BarnBugStudio: THUMP: THE POST-CHRISTMAS SLUMP

That thump you hear is me coming back down to earth after drifting along in a cookie fueled, largely unscheduled, haze for the past ten days. The last child left on Sunday, extra cat and dog in tow. It is incredibly quiet. Eight extra paws creates a lot of extra noise and activity. I miss it.
I was hoping to have something really exciting to tell you. Mike surprised me with the news that I was getting a horse for Christmas. So in that frantic week before Christmas I made the time to drive up to Church Hill with a friend and take a look at Jack. I brought him home for a ten day trial and vetting.

In the end, I decided he was not what I was looking for and sent him back, but still, how lucky am I, to be married to a man who after thirty-four years is still trying to make my dreams come true? This isn't the end of the story, I am now seriously looking for the right horse. Abby is anxious to have a new barn buddy and I am hoping that come spring, I will be hitting the trails on my own horse, because some dreams never die and horse crazy little girls grow up to be horse crazy middle-aged ladies. It's a fact.

Santa also brought the fever/aching/coughing flu, and I spent the day after Christmas in bed, and the next day running around disinfecting doorknobs and light switches, hoping no one else would catch it. They didn't. The weather was mostly dismal throughout the holiday but we did manage a couple of quick trips to Blackwater. The bald eagles were out in abundance.

On Saturday, despite the miserable weather, my daughter and I grabbed our cameras and headed to Old Trinity, hoping to take some photos of that lovely old graveyard in the mist. We left Mike and Kelly's boyfriend holding down the fort. We were barely out of the car, when they called to say there were three stray horses in the yard, and what should they do. We determined pretty quickly where they belonged and told them to call a horse savvy neighbor for help. The trio had managed to break a hinge and knock down a pasture gate while their owners were away. By the time we got back they were rounded up and restored to their pasture, though not before leading Mike and Sean on a merry chase around the neighborhood. Luckily they ran toward the river and not the highway. Really sorry not to have gotten pictures of that.
There was even more four-legged excitement the next day when a neighbor from across the highway knocked on our door. "Are you missing a pair of beagles?" he asked. I wish. I told him they didn't belong to us or anyone in our neighborhood. He asked if I wanted to hold on to them, as he was taking them to the humane society the next day. They had been chasing deer on his property for three days, before he caught them. Well no, I didn't want to hold on to them, but I certainly wanted to take a peek. Mistake. I peered into the back of his truck. I picked one up. I was lost. Husband and daughter came out. They were lost. Long story short, I would keep them in my barn, and take them to Talbot Humane on Monday.

There are no words to describe how sweet and wiggly and adorable they were. Each time I went into the barn, they were a little less timid and more delighted to see me. It was hound dog heaven.

Our first married dog was a beagle, also a Christmas present from my sweet husband. The man knows the way to my heart involves four legs and fur. We both have a soft spot for hound dog eyes and silky ears.
We fed them, bedded them down in an empty stall, and took lots of pics, some of which I posted on Facebook and within a couple of hours had over a hundred shares. After four hours, I was on the phone with the owners, and by nine pm they were on their way home. They had escaped from their kennel and their owners had been driving the back roads on the other side of Trappe for three days, never dreaming they would make it down this far. A happy ending and a fun distraction to ease the end of holiday blues.
Last night we had a gorgeous sunset sky and today we are having our first light snowfall. It has given me the urge to make soup and crochet. I am not very skilled at crochet, but I have some gorgeous alpaca wool from Outstanding Dreams Alpaca Farm, which has inspired me to improve.