So Much Snow

As is to be expected now that we're in the heart of winter in a peninsula shaped like a mitten, we've plunged into what the meteorologists say will be a long stretch of cold, snowy weather. Lily and I are enjoying its pristine beauty, while Felicity and Julie are well over it and already dreaming of spring.

Star Stable's sleigh to the winter village disappeared with the last update, along with all the holiday decorations. I'm thinking SSO's creators must be more in line with Felicity's and Julie's way of thinking than mine and Lily's, because we're only getting two more weeks with the toggle-able virtual snow before it leaves for the season too.

Here is a fond look back at our snowy January adventures so far: both in the Winter Village and wandering around Jorvik.

playing with some frisky wild foxes

enjoying the Northern Lights with Raven and our new Gnemo the gnome pet

Usually the sheep follow us single file, but on this turn, each made its own snow trail.

So cute!

Clara and Ash leading the gingerbread gnomes back to base. To our relief, they kept up with a galloping horse without issue this year. It was so annoying how they'd blip back to their original positions whenever we started going "too fast" last year!

Sandman doing his level up sparkle with an especially dramatic backdrop. He progressed through his training quickly thanks to all the Winter Village activities, but he hadn't quite made it to level 15 yet by the end.

Sandman taking a little rest among a trio of wild Eariks.

The final gift we received under the yule tree. You'd never guess what is was from that huge box.

Rather anticlimactically, it was... a pair of earrings. They're cute enough, but until earrings can be worn at the same time as glasses, Clara's not likely to wear them. (We've gotten so used to her with her with glasses that she doesn't look right to us without them now.)

...that one time Sandman's lower legs got stuck underground after sliding down the big slide.

We did eventually free him without having to re-log.

We had the snow toggled off here for the championship, but I wanted to include this one to show how nice the Brownie Bear tack set looks on Sandman. The brown saddle pads may see more daylight than we originally thought.

Doing some sky and stargazing with our penguin Pebble

For efficiency, we'd sometimes still have the gingerbread followers following us during other village tasks. They really got into fishing.

We'd also sometimes take the touring gnomes on longer tours than they'd bargained for. Here they are experiencing my favorite festival-exclusive race, the one on the frozen river with the sliding penguins.

The best part for me was the little celebration song at the end of the race. <3

The gnomes coming along while we searched for other gnomes in Moorland. It could be tricky to find these guys in deep snow!

The holiday decoration I was most sad to see go: the gnome statue in River/Sandman's water bucket.

Our final magical race through the Winter Village for the season

Saying a fond farewell to the musical penguins...

...and the Winter Village deer

Until next year! <3

Sandman still had his last two experience levels to go after we lost access to the Winter Village. He got to see a lot more of Jorvik, including his look alike at Steve's Farm

Sandman's final sparkle this weekend. 

We're back to a stable (and pasture) full of fully-trained equines again!

The big news with the latest update was the addition of an updated Connemara Pony! We caught our first glimpse of them at the Moorland championship - see the fleabitten gray in the screenshot below.

Naturally, after the championship, we had to go take an up-close look for ourselves.

Like the old generation 3 Connemaras, they're on the larger side for ponies, which we love! The old Connemara has been renamed the "Jorvik Connemara" and is still available for purchase, similar to what happened with the Friesian and Andalusian.

We think they are a great improvement over the previous iteration of the Connemara - so much more lifelike in motion! Here's a quick look at the different colors and animations

dapple gray

buckskin... or is it a rose gray? Not sure yet.

palomino

bay roan

sooty buckskin

chestnut

fleabitten gray

This buck is noteworthy in that the rider loses her seat and stirrups and ends up on the base of the pony's neck, then scootches back to the correct position. It's somewhat cute, since the rider doesn't bite it and seems amused, not scared, but I personally wish SSO had done this with a breed other than the Connemara. While I'm sure there are some bucky Connemaras out there, I like to think of that more being a cheeky little pony thing, with Shetlands, little Welshies, etc. From what I've read, the Connemara is generally more gentle and good natured.

Oh well, bucking aside, they're quite nice. We'll gladly add one to the herd someday, once they make it into a bazaar.

I will leave you with a screenshot of our much more chill Sandman doing his special animation while waiting for a championship to start today. He and Clara were the only entrants, giving him an easy gold ribbon. Yay! Stay warm and safe, everybody!