Batwings and Lake Monsters, oh my!

What a weekend! We were surprise attacked with a load of hay Friday night, which is why it was a really good thing that I had decided to have a stall cleaning party while the horses ate.

Ice down the water trough. It's a barn party!

I don't know why none of my Facebook friends took me up on the invite. Seriously. What else could they be doing at nine pm on a Friday? Sheesh. I know where the party is at. We could have thrown down... some hay. Because it was stacked so high on the trailer that the guys bringing it by took out one of the overhead lights. Can't wait to fix that one. Or watch dad fix that one. Tell you what, I either need to get a lot handier, win the lottery and buy a farm hand's service, or get on the whole boyfriend thing. My poor dad has way too much to do.

Which is how he talked me into facing one of my biggest challenges. Spatial reasoning. I royally suck at anything having to do with trailers, spreaders, mowers, you name it. If I can jackknife it, I will. Can I misjudge the width and wipe out fences? Yup. I am all over that. I give a new meaning to the phrase, "Cleaning the fence row."

Duh,duh,duh, na, na batwing!

Despite my poor driving skills and complete lack of spatial reasoning. I successfully learned how to use the batwing mower, and I only hit a gate a little bit! Given the fact that I single handedly ripped all the downspouts off the barn with a manure spreader I am going to count it as a win! I didn't even jack knife it and bust the turney shaft thing (PTO). I am such a good farmer's daughter that I scare myself sometimes. And probably the neighbors too because I wear a bikini to brush hog. Hey, a girl has to get her tan on some how. Don't judge.

It isn't as if I can lay out all day on the lake. Well, I could, but we seem to have a lake monster.

I was innocently taking photos of the horses to show Captain America when I noticed it in the background.



Duh na. Duh na. It looks like we have our own Nessie. Can you hear the jaws music?



Duh na. Duh na. Duh na. Duhna. Duhna. Duhna!

Seriously, who knew cows could swim that fast?

You probably don't want to let your hair down...

Cold wind battered the window frame. It sought out the smallest crack trying to enter the warm room beyond. There, curled beneath quilt and comforter slept a girl of perhaps sixteen. Her long brown hair splayed across the pillow. The icy wind found crack after crack in the old farmhouse’s side and permeated the room, driving the girl to snuggle deeper into the blankets to ward off the chill.

But the girl was not the only one chilled by the sudden wintery weather. Another small body wormed through cracks in the structure seeking warmth. Gently and quietly it wandered until it found the soft pool of brown that was the girl’s hair. Here! A haven! Its little heart soared. The small furred creature curled into the warm nest and snuggled up against the young woman’s head.

Something in that action stirred the sleep of the girl. One arm fought free of the blankets to itch at the disturbance haphazardly. Seeking fingers found a warm furred ball. Two sets of brown eyes flew open in alarm. The girl scratched frantically at her hair as the small furred creature leapt free of its warm nest and ran for its life.

“A chipmunk. I had a chipmunk in my hair. That’s the last time I am ever sleeping with my hair down.” And so it was.

Because once you wake up with a chipmunk tangled in your locks scrambling for freedom against your scalp you never get over it. Never.

I am honestly not sure which one of us was more traumatized.