SSO Winter Prompts 2020

7. Woods (Lisa and Starshine)

In all the time spent on Jorvik, Lisa hadn't explored around Firgrove. She had been in the area, but never for a quiet ride with Starshine through the woods. Starshine Ranch changed that, and once she was settled into her new home she decided to check out the surroundings.

"There were wolves here," Starshine snorted to her as they headed into the forest.

"Recently?" she looked for signs, worried.

"The smell is old, the ranch must deter them," the stallion guessed, turning down a path covered in fallen leaves.

"That's good, but I'll warn Josh and Dad about possible danger for the livestock," Lisa decided, saying it out loud to remember it better. The worries of predators faded away as the pair trotted through the forest.

The branches above them were bare, except for the occasional evergreen, making the woods a grey brown landscape except for the pines. It wasn't the prettiest time to go riding, but Lisa didn't want to wait for snow or spring, and she didn't need beautiful spaces to ride with Starshine. The leaves crunched underfoot, the air was crisp and clear. There had been a frost the night before, and they could smell the lingering cold.

"Another early winter," Lisa muttered. It was so different from her Texas childhood home, but it was nice to experience real White Christmases like in all the songs and movies.

"It's been early the last few years, I think it's a trend now," Starshine pointed out, thankful his winter coat was growing in.

They rode in silence for a time, surveying and learning the landscape around them. Lisa knew it would be a gorgeous trail to take most of the year, this was just the brief window when the forest looked dead before the snow would make it shine once more. But it made it easier to see, and Lisa scanned the woods around her, picking out notable features. They stopped and watched some birds fluttering about. Lisa dismounted to inspect a fallen tree, covered in an interesting fungus. Starshine smelled the air and commented on what inhabited the woods near their new home. Frost crept over the ground and up the trees by the time the pair headed home, the night setting in.

"We should check out the northern trails tomorrow," Lisa suggested, but Starshine tossed his head.

"I think we should explore the woods to the west," he countered, making Lisa laugh.

"You mean the apple grove?"

"It warrants a thorough investigation!" he insisted, making her laugh again. But she agreed they could start with the apple woods to the west of the ranch the next morning.