Summer Arrives

(post by Jason) It's rapidly approaching the end of August and after a mostly temperate, pleasant summer we are finally getting some typical hot and humid summer weather. The horses take this sort of change in stride; they graze all night while it's cool and they spend the majority of their days resting in the deep shade of the woods. Unfortunately as much as we might wish to join them there aren't many lawnchairs and shade trees during the day for the people on this farm no matter what the temperature may be.

One of my many tasks today was moving feed from the bin at the front to various locations on the farm. It was high noon and hot as blazes...not the ideal time to slug anything but it needed to be done. While completing this task at various times I drove by each of our large pastures. The horses were comfortably resting in the woods and although it seems anthropomorphic in an unlikely way it sure looked like they all had smug expressions on their respective faces.

You know you've been out in the heat too long when you began to make up conversations between the charges in your pasture but I promise every farmer has done it at one time or another and today was my day. I expect the conversation between them went something like this.

"Look at that fool out there working his butt off in the sunshine and heat."

"Man, he's really putting it out."

"Sure is. He's so red in the face it looks like he's going to have a stroke. It's humid today. But it feels nice in here."

"Look at the sweat running down his face, arms and back. Man I wasn't that wet when it rained two inches last Friday. What a dummy. It's cool and pleasant in here. Let's tell him he's a dummy. With his college choices he should've picked an inside career!"

As you might guess this imaginary conversation made me feel a whole bunch better about my life choices. And of course it went on all afternoon. About twenty minutes before dark as the evening was starting to cool down all the horses made their way out of the woods. Every last one of them stopped to watch me drag my sweaty, tired self up the driveway to our house. Not for the first time I thought to myself that the animals in our care had things figured out a lot better than we do.

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Baby and Trigger

Donneur and George grooming with Asterik watching

Rocky, Largo and Oskar appeared to be hanging around in a food coma after breakfast

Johnny and B-Rad

Sebastian and Sam (Murphy hiding in between them)

Bergie

Toledo and Walon

Fabrizzio and O'Reilly

Lucky and Merlin