Good-bye 2021

 Well, I always ask for a white Christmas and we got one. What a doozy. Lynn said she would never ask for snow again. It was super scary up at The Place. She sent me a text saying she didn't know if the horses were alive. She couldn't get to them. Trees were falling as she wrote  me that scary message. 

Finally about 9am--three hours past their breakfast time, she and Lee made their way past the oak tree on top of the hay barn and up to the fence line. Lo and behold! Jupiter and Cobie were in the field! We still don't know how they got there--I said, surely the two fattest could not jump the fence; there must be a tree that pushed the fence down for them. Anyway, they got separated from the rest of the herd.

Thankfully, the others were close by and okay. They were all whinnying for each other and scared to death. Lynn and Lee cut the fence where they were trapped. They were all high-headed and wildly circling around. Lynn finally got Star to put his head down and got him underneath the phone line that is hanging about 5 feet off the ground. As soon as he got through and started on a run down the hill to the Jupes and Cobie, the other two put their heads down and ran right past Lynn to join them. Lynn said then she and Lee ran right behind. They could hear trees going down as they ran.

This is the little barn. Lynn fed all the alfalfa that Nancy left from summer. Good hot food for cold horses! 

That barn used to be how tall? 20 feet?

The beams were twisted and pulled off the pillars. Some of the concrete blocks the pillars were attached to in the back were shifted forward about a foot.

This is the front of the barn. The hay is firmly wedged in. We are expecting rain and wind this week. Although I didn't take a picture, Lynn is feeding from the back of the barn where the roof is a little higher.

 This is so scary looking up close. The horse trailer was parked about where the four wheeler is. The roof landed on the back end of it.

I didn't take any more pictures of the general damage. It is horrific. Thankfully no one's house was damaged and everyone is healthy and safe. The horse trailer has some damage, but hopefully a trip to Oregon will fix it.  We cancelled the vet appointment for shots and we won't be riding anytime soon. We will be calling Adam to take their shoes off. :( We spent a lot of money for one ride. Dang it. That's two sets of shoes we have not gotten to use.

Lynn and Lee measured off the size of the new building they want to get. All the trees around the area have to be cut down before they consider buying one and getting it up. The good news is it will be dry for the hay once it's in place--no more tarps! The bad news is its expensive and we might lose the hay we already have. There is grass on the field so the boys are eating, but they won't be going up on the hill for possibly years. That's how bad it is. This storm is going to be expensive in so many ways. But again! They horses are alive and both Lynn and her mom still have their houses.

I finally got power back after only six days. We were told it would three weeks, so it was a blessing. We were told no water for a week; but that didn't come to pass either. So although my house and property are a mess, we are all fine, too. Mom and Gene stayed with me for about eight days. 

Another storm is predicted. We had wind last night. Lots of rain is expected this week. It will definitely complicate things. I pray for the PG&E guys who work such long and difficult hours. I sure appreciate them. 

I am so glad to see the end of 2021! It was a year of tears and hardship. My personal bright spot was retirement and that has helped me with the hard stuff. The new year, 2022, has started. I hope it will be truly a NEW year full of better things: health, love, joy, and RIDING.