As I knew I should do

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

It was another one of those days when I thought I’d rather do anything other than what I knew I should be doing. The sun was shining, but it was a heavy frost covered the ground. It was cold outside, and I felt perfectly warm and comfortable sitting in the swing by the woodstove. I sipped the last few drops of my coffee, got up, and slid my arms into my thick flannel chore shirt. I stepped outside.

The morning air was crisp, but the bright sun felt good on my face. The grass was unbelievably green. The sky was pure blue.

I walked down the hill to the pasture. My chore was to rake and shovel the starvation paddock droppings. It amazes me how quickly they accumulate, especially now that our founder-prone gelding has been joined by our little mare. She may not founder on the sweet pasture grass, but she grazes nonstop and is soon is as wide as she is tall. I could see her belly starting to thicken, so into the paddock she went.

I first raked the droppings into multiple small piles. I then scooped the piles up into my short-handled, wide-blade shovel, and I soon had the wheelbarrow filled to almost overflowing. The warm scent of droppings filled the air. I unbuttoned my work shirt to let some of the morning's crisp air cool me off.

About half way through my chore, the little mare came over to stand by my side. She nuzzled up against me, and even when I carried a shovel filled with droppings over to the wheelbarrow, she followed. Her sweet attention filled my heart.

I began to work slower, not because I was hot, or tired, but because I enjoyed my helpful companion.  I was in no rush to complete the task, though in time I did. I wheeled the teetering barrow down to the compost pile and then returned inside the paddock. She returned to my side and we just stood there. A breeze rustled her mane and my hair. The blue sky shone brightly over our heads.

I knew that it was time for me to head back up the hill and start my next task, refinishing the wooden floor of the little cabin that we had laid when we first came to the valley, 23 years ago. I really wanted to stay right where I was. It was chilly out, but I felt so warm and comfortable with our little mare by my side. I bent to kiss her on the forehead and stepped out of the paddock and walked back up the hill towards my next chore, exactly as I knew I should do.

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com.