Mudder Forker

Where did this day go?  It's time to fork down hay again.  I wonder if spousal unit will help with this bale that won't come apart no matter how much I stab at it and yank at it.  Round bales are supposed to come apart in layers that fall off as I prick them with the pitch fork.  Yes, we still use pitch forks.  I have a favorite one, a five pronger that is just right for me.  I got so frustrated with today's bale I asked spouse if he would fire up his Husqvarna to chop it up.  No, he said, I'LL DO IT.  Good!  Work's for me!  It's dark and I don't enjoy the hay mow in the pitch black.  My head light makes one little beam ahead of me in a gigantic room that goes on forever.  I have to climb a ladder to get on top of the bales and jump from one to one to get across the room, then slide down the bale at the end to get to my pitch fork and the holes and lead to the feeders below.  If I got spooked by "something"  it would take a bit of doing to hi-tale it out of there.  Yes, I am spooky unless I initiate Fail-Safe and get the job done without allowing myself to think about g-h-o-s-t-s.....The hay mow kitties sit all around giving me their green lazer eyes, telling me everything is fine, for they would be the first ones to sense a "presence" wouldn't they?  Anyhoo....I spent the afternoon making Mango Shepherd's Friend Hand Creme along with a lovely batch or two of Patchouli, using up my last bit of both oils.  Oh, it was a sublime couple of hours.  The mango creme is soooo nice.  I made it for the teacher goody bags I'll be handing out next week.  The Patchouli is for some special friends who truly understand the magic of that Indian essence.  Patchouli mustn't be wasted on non-believers.  I had a nice conversation with my Mia who told me she wanted a pair of bunny mittens for Christmas.  What a brilliant idea!!  I haven't spun and knitted bunny mittens since the pairs I made for Hannah and Luke when they lived in San Jose, about seven years ago!  Luckily, I have the bunnies for the angora.  I'll bring one in tonight after chores to comb out the lovely fiber for my Mia's mittens.  She always makes me feel so good.  How sweet of her to tell me she would rather have mittens I knitted for her than anything in the fancy department stores.  No wonder I love her so much.  I have Lilly's apples all ready.  We have a nightly meeting of about six older ladies who LOVE their apples.  Lilly has the best teeth and breaks open the hard apple,  She gets about three bites and I give the rest to the girlfriends who don't have teeth as sharp.  I have to be very careful with my finger tips, a lot like you do with horses.  Back to school tomorrow where we will be baking for our Holiday Art Supply Fundraising Bake Sale.  Should be lots of fun.  Luke called from Maine to find out when we are coming.  I'm so excited.  Christmas with the kiddies two years in a row!  Farm sitter is on board, fingers crossed about the weather.  Will start wrapping gifts soon, but first, will tend to critters then set about harvesting the angora for Mia's Bunny Mittens.  Life is good.