The end of an era

It is with deep sorrow that I announce the loss of a good friend today.  As a member of the Navy...the Old Navy...this friend has been with me through thick and thin; cold and warm; sweat and ... probably manure.

It all started out innocently enough.  I went out to the barn to do chores as usual with my good friend.  At a balmy 6 degrees, you would think that I would have noticed when he... passed.  However, I kept on about my duties so unaware of this great tragedy.  Upon returning to the house to celebrate our morning accomplishments...this is what I discovered

Now, how does one not notice such a thing in 6 degree weather?  This is how...

That there...is loooooong underwear folks.  And this is precisely the reason God created long underwear!  Six measly degrees is no match for my new-toasty-red long underwear.

Alas, I am a fickle friend and I have already moved on from the loss.  Please welcome Maurice...the newest member of my team.

And this is all part of....Life on the Farm!

Who let the...horses?...out?

So I went out to do chores yesterday morning to find 6 sweet little muzzles staring at me...not unusual...except they were on the wrong side of the fence...all 6 that were in that herd.

Anywho, it turns out that one of the boarders forgot to lock the gate (it happens...it's kind of like "who left the milk out"...except your milk can't run away and doesn't poop all over) and these beasts figured out how to escape...little stinkers.  They were happily munching hay...and recycling it..... allllll over my yard!  "Well", you might be thinking, "you do live on a ranch".  Yes, but I keep this ranch in tip top shape, and I insist that everyone clean up after their horses, which is why I went ballistic at the over 30 "piles" littering the pristine snow.

My first duty was to get the horses back in.  So I pointed to the gate and said "lets go you guys...party's over."  It was like a police raid at a college frat party...I'm assuming here.  Siri went first hanging her head and sauntering back into the corral.  The others followed and I went to get them more hay (not sure why...they were already full) and by the time I got back Siri was out again!  (Siri is Dolly's forever-irritated-at-life-but loves-Dolly pony)  So I went back to the other side of the gate and gave her a stern "REALLY?" and pointed to the corral and she sauntered back in again.

Now, time to deal with the "piles" left by my precious ponies.  I picked up the phone, dialed the boarder and filled her in.   Her response, "I'll be over in a bit to clean it up"...good woman.  To her credit my ranch is beautiful once again!!!

And there you have it...Life on the Farm!

Stay tuned...I have some disgusting stories to tell...

It's been too long!

Get ready!!!!  I'm hoping to Blog more!  The reason I haven't is simple...I have a dumb phone.  Now before you think me snooty...consider this...I blog about farm stuff...stuff that happens outside.  When funny stuff happens I say to myself, "well shoot I carry my phone for safety reasons but not my camera.  If only I had one of those smarty pants phones.  I could really crank out the funny!"

Well good news!  It is a strong possibility that I will get one of those bad boys in Feb!  Stay tuned...I'm working on SHH to get him to agree!

Guess what?  A package just arrived from Jeffers Equine!!! Along with secret birthday gift for Dolly, came...pony measuring tape (so we can reeeeeeealy know how much everyone weighs), collapsible water bucket (who knew they made such a thing...bring on the camping!), a bot knife (bring it botties!), a stethoscope (so I can pretend to know if a horse/cow/pig/chicken? is healthy or not), and my first ever pair of breeches (to which SHH said..."you'll wear a long shirt right?" What a kidder!