Merry Christmas :

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ONE WINTERY MORNING

by Ginger Karns

I open my eyes, peek over the covers, and realize morning has arrived. Yep, time to get up, and I pull on my bath robe. Sal hears me stirring and waits in the front room to great me all a wiggle with a doggy smile. Steve has already fed the horses and left to run some errands. I clean up, get dressed, and slip on my Carhart jacket and crocheted ski cap and step outside.

Snow falls in a magic white curtain. I stop to take it in, and Sal races around the yard with her nose buried in the snow’s light blanket. Three barn cats lay in a pile among the hay bales in the barn, while our yellow tom keeps an eye on Sal before deciding it’s safe to come up for a back scratch.

A soft but impatient nicker draws me to Terra. I hold my hands up to her face, and she pushes against them with an up and down motion to rub her face. Once the door is open to the arena from her stall, I say, “Okay.” She leaps out the door to greet Dove before I close it. Two empty water buckets wait to be filled from the hydrant in the aisle. I listen to the familiar sound of the rising water and the metallic snap once I shut it off.

Dove and Terra wait for me to place the buckets about ten feet apart on the other side of the fence and come up to drink, and I turn to take in the beauty of the snow making lacy patterns on the trees in the pasture out behind the barn. A sense of rightness flows through my soul. A feeling that everything, at least at this very moment, is perfect.

Edited to add:

And Best Wishes for a great New Year to everyone. May your writing sales increase.

i got all my bases covered i think.