Vitamin C

About the eighth vitamin c and zinc tablet grinds its way into my molars leaving a sweet trace of hard candy in the pockets of my teeth that lingers and melts while I type through this post. Another sore throat threatens to turn my weekend plans of a repeat of the Friday horseback ride followed by a Saturday ski-tour combo into bed rest instead. No thank you cold. Please come again.

Darin’s first time on horseback was awesome. He was calm and collected even though he admitted he was nervous. I kept telling him that nerves are healthy when one is about to ride atop a mammoth animal for the first time. Barrie set him up with one of his old trustworthy geldings that needed more motivation to get going than to stop. It was pretty cool to look behind, sometimes far behind, seeing a grinning man on a horse. When I finally decide to settle down somewhere, whenever that may be, it is a dream of mine to have a couple of horses to ride off into the hills with. This necessitates a man who is also keen on riding, or who at least has enough of a healthy respect and appreciation of the task to stay home to look after things while I’m gone :)

Gillie and I. Barrie seems to have a large number of white horses for some reason. That day Barrie, myself and Darin all rode white steeds, although I forget the name of Darin's horse...

Barrie has also got a new roommate to keep him company out on his ranch, a six-week-old Australian Sheppard puppy named Bert. The most adorable little ball of fur ever, and I can already tell little Bert is going to be quite the ranch dog.

 One blue one brown eyed Bert.

After riding, Darin and I stopped by Ken and Shirley’s place who invited us in for a lovely meal, as people do around here when you stop by unannounced (which is what you are expected to do if you happen to be in the area). Score yet another point for small town living!

Saturday brought us backcountry skiing off the Duffey Lake Road with a couple of friends from Lillooet. Best snow I’ve had ALL SEASON!!!!! I was getting face shots of glorious silken powder as it flew up like crystalline dust from my swaying skis. It was honestly as heavenly as I make it sound. YESSSSS! This is what life is about!

Before the ascent. Darin did the pack-a-board and snowshoe combo. Painful way to travel. I remember it well from my first days out in the backcountry. Nothing sells a proper touring set-up faster :)

Darin and I continued on to Whistler after skiing and watched it dump snow all night, knowing we both had to part ways on Sunday morning. Goodbyes are easier when I know it’s only temporary, but they still leave a melancholy stain on the day. Even on the beautifully sunny and clear drive home my mind would wander from the striations of mineral deposits in the barren cliffs jumping ahead to the home I knew would be empty. Back to the solo meals and to tossing and turning without anyone asking if I am okay. I’m a horrible sleeper, by the way. My thinking cap seems to be on at all hours of the night, whether I like it or not.

The drive was beautiful though. Just gorgeous. Something so close to the city yet so void of other people passing through. The two cars that passed me on my way back were both people I knew.

At one point I stopped to take a picture of the sodden stumps pushing up through the sheet of ice of Carpenter Lake and an eagle circled above me floating lower and lower on the warm spring wind, its tail a twitching rudder angling it this way and that. I stood watching it for a long time wondering if it was feeling the kind of joy that I felt while skiing down that powder slope. Nothing in the mind but the now and a smile across the lips. And some yelling. Can eagles smile at the edges of their beaks?

I continued on and the wind sent rocks tumbling down the embankments as I drove past avoiding all that it was possible to while chanting a silent “please don’t hit my car, please don’t hit my car.” A couple of weeks ago one smashed into my headlight as it tumbled down, to my shock and horror, but it didn’t leave a scratch! Go plastic Toyota headlight cover! I can not believe nothing was broken.

At another point a herd of mountain goats stood strewn across the usual sighting location on the highway, and the three that I saw when I stopped the car lead my eye back to the herd of a dozen or so scattered up the hill. They blend in so well if you look away and then look back you have to refocus your gaze in order to see them.

Speaking of gazes and refocusing, I need to focus my gaze on black underside of eyelids to try to get enough rest to fend off the cold. Type to you all soon.