we have sunshine and wine

It rained most of yesterday, all night last night, and when I woke up this morning I hoped the sound I heard outside the open screen was not rain. But it was.

I had my coffee and tried to gear up for a mucky gray day with horses and donkeys who wanted to get out and graze.

Surprisingly, against all weather forecasts, the sun came out. I uncovered the hay, threw open the barn doors, and let things dry out while I did chores. And then left everything open so it could continue to dry as the day rolled on.

One time I thought it might rain, so I went out and took precautions, but it was a false alarm. The sunshine returned quickly and this evening I was lured out with a glass of wine and my camera, to see what might present itself.

First, Redford came out to join me and met Dickens along the way. Look at those donkey ears!



As you can see, they have become good friends:



Finally, they finished their hello and joined me at the picnic table:



Redford decided that if Sheaffer and Jack are vintners sampling apples, he is ready to sample some of the final product:



Then Dickens went for the wine:



By this time, Rafer Johnson appeared. He'd rather share a snifter of fine brandy with his mentor Sheaffer than sample the wine. Dickens can't help himself. He's a camera hog:



Meanwhile, over at the round bale, Redford illustrates how to be king. I love this shot because it shows Rafer Johnson's unique mane coloring - click on the photo to see his black "points" along the mane. And it shows Redford's snow white belly alongside his dark donkey cross:



My daughter took the camera and captured her pony and the sky:



And then her pony's handsome face:



All in all, a big beautiful day.

trim notes and the equinox

We had our date with the trimmer this a.m. and after taking a drive down the lane to help out a neighbor in need (her horse had lost a shoe and the other one was loose) we returned to get started on the November Hill herd.

I had planned to do Salina first so she could relax and munch her way through the rest of the visit, but Rafer Johnson gently put himself into position by the trimmer's tools and quietly refused to budge. He lifted his hoof and waited for his trim! I don't think I've ever seen such an eager equine when it comes to trims. It's quite apparent that he actively wants his feet done.

Redford went next and then Salina, and we started with the hardest hoof so we could put that behind us.

Then the geldings and we were done.

Trim notes are easy this time - everyone looked good, with Cody and Apache Moon tying for best feet all-around. I suspect it's no accident that they are getting worked daily by my dedicated daughter. I need to follow her example!

Today is the equinox and I had forgotten all about it until the trimmer handed me his sheet and I saw the date up top.

Unconsciously, though, I was aware, because I woke this morning from a long and quite detailed dream about 4 black snakes that linked themselves together into a sort of ouroborus in my front field.

It clicked with me that finding the snake skin on Sunday, and now this dream, both fit perfectly with the cycle of the year and with some other things going on in my life.

Ted Andrews wrote about snakeskins and snakes:

Because it sheds its skin, the snake has long been a symbol of death and rebirth. It sheds its skin as it outgrows the old. This death and rebirth cycle is part of what snake represents. It has ties and significance to the ancient alchemists and their symbolic transmutation of lead into gold. This is associated with higher wisdom that comes with the passing of time. This cycle of death and rebirth is often symbolized by the ouroborus, the ancient image of a snake swallowing its own tail. It is the symbol of eternity.

Before the snake begins to shed its skin, its eyes will begin to cloud over. It gives the snake a trancelike appearance. To many mystics and shamans this indicated the ability of the snake to move between the realms of the living and the dead, of crossing over from life to death and then back to life again. As the skin begins to shed, the eyes begin to clear as if they will see the world anew. For this reason, alchemists often believed that wisdom and new knowledge would lead to death and rebirth, enabling the individual to see the world from an entirely new perspective.

The snake has often been depicted, along with its relatives, the serpent and dragon, as a guardian. It is found in myth and lore guarding treasures, the springs of life or sacred places.

All of this makes so much sense to me right now. I've written before about the feed room feeling like an alchemical space, and finding the snakeskin there on Sunday seems like the perfect symbol.

The idea of a big 4-snake ouroborus in the front field makes me sigh with happiness. Autumn and rebirth and eternity... good things to focus on as we shift to the next cycle in the year.

