All Spruced Up

I am so proud of myself, I just have to share this with you! ?With just a few days of a thaw, I actually managed to get all those nooks and crannies swept out in the barn and, this morning, I finished cleaning up the back of the barn. ?You know. That area where the horses stand, waiting to come in and making a huge mess that mingles with ice and snow and becomes impossible to remove’

Well, it’s gone.

It will be back shortly, of course. ?There’s already snow and freezing temperatures in the forecast. ?But at least for a day or two ?the back of the barn looks like summer. Raked up clean and pretty. ?I don’t think horses should be standing in mud, manure or even a snowy mix with manure, so keeping it clean is important to me. Animals need cleanliness to stay healthy, just like we do. ?And I’m betting I wasn’t the only horsewoman who accomplished this feat during a January thaw.

As an aside, one of my Christmas gifts this year was a Nikon CoolPix that I can put in my pocket to carry with me all the time. I have been frustrated that I can’t snap a photo when I feel like it, especially if I’m walking and one of the horses does something cute or interesting or naughty. ?My phone takes OK photos, but not great ones, and I don’t like carrying it in the barn for a bunch of reasons. And we have a couple of Canon Rebel digital SLRs that take incredibly good photos, but they’re too big and heavy to ?carry that around all the time.

So, I wanted something inexpensive (in case I lose it) but good (so I can share photos and use one in HJ in a pinch) to take photos with when events happen. And, my husband actually remembered me talking about it one day and gave me the camera.

But did I remember to have it on me in the barn this morning, so I could share a before and after shot with you’ Of course not. ?I’ve got to get in the habit, I guess.? Maybe when that new pink neoprene case arrives this week!

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