty

 We took a road trip over the summit today to visit my sister. It was a beautiful  sunny morning - we left early because we needed to be back early to keep the home fire burning and have some daylight for chores. 

As always, the summit (Kootenay Pass, it is the third highest pass in Canada) has way more snow than we do; we have about 2 inches on the ground and the pass looks like this:

Christmas card type snowy trees!

 The roads were well sanded and we had 4 wheel drive turned on so no real issues on the icy roads. 

I couldn't help but smile at all the beauty .

The mountains are blanketed in snow. Yes that is a very deep valley with a creek flowing at the bottom.

The closer we get to the smmit the more the terrain opens up. The road is a lot steeper than it looks.

There is a large pull out at the top for trucks to check their brakes and their loads. The way down on this side is actually steeper than the way up on the Creston side. 

Yup 8% grade going down.

But oh so beautiful with the sun breaking over the mountain tops and lighting up the snow laden trees.

I do love the mountains. They make my heart sing. 

We had an uneventful trip and a good visit with my sister, taking her birthday and Christmas gifts and a whole lotta love. Her birthday is the 23rd. 

With snow in the forecast for the next week it's pretty much a given that we will have a white Christmas!

We got our tree last Sunday, it's up and decorated. We found a little balsalm that fit into the small area we have in our living room.

Up...

And decorated!