Friday, March 09, 2018

Liberating Transition, Ahhh!








Twasn't very pretty yesterday, but a gorgeous and warm Wednesday gave us a taste of what is just around the corner. 

Horses are shedding their hair and their blankets. My black fleece is starting to slowly turning roan from leading Lily to and from the barn.  With each trip, the jacket's right shoulder has a new layer of white horse hairs. 

There's a pile of red hair on the floor of Lefty's stall where, overnight, he rubs his neck on the four by four post next to his gate. Problem is Lefty never knows enough to quit.

Happily, the last two rather large patches of his neck, which he most recently rubbed clear to the flesh, are starting to grow new hair.  So, he doesn't look too ridiculous.

I've noticed that little CB isn't quite giving up his winter coat just yet, but he sure is loving his brushing and primping.  

My sisters and I compared notes yesterday about removing the "goat hair" from various places on our horses with scissors or clippers.

For CB, we're still in the scissors stage.  Yesterday fetlock hair got snipped as did a fuzzy beard growing profusely from his throat latch.  I also snipped off some of those long tufts of baby hair coming from his ears.  

CB never flinched. 

This morning before going to the barn, I looked at the weather prediction on my iphone.  It said the all-day, all-night rain would quit at 6 a.m.  

Then, the phone says it will be dry and cloudy for the rest of the day and THEN FOUR BIG BEAUTIFUL YELLOW SUNS from Friday through Tuesday and temps in the high 40s, low 50s. 

Liberation has begun, even though the phone was a little off on its rain stoppage prediction.  Rain ceased to pelt the barn roof at precisely 6:22 a.m., the moment I stepped outside with my early morning chores completed. 

I stood there for a second, silently rejoicing, then took off, still maneuvering my way through the mounds of ice and snow in the driveway.   

I listened to vocal CHEEEEEZEburger birds on my way to get the Daily Bee and saw our neighbor Sherry May headed to work IN THE DAYLIGHT.  

Once I reached the road, I even walked for a ways without fear of slipping on ice!  Heaven!  

This morning, the ice and snow got a free pass from my usual morning and day-long grumblings.  I know it will be gone soon.  

The huge mountain of snow beneath the shop roof, where this past week the delivery people have been walking to the deck, looking down on the shop roof,  should start melting away. 

Once all the remaining snow slides from the deck roof, our cat Festus can start going outside again. Maybe Festus' upcoming presence on the deck can keep those squirrels which mess up my flower pots on the run. 

I do see a couple of down sides to this transition time.  The barnyard will melt, and soon I'll have to throw hay over the fence rather than sinking ankle deep in oozing mud.  

I also won't see Sherry May going to work in the daylight again for a few weeks, as the time change will mean that morning darkness at chore time returns for a while. 

Liam, who loves playing on top of the snow and who prefers to do his doggie business in the snow, definitely has some adjustments ahead, and, of course, I'll be bathing dogs again in the early evenings during the mud season.

The good, however, outweighs the bad at this time of year because we KNOW even if we get some squalls that our lives of spending more time inside than out will change significantly.  

We'll be in heaven.  We'll be working during more hours of the day.  We'll be tired, but the monotony of winter should soon turn into a memory. 

And, we'll be right back to the notion that there just aren't enough hours in the day for gardening, yard work, playing with animals, etc.  That is a good thing. 

So, yes, today, even with the mountains of snow and remaining ice, signals a long-awaited and much appreciated transition. 

I'm actually looking forward to spitting out endless strands of annoying horse hairs.  It'll be a while before I start griping about that problem.

Happy Friday. Spring, bring it on!


No comments: