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January 17, 2020: A Conversation with Tyra and Tinni

The following conversation took place on an outing in which I took Tyra and Tinni for a walk. This conversation began right after we exited the driveway gate. Tyra had just decided that she didn’t want to go for a walk. Rather, she wanted to stay put.

Alys: Tyra, where are you going?
Tyra: I’m first going to the compost stations, and there I will snack. Then I’m going to go behind the hayshed, pull down a bale, and resume eating.
A: You haven’t been out in a few days. I thought you’d like to go for a walk.
T: With Slowpoke?
A: You mean Tinni?
Tinni: Yes, she means me.
A: That’s a terrible thing to say.


Tyra

T: Well then, just call me Terrible Tyra, the Terror of Tiny Town.
Tinni: I can think of other things to call you.
A: But you won’t because you’re a gentleman.
Tinni: That’s right.
T: I’ve had enough of this do-gooder outfit.
A: Tyra, what’s wrong? You seem to have developed an attitude.
T: Call it what you will. I don’t want to go for a walk on the trails.
A: Why not?
T: I just don’t feel like it today.
A: Is your gut bugging you?
T: A little bit.
A: Just a little bit.
T: Just a little bit.
A: Anything else amiss?
T: The weather has been horrific lately. First it was cold, then it was windy. Then it was windy and cold. And the trees, they were talking to us.
A: What were they saying?
T: Creak, creak, creak.
A: That’s not what they were saying. That was what they were doing.
T: Okay, okay, they were saying that they were one with the wind.
A: Really?
T: Really.
Tinni: I thought they were all going to snap at any minute.
A: Well, right now the wind isn’t blowing. And the sun is shining.
T: It’s an orange ball, low in the sky. When it sets, it will get cold again.
A: Last night we didn’t blanket you mares.
T: A big, big mistake. We were all cold. We like being blanketed.
Tinni: I had my blanket on.
T: What gives? He gets a blanket and has access to the shelter.
A: Tinni is old.
Tinni: No, I am older.
A: At least you all have been getting your supplements and warm water.
T: Yeah, we have had to time it. After that guy, we call him St. Francis, after he gives us water, we all go and drink some water out of the buckets, even if we aren’t thirsty.
A: Pete’s a good man.
Tinni: A real gentleman. Hrimmi is infatuated with him.
A: We do our best around here.
T: Look, these trails, they’re all blown in. Can’t we just turn back and return home?
A: Nope. You know, some think that easy is best. I think that easy is overrated.
T: But do things need to be more difficult than they actually are?
A: You know, come spring, when the temperatures are in the 70s, and the grass is green, and the trails are firm, you’ll look back on this winter and say, yes, it was difficult. But you’ll thank me for getting you out because you’ll be in great shape.
T: Like last year?
A: Like last year.
T: Well, I’m starting to feel a bit less chilled.
A: So let’s move on, and make the best of it.
T: The best of what?
A: This glorious day.
Tinni: Yes, this glorious day.

Next: 18. 1/18/20: Books are Us

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