Help Me with My Morning Chores

I thought it might be fun for you to help me with my morning chores. The first thing we do is throw my obnoxious horse, Ivan, a tiny bit of hay or he will continue banging on his stall door with his hoof.
Separate Sonata and Jr (above ▲) and give Jr his two tubes of gruel before it cools off. Toss a pad of hay into their feeder. Can you tell that it's still dark out? And look how he's growing. His coat is quite small for him.
Now go back to the horses and give each horse a drink because they will be shut out for the day and then give them a scoop of grain. Don't forget to slip some Bute (horsey aspirn) into Abbey and Kellys' pails. Water the alpacas while you have the hose out.

While the horses are munching, go back to the alpacas and fill the pans for the babies ► When you hang the feeders on the gate, call them, and they will come right over. The big girls can't get into this pen so the little ones can eat in peace. So now you can fill 5 more pans with alpaca pellets and feed the big girls.

Open their door and throw some hay out in the nice clean snow for them. Leave a little inside also.

Turn all four horses out with a couple pads of hay. Leave Cord's door open so that he can come inside if he likes.

Over to the 4 boys' pen and spread 5 pans of pellets on their gates. Leave a couple feet between each pan so they don't get to fighting and spitting at each other. When they spit, their bottom lip hangs open and they can't eat for a while. I read somewhere that the spit is quite acidic and that's why they do that. Don't know though. Open their door and put some hay outside for them. They didn't clean up all their hay from last night so don't give them as much.

I hope that you remembered to speak individually to each 4 legged and called them by name. I believe that like kids, they each need the special attention.

Now before you go in, think back, does each critter have food? water? are all the doors secure? This only took us an hour. If Josh weren't coming to clean, we would be out here for two more.

Walking in we pass by the horses who give us a look of thanks (or so I like to think).

Barn Boots

I can finally walk past these boots without welling up, getting snotty nosed, and feeling that heavy thud in my chest. They wait in the garage next to my Muck Boots. Family and neighbors would silently chuckle when we saw Smitty in his cut offs and these boots making his way to the barn, making repairs, or hauling manure.
I sort of understand the symbolism here and am reminded of Kennedy's funeral. We old timers remember the feisty black horse in the procession - the empty saddle with the boots hung backwards. It's sort of like that.......
I hope that this doesn't sound too maudlin but writing is so theraputic for me that I can now probably put them in the trash.

Morning Barn Chores

This is the view from my kitchen this a.m. at 7:20 just before I bundled up to do barn chores. I am the luckiest woman in the world to be healthy and able to enjoy and contribute to my small part of the world. Just to be able to say "I'm off to do barn chores" makes me smile. Waiting for me with all their baaing, humming, and nickering are 4 horses (you can just sort of see Cord in the fence on the right), 11 alpacas, 3 kitties, and 6 BabyDoll sheep.
♥
I'm off to do barn chores. ☺

Happy Thanksgiving

Our first snow on the way to do morning chores.