Friday, April 12, 2019

At-Home Springin'








I almost apologized to the horses this morning. 

Then, I started thinking about predicted weekend rain and decided to save the apology for later. 

Just when our barnyard muck shows signs of drying up, those April showers roll back in and add to the mess.

So, once again, the horses went slogging through the mud this morning to get to their hay. 

Sometimes, when I turn him out, Lefty just stands at the gate, surveying the morning muck.  Then, it's obvious that his empty stomach starts ruling his decision and off he goes. 

We still have various stages of wet around here:  standing water, large blankets of snow, puddles and oozing mud. 

Until the pasture areas dry, the surface firms up and grass begins to grow, the horses will have to continue enduringthe barnyard soup. 

In the meantime, there's plenty of progress around the Lovestead to go along with the misery. 

We can once again walk the entire place.

 In the yard, most of the mouse mounds and tunnels have been raked and covered with grass seed.

 Vibrant green color is returning on an almost hourly basis,  and there are sounds and scenes throughout each day simply to behold.

Many of the seasonal visitors, two-legged and four, have returned and staked out their territory in the yard, pastures and the woods.  

I have spent many hours this week painting and raking and shoveling and picking up and hauling off. 

It's also been fun adding to the funkiness with more bird feeders/houses and yard art.  

Soon, that one daffodil in the flower bed by the driveway won't be have to be so lonely because dozens of its friends are about to burst open in the garden and throughout all the flower beds. 

This place requires almost constant work during the spring and most of the summer, but I love it, as long as the stamina hangs in there. 

And, I especially love seeing the last remnants of messy winter disappear, making way for living beauty in sounds and sights unfolding virtually every day.

Constant nurturing is involved, but the end results are so worth it, especially after restricted months of quiet dormancy dominated by cold and snow. 

In a few days, I may not have to reserve my apologies to the horses to be issued on a really bad day.

Even sooner, I'm figuring that Lily will spend most of her day, performing her intricate contortions to get that muzzle and those teeth under the bottom fence board to nibble on the grass, which, of course, is growing much greener on the other side of the fence. 

 Or, when she tires of manipulating her body,  she'll simply stand at the southeast corner of the barnyard, alternating her looks at the pasture and then back at me.

Lily's a pro at hinting. 

She's not one bit subtle about her springtime desire to leave one fenced-in area with nothing but dirt/mud for another filled with nourishment aplenty.

All in all, it's a productive time, as little tasks of cleaning and tidying add up to create an overall lovely scene. 

And, as can be seen by one of the photos below, when the barnyard dries up, I may not have to bathe Mr. Liam every day.  That will be nice. 

Happy Friday.    






























No comments: