I was feeling very sorry for myself the last few days. Its been below freezing (in the 20's, very unusual for western WA) and I get up in the dark and freezing cold while the rest of the house sleeps warm in the bed. I start the fire in the wood stove, feed beasts and bale water from the one heated water tank as the water is frozen. And then for a consolation prize I get to pick up their poop. I am not a morning person, but early in the morning I’m carrying very heavy buckets of oat and bran mash across the drive which is now filled with frozen puddles. When I get to the barn our Great Pyrenees Cleo is on top of me with her tongue while I am helpless with the buckets. The horses and goats slowly get up from their padded, warm bedded stalls and start talking about their breakfast. I actually have to take my gloves off to mix each ration with all the individualized additives. As my hands go numb I am thinking that the animals are way too pampered. While the horses and goats eat their feed I get to the dogs and go fill rabbit water crocks. I realize some other people are in their warm shower by now, getting ready to go to some heated job while I am thinking about whether I can fit another pair of wool socks into my boots when I pick out stalls.

As I head down the aisle I walk past our Thoroughbred gelding's stall and he picks his head up from his breakfast to give me a whicker and a wet nose with his lips full of mash. Well, maybe he has some appreciation for the weather or the hour. While I water the rabbits, one cage of clamoring Beveren kits is particularly excited. I open up the hutch door one little baby bunny tumbles out but I catch it, and for its trouble it gets a ride in my jacket. Ok, so the bunny is kinda cute and its cuddled in my jacket looking content just going for a ride and keeping me company while I water the rest of the rabbits. Well, maybe its really cute and its sort of cuddled in a ball with just its nose and eyes peeping up at me, looking like it’s smiling and like it might have that nasally voice of Thumper. So maybe I'm a little less grumpy. By the time I'm done watering the rabbits the horses are finished with their breakfast and milling around, spying me as I walk past the doorway between the barns. The Kiger colt makes a game of peek-a-boo out of it and yea, maybe its sort of cute. He gets more and more excited when he catches a glimpse of me and picks up his play ball and tosses it. Alright. A lot cute.

Baby bunny back with its mama and siblings and I turn out horses. They go out one by one but immediately become a united herd as they gallop the pasture in large circles. They are in unison as they gallop and as I stand there I can feel the earth tremble. Granted, there is a Percheron in the herd, but it's the multiple drumming hooves creating the tremor. Sort of like the feel of being at a concert and the room coming alive with sound. They all give the occasional "buck of glee" and take turns being in the lead until they settle down and find spots to graze and mill about. I admit. Cool.

I feed the goats their veggies and they do their silly goat things, playing King of the Mountain and posturing. One very pregnant doe comes over and puts her head in my lap and heaves a sigh. She just wants her ears scratched before she's re-energized and heads back to the trough. But she looks back at me and comes for one more head rub before she is completely ready to go back to her little herd. Very soon there will be baby goats. It’s difficult not to smile to think of the little goat kids.  The hens have lots to say to me while I break the ice in their water pans, feed them and collect their still-warm eggs. 

Later, I clean out a stall and a Kiger filly comes meandering into the paddock and pushes open the gate to march down to me. This is my girl - she came to us as a wild horse and she bonded with me. There is that look in her face of complete assuredness that I will have some edible treat for her. She frisks me completely and when she's satisfied that I have nothing more than a pitchfork and wheelbarrow, she looks back at the pasture. I assume she's leaving toute suite, but instead, she comes up close and puts her head up to my face. We stand with our foreheads against one another for a minute and she closes her eyes. I'm not sure if I am being honored with this communing because I am cleaning her stall at the time or just because, but I don't question it. She hangs out for about 15 minutes "helping" me clean before she slowly heads back out to the other horses.

I do join the "real" world for a time at the office after everyone is fed and watered, quarters are cleaned, and a few horses are groomed. After work I get out of the car and one horse whinnies a greeting and then the whole barn is looking to me and has a greeting. I think I even here a hen clucking to me. Later, the house is warm, the food we grew is good, and I have the thought of kisses from beasties who will have me up at the crack of dawn again tomorrow. Not so bad.