Today was the first full day in our one week tenure of "the country life." We were recruited by my dear friend Linda to play caretakers to her lovely homestead while she and her family are away on Spring Break. To recap the list of furry residents, there are: two horses, two goats, three bunnies, three chickens, and two cats. The big ol' dog is currently residing at his favorite doggy resort for the week.
I've been looking forward to this gig for a long time and so far it's been a rather wild adventure for this suburban tenderfoot. Firstly, getting up before 7AM on a Saturday was wild; we've not done that since forever. I even got my first couple of tenderhanded blisters today. Yep. That's because with all the clucking, bleating, snorting, and stomping that greeted us this morning I was too distracted to stop and look around for gloves to wear before we got everyone their vittles, cleaned stalls and raked paddocks. A totally novice move--- and I didn't realize the blisters until much later when the chores were already done.
To add to the excitement, the young mare pictured above (can you tell she's feisty?) reared up on me when I was taking her out to pasture. I was so surprised by her action that I just stood there with my mouth agape, instead of tugging down on the lead when she went up. She must have been counting on less slack in the line and with no tension to counter-balance her, she ended up falling over onto her side! Thankfully, she got up right away. I was so relieved that she was okay, I cooed and patted her as we made the rest of the way to the pasture.
I was thinking we'd have to call the vet to check on her but Linda was definitely more concerned for me than Dakota when I phoned to tell her what had happened. My friend explained that Dakota was definitely acting out on account of her sensing that she could "out-Alpha" me. (Ouch. I can handle being out-Alpha-ed by another female, but I'd prefer that she wasn't the type with hooves.) Of course it didn't help that I wasn't firm with her after she misbehaved. So my assignment for this afternoon will be to take D. into the arena and give her commands until it's clear who's really the Alpha--- I wish I could say it's not going to be a close contest!
Maybe it's been the unusual amount of sunshine we've had the past couple of days that's made everybody so feisty. Even Buster the bunny who's normally more than happy to accommodate his admirers, wouldn't let me hold him today, sniffle :(
Of course the goats were their usual crazy selves. That's Rocky and Jack doing their impression of me and Dakota for Colby---
They're such kidders ;)
The 'Old Man' on the farm, didn't want to miss out on all the fun either. Twenty-year-old Jag did his best at whinnying, gallivanting and pretending to buck after he'd been led out and had the gate closed on his pasture. Whoa, settle it down now, Old Timer! You're twenty in horse years, remember?
If this were a reality show, I'd swear the barnyard alliance was just about to vote my (you know what) off the farm. So I have another life to go back to next week, so the "country life" ain't for sissies, so my forearms, shoulders, abs and lower back are feeling it from shoveling poo and grooming paddocks. My nose is running from either hay or somebody's fur and I've certainly got a case of 'the uglies' because I didn't bother with hair or make-up this morning--- so what. I'm loving every crazy minute of it. And once I get my hands on a good, over-the-counter pain reliever, me thinks it'll be no problem making it to the final round.
I hope your weekend's been wildly good, as well!
(Dakota, Buster, Jag photos- Sarah W.)
