Day off...

This morning, clad in my super soft fuzzy new polar bear pajamas that sister Deb gave me, and a good down jacket, I went out to feed and water the animals. I didn't intend to be outside very long. Now, normally I do a "big clean" on the horse and pony rooms on Sunday, but I was out of town playing with family yesterday.  So, as a thin, cold sun was rising behind snow-laden clouds, I decided to get to work before the snow began to fall, and removed all the bedding from both areas.  Trundling the wheelbarrow over the snow and ice was sporty, but I got the job done.  The soiled bedding was all on the compost heap, and the floors swept. Next I schlepped two big bags of shavings out to the shed. I love dumping the fresh shavings into the rooms, and imagining my sweet animals lounging on the clean, nice smelling cushion I have provided them. After all of this, I was sad to note that  my new PJ's were now not looking or smelling so new.

I decided, while I was already involved in "mucking out," to strip the chicken coops, too.  They were beginning to smell a bit like chickens, and we can't have that, can we?  The little Silkie coop is easy enough to clean, because it is so small.  Chanel shadowed me and daintily nibbled every blade of hay that was mixed in with the soiled shavings. Because, I guess, hay strands that have been tossed about by chickens tastes SO much better than the sweet, fresh hay I had just put out for her.  (I put a little hay in the coops for the chickens to dig around in during the winter, just to keep them occupied and happy.)

The big coop is more of a project.  Normally I shovel out 3 full wheelbarrow loads of shavings and haul them off.  Today I just tossed the shavings out the door and onto the snow, so the birds would have a place to walk around that wasn't cold and white. The big rooster was so upset by my scooping and flinging that he hurled himself out the door, more airborne than a bird of his size should be, and clung pathetically to the wire fence. He didn't want to hop down into the snow, so hung there a long time until I nudged him off.  The rest of the flock seemed to appreciate my efforts, and spent much of the day scratching around in the fresh air, instead of being coop-bound.  I scrubbed their water bowl and refilled it, and topped off their food container, too.  The ducks also got fresh bedding laid in.  By the time I was done with all of this I felt terribly hungry, and I figured it must be late morning.  Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the clock after peeling off my snow covered boots and saw that it was not quite 9:00 AM!

I took a shower, started a load of laundry, and then looked at my clothing options for the day.  I didn't have any customers scheduled, and I had no where to go. On a whim I put clean PJ's on and decided that would be my uniform du jour.  Since it is cold, I added fuzzy hot pink socks to complete the ensemble, and decided I was going to be a slug with the remaining portion of my day.  I prayed no one would drop by and see me in this get up. ( But of course, two neighbors did.  >sigh< )

Much of my day was spent snuggled up on the sofa, watching the snow fly. I did take a little walk about with my camera just before dusk. Snow had been falling steadily all day, and the wind was starting to pick up.

We all stretched our legs. Then I went right back to the sofa, without cleaning anything or cooking anything or DOING anything. The little voices in my head were quite stern with me, telling me to get going and be productive. I told them to shut up. I took a day off, and I enjoyed it.