Tick? This Late in the Season? Cold, and Colder . . .

Yesterday, when I was grooming Pie, I felt what seemed like an odd flap of skin in his throat latch area, just behind his jaw.  But when I looked more closely, it was . . . a tick . . .  Yuck is all I can say.  I've found only a couple of ticks on the horses this whole season, but a tick in November? Since the temperatures had fallen into the low 30s and it was snowing, it wasn't a very lively tick, but still.  We've had a couple of very hard freezes already this season so I'm not sure how it survived, although we've had some days in the 50s recently and it could be a new one.  Or it could have been in the large bales the horses are now getting in their turnouts - the location on Pie made me think of that.  Just to be careful, I'll be probably have Pie retested for Lyme in about a month (the Cornell test can pick up infection 3-5 weeks out), since although this tick didn't look like the type that transmits Lyme, there clearly are ticks around . . .

Yesterday we had some rain and wind, with temperatures in the low 40s, but during the day the temperatures fell below freezing and it snowed a bit.  There was snow on the ground this morning, and it barely got to freezing today, and it's windy too, so the wind chills were in the teens this morning.  Brrrr . . .  Yesterday morning when I was riding Dawn, it was 40 in the indoor; this morning it was 30.  Despite the much colder temperatures, all horses have been just great, and we've been having some very good rides.  I think they prefer winter, provided they can keep warm and dry.

I actually like winter too, but just I care to keep warm, too.  Winter seems to me to be a time of more simplicity, and perhaps clarity, and there's a freshness to the air . . . it can be a time for thought and contemplation . . .