"It's mid February," he says. "It's cold as hell, right now."

Not that hell is all that cold.

"Wait until it snows. It's...better than any Christmas paintin' you've ever seen before. It falls pretty thick, blankets everything. Lake'll freeze over pretty solid, too."

As they near the stables, there are a few horses that are milling about the paddock, but most everyone is inside, warm and content.