Vermont…Chapter 2

Saturday evening, Motor Man and I spent the night at the cottage on the Friesians of Majesty Farm in Townshend, Vermont. What a charming place! This is the living room.

cottage lvg room

And our bedroom.

cottage bedroom

We had no cell phone service, no internet service and we couldn’t figure out how to operate the tv. So we were both asleep by 8 pm. But we’d been up since 3 am and traveled eleven hours, so we were both a little tired.

Sunday morning, I awoke and looked out our bedroom window. And there were horses! I was like a kid on Christmas morning.

3 horses outside window

I rushed from window to window, taking pictures, some through frosted panes.

horses thru frosted window pane

We soon left for the barn, because we had an appointment for a sleigh ride. On the way there, we passed by a little pasture where the foals were out playing. It was their first snowfall!

snowy noses

Later, Robert (Labrie, the owner/breeder) told us that Othello had been out earlier, running in the snow. You can imagine how disappointed we were to have missed THAT.

Here are Sjoeke and Diederik, about to be hitched to the sleigh for our ride.

our sleigh

I forgot to have someone take a photo of us in the sleigh, but we did take pictures of each other during the ride, all bundled up.

jr on sleigh ride

Yes, that IS Motor Man under there!

It was SOOO cold! Around 18 degrees. And windy.

db on sleigh ride

But the scenery along the ride was beautiful.

from the sleigh2

We rode by “our” cottage.

cottage

The trail.

sleigh trail

Back at the barn, after our ride, Motor Man was obviously ready to head inside for hot chocolate!

after the ride

Or maybe just to pet one of the Friesians.

jr and horse

Tomorrow, another surprise and more beautiful Vermont winter scenery as we left the farm.

51 responses to “Vermont…Chapter 2

  1. What a wonderful adventure! I just KNEW you were going to get your sleigh ride! Gorgeous photos and a trip to remember!

  2. Friesians AND snow?! Pretty awesome! Love how black they are against the white!

  3. What an amazing trip that was….it looks incredibly cold but I bet you and MM kept each other warm on that ride…..and the horses probably LOVED showing you “their” territory on the farm!

    Pam

  4. I can hear the Jingle Bells from here 🙂 Your morning view was indeed magical; what a Prince MM is for arranging this!!

    MJ

  5. Looks like a ‘horsey’ winter wonderland. You were obviously in heaven. Sounds like a beautiful place…I’ll enjoy the snowy beauty here where it’s warm!

  6. Those big babies are really too much with their snowy muzzles! They look beautiful hitched up but dang you all look cold. I love me some horses but I am not sure I could have done that in that cold. You all are more brave than me! Beautiful! I am ready for the surprise Dianna.. 🙂 I think we are going to see you riding one of those black beauties!!

  7. Brrrrr…. What a wonderful adventure!

  8. What a White Christmas MM gifted you. Snow in Vermont, a quaint cottage, a sleigh ride and those beautiful black Friesiens. Thank you for showing us this wonderland. Looking forward to tomorrow, too. Thank you, Dianna.

  9. Such an adventure. Motor Man needs a heavier coat for your next 18 degree adventure!! I love the picture looking through the frosted pane. Now that is frame worthy. Thanks for sharing.

  10. Looks like a scene out of Dr. Zhivago! What a wonderful vacation and how happy you must have been! I love the pictures through the frosted glass too and all the rest, and the horses are spectacular. 🙂

  11. Darn, I was going to say Dr. Zhivago could have been filmed in Vermont at that lovely farm and I was beat to it by 10 minutes! (dorannrule-great minds think alike) All the pictures were great and you could just feel the cold to the bone! It is like watching a dream come true for you and the rest of us that loves horses, adventures and nature. Really look forward to tomorrow.

  12. wonderful! like the colts running in your header.

  13. Brrr…..and sigh. What a wonderful treat – I love it when reality matches {or even exceeds!} expectation!!

  14. I am simply loving this series! What a fabulous get-away and that cottage living room is soooo cozy and charming! The horses are just exquisite, incredible black against the snow.

  15. It’s almost like a dream to imagine this place, these horses and the sleigh ride! HUGE blessing for you to share it with us, Dianna!

  16. Beautiful! Are you going through Connecticut on your travels???? I would love it if you could stop by…. (my husband is a drag racer, so Motor Man would be happy too),

  17. It looks wonderful 🙂 I especially like the shot taken through the frosted pane.

  18. A journey of a lifetime! But I imagine you’ll make it back for another ride at some point!
    The winter photos are great – the perfect backdrop for these jet black horses! And the pic through the pane … that’s the one 😉

  19. I love picturing up in my beloved New England, Dianna. I want to hear all about your adventures in person. Great photos and love your header!

  20. You really did have an exciting adventure in that winter wonderland! Great photos! can’t wait til your next installment. We still have our winter wonderland snow here and it’s cold too – 5 degrees this morning.

  21. Let me know when the album is done and I’ll grab Susan and come see! This was the Christmas you found a “pony” under your tree. 🙂 That MM is full of surprises. I’m glad you had the presence of mind to pack and dress accordingly, that’s cold!

  22. This was the Christmas you found a “pony” under your tree: love it!

  23. If there ever was a more perfect Christmas, birthday, anniversary or whatever gift for you THAT would’ve been it!
    🙂
    ~d.

  24. Looks like fun! The snowy nosed Friesians pic is my fav.

  25. WOW… what an awesome weekend getaway. You and Motor Man are in inspiration…. looks like true love to me.

  26. It looks like a wonderful getaway, even if it is cold! Love the cozy cabin. I could do without the phone and tv…but I’m not sure about internet service! 🙂

  27. Shirley Matthews Dunn's avatar Shirley Matthews Dunn

    I am so glad you got to take your sleigh ride in that beautiful setting!
    I too like the picture through the pane, lovely.

  28. It’s like peeking into a magical world. What a wonderful adventure you & MM had. Thank you for sharing this with us. I’d never heard of that breed of horse. What a fun way to start off the new year. 🙂

  29. Pingback: Vermont – Chapter 3 | these days of mine

  30. Such lovely photos! Those foals so adorable. I am so jealous of this trip!

  31. Ohhh, this trip looks like soooooo much fun!

  32. I know it was COLD but this had to be a dream come true! Great photos, too!

  33. What a beautiful and charming adventure! Isn’t is strange when you are without internet and cell phones? I don’t like to do without for long, but now and then…very revealing! Your photos are amazing, as always! ~ Sheila

  34. You have so many stunning photos! I think my favorite is the close up of the horses with snow on their noses.

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