Round Bales

Locked myself out of the barn this morning without my purse and the bag full of "stuff" I was toting to school.  The spare key was on spouse's ring.  I had no license, no money to pick up cat/dog food I needed on the way home.  I was out of cat/dog food and they can't eat hay, cracked corn, sunflower seed and egg layer so I made a giant pot of oatmeal with lots of butter and milk.  They were not amused, and reluctantly licked the warm goo in slow motion.  Poor spoiled rotten kitties.   The weather was wet and cold with icy roads.  I was late due to the lost key debacle and could not speed on icy roads with no license.  I did pass the salt spreader going out of New Berlin and he blasted me with his monstrous horn as I sped by.  Thankfully I had my phone and called my classroom but no answer.   Sharon, Captain of the Mother Ship, answered in the office and was SO nice to me.  What a class act she is.  As I pulled up to the school I saw my classroom was dark.  My aide was out again today and the sub was late.  I ran into school and found my students anxious for their breakfast.  Luckily the morning went smoothly.  I love working with the little ones, even though it means jumping around like a jack rabbit getting them everything they need.  They are just so cute and sweet...and then they grow up and become my high school students in the afternoon.   I waited an hour after school looking for artsy things to do with my kids then ventured home.  Spouse picked up the cat/dog food I needed and left work early to get home and let me in.  It went a long way to making up for taking the spare key off the nail.   The left-over ziti and salad hit the spot then it was chore time.  We are feeding hay now and, I might have mentioned, did not leave a way to get to the hay holes when we rolled the round bales into the barn.  I have to climb a ladder to get on top of a bale, then jump from bale to bale to get across the giant hay mow, then slide down to the floor, fork the hay, then climb another ladder to get back across.  As the bales are used up we might be able to roll them around enough to make a path.  The hay is lovely, even though it's first cut, with lots of green. The sheep are loving it.   I'm still concerned about dampness but don't see any dust resulting from baling hay wet.  I'm always thankful for my barn chores that take me outside when I would otherwise stay in.  It's tough to get going when I'm tired and full after dinner and the wood stove is making me drowsy.  The cold air is invigorating and the time with my animals is so sweet.  They look forward to seeing me and everybody is excited when I come out.  I was delighted to see the waning full moon struggling to break through the clouds at the top of the piney ridge.  The rushing clouds over the whiteness looked like swirling smoke as if the tree tops were on fire.  I paused for a while thinking how beautiful this spot is.  I often think of moving to a more secluded area, like the Adirondacks, where I wouldn't have any annoying neighbors or lights or road traffic to deal with, but I don't know if I could find a prettier setting.  Inside for some rainbow sherbert then cutting up tea tree soap for curing.  Must be the moon or perhaps the sun spots working in my favor as my soap is setting up very nicely the last few days.  I'm waiting for a delivery of my precious patchouli along with some anise essential oil.   It cost a FORTUNE to make all this soap and hand creme, but it's holiday time and I need it.  There is a Lincoln/Gettysburg special on.  I wonder how many of my mother's blood kin were in that engagement.  I expect there were more than a few on the side of the Confederacy.  I don't know of any who fought for the Union.  With my father a first generation American and my mother's people in Georgia since the late 1600's, I can't claim any credit for the Union victory.   The temps are expected to stay low this week with more snow expected.  I hope we are able to make it to Maine for Thanksgiving.  We surely will give it a try.