Week of December 10th, 2006 | The weather was unseasonably warm.

4:00PM—Chores! I run out the door and begin by grabbing the manure fork off the wall and get the wheelbarrow. Everyday I start my horse chores at 4:00PM, because it gets dark by 5:00PM.

During the summer time the horses stay out in the field day and night, but in the fall when the waterlines are shut down they come into a corral where they have water and a walk-in shelter. But when winter comes the water in the corral freezes so the horses need to come into stalls just during the night where they have heated water.

I enter the corral and start to scoop up the piles of manure and throw it into the wheel barrel. With my back towards the east I realize how pink the air looks and feels, trying to figure out why, I turn around to the west and there I see the most beautiful sunset, hot pink is streaked across the sky like the work of an early artist, but still it looks absolutely gorgeous.

I get back to work by dumping out the old water and filling their barrel with fresh water. Then I fill their mineral bowl with more salt and mineral. Their mineral mix consists of salt and minerals, all mammals need this to live. I throw two piles of hay over the fence, and then I get their lead ropes and bring them in from the pasture. Horses like to make me do the walking; they always stand at the far end of the pasture and never come to me, I always need to go to them, how aggravating! The horses' pasture is really close to the barn and when I bring in the horses the cows are usually on their way to the barn to be milked. In order to get the horses in I need to cut through the cow's path, and I need to hurry! Cows move really slowly when you're behind them herding them in, but they seem to move really fast when you are trying to race them!

When I was finished with my chores my dad asked me if I could help my mom milk while he finished up some other chores. It was not a school night so I had time. I milked for about 40 minutes until my dad came and then I went in and hung out in the house. What a day!

Have a very merry Christmas!
YourFarm Friend,

Julia

Farm Fact: A horse typically sleeps two and half to three hours a day.