It was windy today. When I zipped up my coat over my sweater some of the wind was trapped inside, it felt cold and seemed to wriggle against my chest like a snake.
It was cold, but I didn't mind it blew at Twilight and I as we rode, I felt as if we were a sail boat on the sea being harried by the wind. It whipped away words, tangled in my hair and Twilight's mane, but it also seemed to blow the bitterness and turmoil right out of my mind. It was fierce, it was a challenge that allowed me to escape for a while.Twilight seemed unsure when she first saw me coming out to get her, which is unusual

 Lately she's come to greet me in the pasture, walking towards me as I go to her, ears perked and her warm brown eyes searching for a treat.

Today she kept her distance, till I rubbed her around the ears, then her amber eyes seemed to smile (as much as a horse can smile) and she walked closer to me.

We fought the wind to day, on the south side of the arena the wind was at our backs, but as soon as we made the turn, we were against the wind and it howled and rushed at us.

It shoved the clouds across the sky, dark grey winter clouds, we watch a plane a tiny fleck of chrome against the rushing clouds cut across the horizon.

Even though the wind blew hard the sun still shown highlighting the pale fragile gold of the long grasses around us, stirring up dust so that as we looked over the expanse the ground began to blur. We watched two cowboys on horseback riding so close together that they seemed as one instead of four driving their cattle in. Because of the dust, they were dark silhouettes against the glimmering barbed wire fence.

Winter seems to be kept at bay by a thread, it feels like it could swoop down on us at any time, but it hasn't yet.

 I've caught Twilight napping in her pasture, soaking up the sun with other horses.

Twilight lost a shoe, so most of our time together this week has involved playing. I've let her run around the arena, and buck and play and snort and goad me into trying to catch her.

I've worked on riding her with only the halter and lead rope to guide us, trying to focus on reading her body language and find ways to help her  understand what I'm asking without relying on the reins. I honestly don't know what I would do without my wild black lassie!