Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

My whole class memorized that poem when I was in fourth grade. I loved it then, I love it now, and it never fails to go on repeat in my mind every time I'm in the woods behind my parents' house in the winter. It is so breath-takingly lovely back there.

My wedding rings don't really fit since I had the baby. A common problem, right? Mine is a little different though- my rings are too loose. They've been too loose for over a year now, even though I am the same weight I was pre-pregnancy. I kept trying to figure out why this was, and it finally dawned on me. The muscles in my ring finger have essentially atrophied. Why? Because I haven't ridden a horse in two years. Two entire years. English riders hold the reins between their ring and pinky fingers, and with a horse as heavy-headed as mine, I sure did need those ring finger muscles.

Those muscles are gone now, and my rings are loose. My mom wondered aloud recently if maybe I didn't handle stress so well as of late because I need to be riding again. The hundreds of me-and-Moose rambles in those woods were maybe even more necessary and important than I realized. I've prayed many a prayer, smiled many a smile, talked aloud many problems into equine ears, and even dropped a few tears over the years in those woods while riding my fuzzy friend.

It's a part of my life that has changed for now, but meanwhile I'll settles for rambles on foot with my family. Those now-and-again walks are a lot of fun, and I'm excited for summer and exploring with our wee one now that she knows how to use her feet. Someday, we'll ramble there together with four-legged friends, just like my mom and me for all those years.

(Photos, as usual, are SOOC. Except the second-to-last two, which have some minor editing.)