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The only good thing about winter coming is, now that I’m fifty, time flies. I hope this one goes fast because they say it’s going to be another doozie. They know this because a lot of nuts are on the ground. I don’t mean nuts like that one from Delaware. Nut nuts. Acorns, hickory nuts (or as they say in the country, hicker nuts), walnuts, even pecans, are all over the place clogging gutters and getting stuck in the clefts in horses’ feet. (Not the walnuts. They are the size of small baseballs. They’ll dent a car though if you’re stupid enough to park under a walnut tree.)
I wouldn’t care if winter was going to be bad if I didn’t have to go out there. I don’t mind short dashes when we’re having a doozie, like going back and forth to my car, although in Jersey I’d been known to leave it running while I went into Fashion Bug to get some more clothes and jewelry and pocketbooks—whatever I needed to keep up with the other hot chickies up there. Of course I had to lock it in Jersey and so I had a second set of keys or else it could get stolen or someone could swipe all my CD’s like they did one time when CD’s were still cassettes. Nowadays I have Sirius Radio and so even the CD’s are going to become obsolete. The technology today... I’d really like to get one of those electronic things where you can start your car right from your warm spot at the kitchen table where you are just finishing up your coffee and getting ready to put your boots on. I don’t know if you can do that with the diesel-taking dually. I think Kurt said no.
Anyway, running out to a cold car is not the worse thing in the world. The worse thing in the world is the horses. That takes time. Feeding, watering (at least I don’t have to deal with frozen hoses and water barrels anymore since Kurt put in the hydrants and electric), standing in the same spot for hours holding horses for the farrier, cleaning stalls… It’s a nightmare! When I was a kid, we used to throw the frozen balls of manure at each other. It was a primitive game of laser tag. I also used to ride in the snow back then. I thought it was fun when the hairs in my nose felt like tiny shards of glass and I couldn’t feel my feet anymore.
Now, the wind is kicking up out there and the temperature dropped to fifty degrees. Fifty degrees is nothing but it feels like it’s thirty degrees because just a few days ago I was in a tank top. Now I’ve got the heat on! But I’ve got to ride that horse if I ever want to get him barrel racing again. I think I’ll just send Kelly out there. I’ll get her to lunge him for me. If she resists, I’ll lob at walnut at her. Or wait until winter and the manure freezes. She grew up with electronics. She won’t know what hit her.
I wouldn’t care if winter was going to be bad if I didn’t have to go out there. I don’t mind short dashes when we’re having a doozie, like going back and forth to my car, although in Jersey I’d been known to leave it running while I went into Fashion Bug to get some more clothes and jewelry and pocketbooks—whatever I needed to keep up with the other hot chickies up there. Of course I had to lock it in Jersey and so I had a second set of keys or else it could get stolen or someone could swipe all my CD’s like they did one time when CD’s were still cassettes. Nowadays I have Sirius Radio and so even the CD’s are going to become obsolete. The technology today... I’d really like to get one of those electronic things where you can start your car right from your warm spot at the kitchen table where you are just finishing up your coffee and getting ready to put your boots on. I don’t know if you can do that with the diesel-taking dually. I think Kurt said no.
Anyway, running out to a cold car is not the worse thing in the world. The worse thing in the world is the horses. That takes time. Feeding, watering (at least I don’t have to deal with frozen hoses and water barrels anymore since Kurt put in the hydrants and electric), standing in the same spot for hours holding horses for the farrier, cleaning stalls… It’s a nightmare! When I was a kid, we used to throw the frozen balls of manure at each other. It was a primitive game of laser tag. I also used to ride in the snow back then. I thought it was fun when the hairs in my nose felt like tiny shards of glass and I couldn’t feel my feet anymore.
Now, the wind is kicking up out there and the temperature dropped to fifty degrees. Fifty degrees is nothing but it feels like it’s thirty degrees because just a few days ago I was in a tank top. Now I’ve got the heat on! But I’ve got to ride that horse if I ever want to get him barrel racing again. I think I’ll just send Kelly out there. I’ll get her to lunge him for me. If she resists, I’ll lob at walnut at her. Or wait until winter and the manure freezes. She grew up with electronics. She won’t know what hit her.
