Pete left for Juneau early this morning. He will return on Thursday. So in the meantime, I am taking care of things on the home front. I have decided, that with all I have to do, that things here are going to have to take precedence. I can’t make sorting books a priority; rather, watering, feeding, cleaning up after all the animals has to be THE priority.

My day began with my tending to the horses. I let them out the far side of the pen, then when they are racing back to the front side of the pen, pull the sled, which has the hay in it, into the enclosure and spread it around. Raudi always comes in the gate. Tyra and Hrimmi will wander around looking for hay, and this is what they did this morning. They went up behind the hoop house, and picked through the manure, looking for chicken bedding hay. I emptied the sled and then went to get them. They both followed me part way down the rise, then veered off, going uphill, and around the enclosure.

The goats watched the goings on, as they usually do.

I was annoyed because I had to get to town. I had a haircut appointment. The two raced around, then returned to where I was standing. I coaxed Hrimmi into the enclosure, then Tyra. I could tell that they would have preferred to remain outside. However, eating the hay that was so lovingly spread out for them was an okay alternative.

I tried not to let on that running all over hell and creation was unacceptable behavior, and they tried to let on that my chasing them all over hell and creation was unacceptable behavior. I thought, this is what horses who have good energy do. And they thought, this is what humans who have so-so energy do.

As I continued on with my day, I thought, I am fortunate in that all the animals here are amazingly well behaved. I’d say there are seldom aggression issues, but actually, there are no aggression issues. We all co-exist with one another remarkably well.

After a bit I went to town and got a much-needed haircut. Barb, who cuts my hair, is a horse person. We talked horses for 45 minutes. I enjoyed this and hope that in the future that I might connect with others who feel similarly.

I next did a distribution run, then came home, and after tending to all the animals, took Hrimfara on an outing. I took the dogs with. Beforehand, I groomed the pinto mare. She alone is beginning the big shed. On the ride, she stopped fairly often, but did canter up the inclines.

That I chose to have my hair cut by a horsey person, and came home and spent time with my equines is a good sign, one that in fact brought me closer to achieving that seemingly illusive balance.

I won’t be able to have as much human-animal interaction tomorrow, Wednesday, or Thursday. But Friday I will. No, I must.

Next: 42. 2/11/25: Waiting for Water to Heat Up