Will the real soggy doggy stand up ?

Little did I know what was waiting for me OUTSIDE this morning, suffice it to say the morning has been less than dull!!! I challenge any other Granny to put in such a morning !!!

Where to begin, yes I know, I have two pairs of work shoes (mainly because I need to toss out the old pair) but this morning the “newer” (already they need to be replaced) ones were still soggy from yesterdays adventuresome chores, thus I chose to put on the drier though not as comfy ones. I think that’s where I made my first mistake !!! Out the door I went and oh my goodness, not only was the river no longer contained in the banks, it was up close and personal ( umm try right up to the drive) well I was down in the mouth and mumbling and rather depressed and complaining to myself about how one “neighbor” had diked up his side of the river and all the agencies I’d called seemed rather ho hum about it or no one could "see" anything ???(how can you miss dump truck loads of broken concrete,still in mounds?)

The stage is now set, and work to be done. First I do my quick walk through checking on “everyone, letting the little girls (ponies) out.. Ginger did not want to leave the barn, little did I blame her as their “lane’ to the paddock was flooded,since it wasn’t currently raining I thought OK I’ll still turn her and Tina out and put their hay out at the end of the lane so they would walk around some before being put up for the night. On to feed the koi and water water everywhere !! I managed to find enough high ground to walk out to the koi tank and feed them, but the water was high enough I thought I’d better put the pump and some electrical cords up on something high, That was rather “shocking” hmmmm. Next I feed Frosty (our remaining goat gal)and the Alpaca “gang”. Somehow one of the gates hadn’t been locked and Sancho was merrily running around in Malahara’s paddock, with her snorting around that she didn’t welcome the “intrusion”. Thankfully Sancho came back through the gate when I put out their grain. I had to take the wheelbarrow through water to get to the car ,as I still had the new bag of feed in there. That’s makes two “circuit loops” and I’d already noticed I had major rescuing to do for things in the front yard ,but felt it was best to clean paddocks first, as I knew I’d get wet on my walk-a-bout rescue efforts and thought at least I could stay dry a bit longer. Hopefully the water wouldn’t rise enough in that amount of time and float things away.

Next I needed to put hay out for the horses beginning with the little girls, packing it all the way down there for them I found they’d decided to wade to their paddock, I do hope the water doesn’t come up much higher so they will wade back. (wow with the water so high the train(about 1/2 mile away) sounds just like it’s outside the window !!)MR.&Mrs. Quacky are happy as bugs in a rug ,swimming in their flooded pen, the pheasants and silky banties who share the pen with them are not, I decide they are ok ,sitting on high perches until I can clean paddocks and rescue “things”.

Paddocks cleaned and on to the stalls, just as I finished Malahara’s and Tina’s and ducked under the half door to move on to Gingers…CRACK !!! like a rifle shot and boom, remember when I wrote this am and said I thought the loud noises were trees falling ? Well now I know they fall faster than lightening and consequently they do not fly when they take off !!! You’ll never guess which tree decided to try it’s “wings”, I certainly wouldn’t have, and I have been keeping an eye on about 3 or 4 that are close to either the house, horse barn or pheasant pens. The humongous oak in the back yard (the one Grandpa put a cage in trying to catch the lost pet monkey they saw,years ago)

And of course the oak landed across a whole flower bed I’d been working hard to have look nice, and also it took with it our bees (well, they were a swarm from our new hive , I saw them swarm this summer and tried everything to catch them, even running water from a hose into the hole they thought looked cozy, tut tut it looks like rain, naw it’s just grandma trying to trick us into moving !!! Do you like that “house” she has to offer, not me, looks just like the one we left, ya and I so like the view from up here, I’m staying how ‘bout it queenie, hmm wonder if they are regretting not moving into the little abode I offered, I do feel sorry for them. Well, I was a bit leery of the oaks “neighbor, the one I watch by the pheasants. But on to the rescue walk-a-bout.

Entering the water, thus no more do I have dry shoes, I rescued a wadding pool down by the barn ,that had floated from the front yard , and was threatening to cause the gate to break, some coiled water hoses and a bit of cut wood, Roo rather enjoys this new “game” and then on to the front yard.

Thankfully the picnic table was rather light, it was just beginning to float, so I pull it across the deeper part of the yard and move on to the next rescue, about 15 trips in all, now one would think that’s not very far, so no biggie…. WRONG !!! It is slow going, especially when you step in an unseen gopher hole and nearly lurch forward while loaded down or sink another foot deeper into the front yard. I am thinking of the fun you kids had rafting in the yard, umm but this isn’t fun ,however I am pleasantly remembering you kids enjoying your rafting days. while I drag or carry stuff across the yard, or should I say lake. Oh and cold, after a while, as this takes a bit of time, one forgets about how cold it is, but I discovered (again, funny I’d forgotten this from past “experiences”) the ground outside in winter is rather warm, when your shoe happens to come off. Yay for very warm Epson salts bath, and so goes another day in the life of your mom !!!!! (can you tell I didn’t want to start a new project until I was finished getting toasty and letting my legs rest a bit OH,yes and two pairs of wet shoes are not worth one pair of dry ones in the “bush”. Love to all, Mom