salt

Isabel Zuber's novel Salt was published in 2002, and has been on my list of books to read ever since. When I was on my writing retreat earlier this year, one of my fellow retreaters was a poet who is in Isabel Zuber's writing group, and when she learned of the kind of writing I'm doing, she suggested I put Salt at the top of my list.

I bought it last week and let it sit on my bedside table for a few days, to savor the idea of starting it.

Last night I did, and could hardly set it down. It's beautifully written, with a poetic use of language and description, and an engaging story that pulls the reader in quick.

As if a good book isn't enough, there is a touch of synchronicity: the book travels from chapter to chapter back and forth in time, using places and years as chapter titles. And it takes place in the NC mountains, so as I read last night I came upon passages taking place in the same places my current editing is taking me.

I had no idea!

What a treat. I recommend this book, particularly if you've enjoyed reading Charles Frazier, Lee Smith, Silas House, and Dot Jackson, all authors I admire.

it is still raining!

Thankfully it's a bit warmer than it was the first two days, and there is no wind, so it's just wet, not so much cold.

But I think we're all getting tired of slogging through the muck. Even musical stalls has lost its excitement. The apple chunks are still welcome, but seem to make them all that much more grumpy, like bored kids who argue over the treat that's supposed to buoy them.

After lunch, though, when I'd moved everyone back around to their "regular" spots, Salina and the donkeys went in the barnyard in search of green, and Keil Bay left his messy stall to go poop in Cody's clean one, which always makes me laugh, and Cody went to the arena gate and looked back, inviting me to play.

So I took a break from mucking and in we went. We did some slow dancing, as it is raining so steadily the arena is draining more and more slowly, and I didn't think running around would be good for footing OR dancers. The pony came to the open gate and waited for his invitation to come in too. After a few minutes, Cody was done, and the pony declined my invite to play, so I went back to mucking.

The moment I turned my back, those two were trotting around and the pony led the way to a small jump and went right over it. When he saw me looking he slowed to a halt like "uh oh, she wasn't supposed to see that."

He's been on a break from jumping for some time now, but maybe he's ready to try it again.

When I came in, the two of them were still in the arena playing. Salina and the donkeys were nibbling grass and Rafer Johnson seems to have made peace with the rain. Redford is like the little boy who never stays inside. He'll go out no matter what.

Keil Bay thinks they're all nuts. He went back to his messy stall and played boxing match with the hay net.

One more day of wet stuff and then we can start drying out again.

the well-oiled machine goes KERPLUNK

In a travesty of miscommunication last night, the beet pulp pellets did not get soaked, and it was only this rainy morning precisely at feeding time that it was discovered.

So the breakfast for equines has now become brunch, and they must subsist on hay until the pellets turn to actual pulp.

I can't even show my face in the barn - I'll be booed and hissed for sure, and Keil Bay is likely to start twirling halters and lead ropes.

I suppose I should take some apple chunks out with the beet pulp, as a peace offering.

rainy friday

We woke up to rain, and when I went out to feed breakfast, two little donkey heads peeked out from the barn door, happy to see me with my arms full of morning tub supplies.

Life got easier when I realized I have an electric tea kettle that never gets used - so I've taken it to the barn and can heat up my water out there instead of hauling pitchers out every morning.

Rafer Johnson and Redford think the electric tea kettle is a fine and intriguing thing. For now, I have to plug it in in the barn aisle, until I can get some things moved around in the feed room, so I move my little wooden stepladder to the barn aisle outlet, put the kettle on it, and plug it in.

The donkeys are not afraid of the flax grinder, but they have not really wanted to get too close to it. They stand at the far end of the barn when I plug it in, and I call out "get ready!" and whirl the flax a time or two so they all know what I'm doing. Then I grind away.

The kettle, on the other hand, is quiet, and it sits there nicely on its perch. The first morning the donkeys stood at attention, monitoring this new contraption. Now they stand right by it, defying the adage a watched pot never boils.

Actually this one rarely does boil, because I only need the water warmed a bit, not steaming hot!

This morning they walked me back and forth as I prepared the tubs, and then suddenly the geldings lit out for the back field. Salina insisted that she be allowed to follow, and of course the donkeys were right behind her.

I'm not sure what it was - it sounded like maybe a bobcat capturing a bunny, but the screeching and shrieking was intense and the horses were absolutely determined to go check things out.

About the time they got to the bottom of the field, the rain intensified, the shrieking stopped, and they headed back to the barn.

After breakfast, we started a day of musical stalls. Everyone got turns on both sides of the barn today, and the donkeys were at the center of the action at all times, supervising the shift changes. We had apple chunks and more visitors at mid-day: three deer in the woods just behind the wood line fence.

All the equines have opted at various times to go out and graze today. I guess the green stuff is important enough to make the cold rain not such a big deal.

Right now I'm having a mug of Earl Gray tea and some spice cookies made fresh by my daughter, who has recently started getting comfortable with our gas stove. I'm going out in a bit to set up the horses with hay, fresh water, clean stalls, and close off the field for the night.

After that I think it might be time for a hot bath and a movie.

a dulcet day

Today was much cooler than yesterday, but the predicted rain never happened, and in fact, the sun was shining, so horses and donkeys and humans and cats and dogs all enjoyed the middle ground of sunshine without sweat, a slight breeze without chill, and ground that was just about perfect in its moisture level. No mud, not rock hard.

My daughter and I took the core of a round bale out to the back field this morning and unrolled it, so the hay would last all day long. The only time anyone came back to the barn was Salina to get her lunch, and Cody to get a ride.

I spent a portion of the morning straightening up the tack and feed room, another portion bringing up more items from the garage (from my office), and late in the afternoon went out to get horses organized for the evening.

The donkeys decided to have an all-out rampage, running all over the back field, up to the paddock, where they dodged Salina who was attempting to settle them down with that mama mare head toss. She decided to let them go, and meandered over to the fence to gaze at the front field, which is resting until April and every day looks greener and more appealing.

Mystic went up the oak tree by the barn, and Dickens sat below gazing up at him.

My daughter was riding Cody in the arena and my husband had arrived home from work.

Salina went into alert mode and I walked to the gate to see what was up. The shavings man had arrived with a new load, and we all watched with relief as he dumped it in our pile. There's a long rainy weekend coming and I had wanted the stalls set up with deep new shavings ahead of that. The worst chore to do on a rainy day is putting in shavings. But not doing them if they're needed is worse.

My husband loaded shavings in the wheelbarrow, I spread them, and my daughter filled hay nets while Cody grazed in the barnyard, a treat after his ride.

Horses are fed and watered now. Round bales are covered. The stalls are soft and deep and clean tonight, the shavings pile is covered with a brand new tarp, and the rain can come as it will.