Listicle Feb. 28, 2026

This is a Penny photo bomb. I WAS TRYING TO SEE MAPLE, PENNY. Penny had other plans. Penny always has other plans. She's a schemer. Credit: A O'Brien

Not a moment too soon to fit in this month's listicle! By the skin of my teeth, as they say. Here's a few things that have been bouncing around this winter.

1. Fave quote: "Is she really gonna ride that thing?!" At the start of January, I took Maple (the partially obscured Paint in the photo above) to the C&O canal for a ride and on the way back, we passed a runner. We had a quick chat and the runner said she and her husband watched me bring Maple out of the trailer earlier and the husband seemed incredulous that I was actually going to RIDE her on the canal, asking "Is she really gonna ride that thing?" The wife was like: yes.... and we laughed together at his silliness. His astonishment delighted me, as it made Maple (a typically sensible and well-behaved steed) seem like some wild bronco (and thereby made me seem like a total bad ass, right???). I suppose, as the band Butthole Surfers say in "Pepper", you never know just how you look in other people's eyes.

2. Fave meal: soup! As faithful readers know, I am not a winter person. Despite that, winter insists on appearing every year. I suppose I can't change the weather but I can change my reaction to it or something to that effect, so when Mother Nature hands me snow and sub-freezing temps, I make soup. I love making soup. I love eating soup. And I intend on making a Soup Zine at some point that illustrates this love. Until then (and I'll share it when I make it, how's that for accountability) here is a pic of some recent soup - carrot ginger soup to be exact. It was delicious. Pro tip: The New York Times Cooking has great recipes and a fantastic app (and this is coming from someone who hates apps.)

   

   SOOOOUUUUUPPPPPP Credit A O'Brien

3. Fave photo op: horses in snow. As discussed in Fave #2 above, winter is bad. However, sometimes horses in the winter are pretty. I moved the mares from one pasture to another about ten days ago and whence released upon a fresh field with pure untrodden snow, they went a little crazy. Fortunately, I had my camera ready and caught a few action shots of Penny who rarely does action. Check this one out:

   

   The mane! The snow! The movement! Penny in rare form. Credit A O'Brien

4. Fave book so far this year: I picked up Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. It is part thriller, part climate statement, part science, part romance, part mystery. All the things and beautifully written with a dash of WTF here and there. If you read it, let me know what you think. I'll be reading more by Charlotte soon.

5. Fave news: flash published! Had a lil piece of weirdo flash published in Tales from the Moonlit Path titled The Girl Who Loved Your Guts.

Bonus fave: chill music rec. Came across a set of albums that appears to be what I've always been looking for and didn't know it. The Ultra Lounge collection from the 90s. Great mix for just about any of your background music needs. Enjoy!