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Showing posts from February, 2011

The Sound of Silence

At this time of year 8 o' clock is already night. But the moon is full, and the snow sparkles underfoot, so it is easy to see the way from the house up to barn. It is also very cold, as often on a clear night, and my boots make that dry crunchy sound, as if the white stuff were brittle and about to break.The horses know it's time to come in for dinner, sweet feed with some carrots, and lush second-cut hay, so they are waiting at their paddock gates across from the barn. Just inside the barn, Augustine and Barney, the barn cats, are expecting my arrival curled up into each other on the old office chair beside the desk at which we do our record keeping. They are always first to get fed, because trying to get work done with two hungry felines trying to trip you up is a challenge. Barney gets the lion's share of everything. He has been with us for years, a black and white presence waddling about the farm. The impression of "roundness" is enahnced by the fact that h