A.S. King's "Writer's Middle Finger" Part 3 is up at mystic-lit

Go HERE to read. As usual, she has nailed another piece of the writing life.

and finally, the tack room is clean

Yesterday I spent nearly 12 hours cleaning the tack/feed room, with the help of my dear husband, who was cheerfully willing to pick things up and carry them to the barnyards, lest I accidentally touch a spider. He also washed things down - with the barn aisle being dirt floor and the tack room dirt with crushed stone, there's a lot of dust.

There were a few spiders, but none alarming. No black widows! We did, however, find a snakeskin, about 30 camel crickets lined up on a wall behind a big sheet of wood paneling (which is now gone), and many dung beetles.

We took every single thing out. I washed down the walls and all the nooks and crannies with Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap to get the dust and cobwebs out. I leveled out the crushed stone floor while husband rescued the camel crickets and released them elsewhere. A few managed to leap at me and elicited small shrieks.

Meanwhile, the horses stood munching their hay and watched from stalls as all this went on. Cody had the best view, and at one point he was waving the lunge whip around. Then he tossed the dressage whips, one by one. Keil Bay was hoping this break from routine had something to do with extra food.

The donkeys kept poking their noses into the crack in the barn doors. Rafer Johnson, especially, was wanting to come in and help.

Around 5 p.m. my husband went to buy two big boards to make a shelf on one side of the room, up high, to get the blanket bins and other bins of stuff we don't use regularly out of the way. He also took all the tools and assorted "junk" back to the garage so the tack/feed room could cease doubling as a storage unit. Over the past year, it's become easier to put things in there 'so we'll have them next time' - but it had become too much. I suspect finding the snakeskin did it. There was so much excess stuff in there we'd created the perfect spa for critters.

I cleaned all excess tack that doesn't get used on a daily basis and put it inside a bin so it will stay clean. I labeled bridle racks and saddle racks. My husband fixed the extension cord for the fans so it isn't lying on the floor. All my feed cans are now sitting on the pallet, and I have the shelves clear for the vitamin/minerals and the supplements.

There's also a bin of stuff to sell.

The one drawback is that the room is now so clutter-free all my "stands" for feed tubs are gone! I need to work on a solution, as mixing them on the ground is tedious. What I really need is a long counter-top that stays clear. We talked about one day making the feed room a dedicated space, and adding on a dedicated tack room. There's no obvious place, so I'm not sure that plan will ever materialize, but it was fun to dream as we worked.

I realized when I came inside and took my boots off that the bottoms of my feet were sore - I barely sat down all day long!

Friday's unexpected treasure

This afternoon I went for the first time to the tiny post office in our tiny town. I usually go to the bigger post office in the slightly bigger neighboring town, and combine the trip with other errands.

Today, though, I wanted to try something new.

I thought I knew where it was but couldn't find it, so a quick cell phone call to husband yielded access to the internet and he guided me to the right place.

The moment I saw it, my eyes lit up. It's a tiny brick building that adjoins what looks like an old general store. (apparently, it used to be that, but is now the studio of an artist who makes bird houses!) The gravel parking lot is shaded by huge oak trees. About the time I stepped out of the truck, a friend and neighbor pulled in and we walked in together.

I haven't seen her in several months so we did a quick catching up. She's a writer, editor, master gardener, and teacher, and she was putting up a beautiful hand-made flyer.

I walked on into the post office and was very warmly greeted by the postmaster. A few moments later, my neighbor walked in to introduce me and express her hopes that I will now use the small post office instead of the bigger one in the bigger town. About that time a mother and her daughter, around 8 years old, came in with a slip to pick up a package.

I stepped aside and asked if they wanted to go ahead, as I had a stack of packages to send as well as a question. The girl was so excited she could barely stand still. When I said they could go ahead, she gave me a big hug. "I think my Junie B's are here!" she exclaimed.

The postmaster handed over the big box and the mother said they could open the box up right there. I immediately loved her - knowing how hard it would be to wait if you were 8 and got a package. It was 25 Junie B books and the girl was ecstatic. The rest of us got excited right along with her. I know so well the feeling of getting not just one, but a big stack of new books, and the pure pleasure of knowing all those pages await me.

It was such a wonderful treat to set off on a not-very-excitable errand and discover a treasure, run into a friend, and watch a little girl wrap her arms around a big stack of new books.

According to my friend AND the postmaster, this is just one typical day at the little post office. I suspect I'll be going back.