Day. There we go. Another one shot to hell. And me, I’m going to hell in a handbasket.

I’ll bet going to hell in a handbasket is like being in an airplane when it goes down. All the sudden you feel like there is nothing beneath you. Everyone who is in the basket has their mouths open, like in Edward Munch’s Scream, but no words are coming out. This is because their word allotment is up.

Everyone has a word allotment. This varies from person to person. For some, it’s just a few words; for others, millions of words. No one knows what their word allotment is. This is why we should all be careful and chose our words carefully. Another reason is that hurtful words have double the allotment points, as they should. Curse words also cost you. I curse at least once a day, so my allotment is far less than it should be.

Am I worried about the number of words in my allotment. No. I have bigger things to worry about. For example, for the first time this winter, the temperature is in the negative digits. I get concerned about all the animals. If Pete wasn’t here, I’d bring the goats and chickens inside. The dogs are already inside. I am worrying about them not getting outside enough. It could be that sled dogs lead better lives than indoor dogs such as ours because they have access to fresh air, which our dogs now, often do not.

Yes, if I brought the goats and chickens inside, the house would stink. But then, come spring, I’d open all the windows and air the place out. This would be something to look forward to.

It was snowing this morning when I went outside to tend to the animals. I noticed that the horses had ice balls in their hooves – this is because they all stepped into the icy runoff in their pen. I didn’t want to take any chances, which was why I decided to go with Pete to town. He dropped me off on his way to school. The price I paid for this was that he did not come and pick me up until 8:30 p.m. I found enough to do – I always do – but it made for an overly long day.

And darn, though it was cold, the sun came out midafternoon. I did distribution, then when I got back to the hotel, I saw Zach, our veterinarian, going by in his mobile van. I hailed him down and thanked him for coming up with the right treatment for Tyra. She is now better.

I then began kicking myself because I realized that I should have chanced it and driven my car in. This way, I could have been home by 4 p.m. And now, there is now more daylight. I could, if I wanted to, leave at 5:15 p.m.

I feel as though in being away for as long as I was, that I missed out on a big chunk of the month of January. And here it is, nearly over with. But we will have cold, and snow, and darkness for another month, at least.

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