Slight Detour: Winter; Bananas and TBT's

I just shoveled a path through wet, heavy snow to the shop.

Bridie helped me by standing nearby.

During shoveling, I would take a break and proudly walk over the area that I had just shoveled.

These interludes offered a nice break and allowed my upper body to rest and my legs and feet to feel somewhat free.

Then, it was back to shoveling.

While shoveling, I also thought about how much further it would be to shovel to the barn and how much more I would need to shovel just to get the barn door to slide open.

I would also have to shovel a path from the barn door to the barnyard gate.

Then, I would open the barn, load up a long, low toboggan with hay. Next, pull the morning feed for the horses to the barnyard where I'd be trudging through 5-6 inches of wet snow to scatter the hay.

Then, I would lead each horse from its stall to the barnyard.

After all horses were out eating their breakfast, I would come back to the barn and spend the next 20 minutes or so cleaning three box stalls, probably taking two or three trips outside with the sled filled with horse apples and bedding.

Those trips would be around the west side of the barn where I would dump the poop and shavings.

That extended shoveling and trudging through snow and cleaning stalls did happen to be my winter morning schedule until last year.

This morning I was thankful that my task outside just involved clearing a path to the shop.

Things will get easier with winter, once Bill puts the plow on the tractor and gets in the groove with the snowblower. Today's wet snow dump would be difficult to remove, even with the equipment.

This morning's shoveling regimen reminded me how grateful I am to be able to board my horses and not have to clean stalls or haul poop on a sled through the snow to dump a pile.

My body is grateful too.

The snow has come and appears to want to stay, so I'll give up on the leaf pickup project and take the lawnmower to the barn where it will stay with the other two mowers for the winter.

Three lawnmowers residing in the barn is a heckuva lot easier than having three horses staying there.

The barn door can stay shut all winter, and I don't have to feed the lawnmowers.

How much money does it take to keep changing the banana?

Apparently, $6 million will do.

I can't imagine this piece of art lasting for more than a week. After, all by that time, any banana I've ever bought has started to wither and to turn dark brown.

So, there must be some maintenance necessary for the piece of art below.

For $6 million, I guess it's worth it. Wonder if they buy the fresh bananas on sale.

You can read more by clicking the link below the photo.