This morning I cleaned the horse pen. Early this evening, I cleaned the demo milking goat pen at the Alaska State Fair. This evening, I cleaned our goat pen and the horse pen. I did not see this work as being arduous, boring, or time consuming. Rather, it was, as it always is, meditative.

Actually, my cleaning our goat pen wasn’t as meditative as it usually is. It had been a while since I’d pen cleaned, and the goats had elected to stay inside as of late. Goats do not like rain. So it was majorly crapped out and took longer than usual to clean up. I also did this chore later than usual because I spent most of my day at the Fair, mainly working at the recycling area.

Yes, cleaning all the other above-mentioned pens was meditative. As always, I let my mind wander, and worked some on both books. And, of course, out of habit, I observed all the animals under my care. All are looking really well, especially Stormy who this spring did not look so well. She was thin, scurfy, and had red patches growing on her black coat.

I have been saying for some time that there is a horse gene. I still think this. A good number of horse people are exclusively interested in riding, meaning that they most likely have this gene. Then there are some, like me, who also enjoy tending to horses. And then there are some, like me, who also enjoy tending to other forms of livestock. Me, I like feeding, watering, and cleaning up after our chickens and goats.

There are also others who enjoy tending to livestock and gardening, like my friend, Anne Corinne. I have been saying that my lack of interest in gardening is time-related, for the livestock end of things takes up all my time and what’s left over after that. I don’t know, I’d have to forego having livestock in order to find out if I do or don’t have a farming gene, and I am not going to do this.

So what is it, exactly, that is or isn’t on our DNA strands? And how does this affect our actions? We’ll never know because presumably, life experiences have a direct effect on our behavior. I would also venture to say that ancestral memory also has some bearing on our choices. I remember being in Ireland and seeing horse stables –stone buildings, by the side of the road. These stables seemed really familiar to me, although I had never seen anything like them before. And I knew that if I was given the choice, between going home and being horseless, and staying in Ireland and working in one of those barns, that I would do the latter.

So perhaps in a past lives I worked on a farm or two or three. I don’t doubt it.

How do we access such memories? I have no idea nor does anyone else.

Next: 236. 8/25/18: Elsa, Greatest of All Time: History Repeats Itself