I am in the company of several amazing animals; at the last count, five chickens, four horses, two dogs and two goats. I am hoping that Stormy will have a baby so that the count will be five, four, three, two, one.

The price I pay is that it takes a lot of time to tend to them. And because we don’t have a house-sitter, I can’t venture very far. This doesn’t matter too much right now because Covid numbers are spiking. But once the vaccine comes out, I suspect that I will again be my usual restless self.

The upside (most of the time) outweighs the downside. Every single one of these animals are a joy to have around. There are no exceptions. In fact, the only exception ever, was Buckwheat, and this is because he was livestock. The rest are pets.

It really is a chickengoatdogandpony show. The chickens: at night I move them from their larger enclosure (the shelter on the side of the shed to their smaller enclosure (their in-shed roost area. All five, one at a time, hop onto my arm and are transported to the roost entrance, a hole in the shed.

Raudi tied at lunch break during the 2011 Divide Ride Trip

The goats: I haven’t been doing much with them nor have they been out much lately. This is because Shadow is in the yard in the morning. But soon, I’m going to have them accompany me down the horse pen.

The dogs: Ryder is now the upstairs dog. She hangs out with me, can usually be found on our bed. Shadow is the downstairs dog. She hangs out with Pete, can usually be found on her bed, next to Pete’s desk. Both dogs are now buddies. They play tug and enjoy racing around in the woods and yard together. Shadow now knows stay and off.

The horses: Shadow now rides Tinni and Hrimmi to and from the trail. This gives all the animals a stronger sense of purpose. Raudi is now the number one riding horse. And Tyra is, when she’s racing around on the trails, a sight to behold.

Today I had Pete take videos as the three mares and I did the November agility course. Pete is so amazing, patient and kind. I think the animals emulate him. It was cold today. The balloon obstacle was a challenge for all, particularly Raudi who didn’t see much sense in having to step on the damn things. She did, finally, put her feet in the rubber feed bucket holding the balloons, but the balloons (in a hay feed bag in the bucket) didn’t break. This is because the air in the balloons shrinks due to the cold.

I’m not going to continue to work with her on this. Her being fearless is not a life or death matter. And I am confident that if she happened to step on one out on the trail that this would then make sense to her.

The question that remains at the end of days like this is: How did I get so lucky, animal-wise? I don’t think I’ll ever know the answer. I instead have to accept the fact that not being all knowing is just fine.

Next: 324. 11/25/20: You Are What You Read