13 comments:
Here in Alaska, it's been winter since September. :P If it's above 0, it's balmy! Haha, I totally relate. Although I was born and raised here, I suck at being Alaskan. I hatehatehate feeling like an icicle is forming on my face, and that my hands have swollen into frozen oven mitts. Best of luck this winter, though! Be blessed, over-dress, and stay warm! :)
"They" promised 50 degrees today but they lied. It never got about 35 and with the north wind, it was unbearable. Of course come January, this would have felt like a heatwave. So, I didn't ride. Just ate. The pounds are starting to accumulate equally on each thigh.
It is supposed to hit 70 degrees today. Which is really too warm for this time of the year and I'm sure we will pay for it later.
Feeding cows is about as odious as dealing with the horses. I am thankful my husband does that!
I also have problems with winter. Unlike your horse problems, I have the horror of trying to deal with working in a city. Imagine trying to drive down a narrow one way street, (which has a slight decline), cars parked all down the line, to get to your building's parking lot at the end of the block, hoping you're not going to slide into the car at the end, trying to dodge the giant snow mountains that the plowers have plowed up against the parked cars. Not that that means the streets are clear. It just means they got most of it. And you better hoped you turn down the "clearest" streets so you don't get stuck. But now there's nice 4 inch grooves of slush snow (like drunken railroad tracks) up and down the street. Then try and get into the driveway. There's a big "hill", where if you go too fast, I'm worried someone is just going to coast off the side and down the steep hill and into the oncoming traffic that runs along the back of our building. And god forbid you try to leave the parking lot. Trying to drive UP a giant hill of a parking lot in 4 inch slush equals not fun. City life does not like snow. Country life does not like snow. People who get to hide in their houses all day and not go anywhere or do anything have it nice. I'd like to just admire the snow from my window...is that so much to ask?
It's cold an rainy here today maybe in the 40's. I consider that not too bad. The winters have been tough in the past few years, I'm hoping "they" whoever "they" are will be wrong this year and we won't get much snow. So far we're just dealing with muddy pastures and rolling muddy horses. Not bad yet. Happy Thanksgiving.
Well, let's all think about poor Rachel in Alaska.
Debi you are not going to throw horse manure at Kelly are you?!
Hopefully this year won't be like last year! If we don't see snow for another five years, I'll be one happy gal, lol!
Oh, so funny! That nut from Delaware and lobbing a walnut at Kelly. It's so true about the young ones - some of them don't even know what a record player is! They have their noses buried in game players of various kinds and wouldn't be able to tell a walnut from a pecan. I heard the same story about this coming winter in Floyd - the apple trees in my neighborhood were just loaded with apples - I brought some Stayman-Winesaps home with me. Delicious!! And there was a huge nut crop. I heard that it was supposed to be colder but dry this winter.
There is already snow on the ground here and they are calling for an inch accumulation on Sunday. Not much, but I think it's just getting started! Brrrr!
There was a fantastic apple crop this year- so many wonderful varieties that I adore are inexpensive this year- I am enjoying the "windfall". The Stayman and Winesap are some of the most aromatic apples I've ever eaten! I've heard the same talk that it bodes for a cold winter. What- the trees know in advance what the winter weather will be- and they give us extra for cider? I don't understand the logic.
You'll notice that I've simply avoided mentioning the mention of frozen horse manure. I'm sure it's aromatic, I just don't want to encourage poop talk. Really, it's the one thing that I can't stand about horses and cows. I want to appreciate it's use as a training tool, but the thought creeps to me that you may move to NJ and want to lob some MY way.
Cape Coop, nah, don't worry, I won't hit you with any manure!
Ut oh everyone--they're calling for snow tonight!
It's here! Snow, wind AND cold. Since daughter has a broken arm, guess who feeds the horses this winter?!
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