I wrote this piece recently and submitted a much more edited version to one of my favorite magazines. I don't know if it will get published or not, but I figure its worth posting here as well in its entirety. One of the nice things about a blog is I don't have to hold any piece to a specific word count. This piece is not about Crow's Croft exactly, though my home is referenced. This is about another place near and dear to my heart - my sanctuary outside of Crow's Croft. I hope you enjoy it.
Once in a Blue Moon
I don’t sit down much, at least when I’m not working the job that pays my mortgage, and even less since I bought an old log house on 8.5 acres on the Key Peninsula in Washington State. Between the farm chores, constant home projects, a full time job, and a small soap business you’d think I wouldn’t have time for much else. You’d think, and many people do, that I would have no “me” time or “downtime”.
My farm consists of seven cats, one dog, one goat, one llama, two alpacas, three pigs, five ducks, three horses, and a turtle. That may not make it a farm, perhaps it’s more like a petting zoo, but I love it just the same. My husband and my animals give me all the love and joy I could ask for and my husband and I don’t shy away from difficult cases, like a diabetic cat or a pair of alpacas so mishandled catching them to give shots, shear, and trim toes is likened to a rodeo show. We are animal rescuers. Add the constant home improvement needed on this house and it would be safe to say that while my home is my sanctuary and where my heart lies, it is not always peaceful for me.
My “down time” or “me” time is not spent in front of the TV binge watching Netflix, or drinking wine with girlfriends, or visiting a spa. All of those things are fine, but I can never enjoy them fully without thinking or talking about what I need to get done. “You don’t take enough time for yourself,” they say. I find it amusing, because I enjoy “me” time four days a week and three of those days in the wee hours of the morning. What is this mysterious “me” time? I volunteer for Pony Up Rescue for Equines feeding horses and cleaning stables. “That sounds like work!” Sigh.
Three days a week, I get up at 4:45am, don a pair of worn out jeans, an old T-shirt (or long johns if its winter) and a hoodie, pull on my muck boots and head out the door. A twenty minute drive later, I am in my “spa” where the sounds are the soft whicker of horses and the shuffling, soothing sounds of a barn waking up to greet the day. Soft noses brush my face and, in a case or two, grab my hood and tug gently. These quiet, gentle giants, all with their own stories greet me with a kiss or a nuzzle when I open their stable doors to put in their morning hay and deliver their grain. Some mouth the hose when I freshen or refill their water troughs, and one or two playfully flip their grain at me. They all have stories, some of them make my blood boil with rage at the indecency of some people and how they would treat these beautiful creatures.
One of my favorites, though I love them all, is Lucky. A senior gelding who begged a rescue when Pony Up went to the kill pen to claim a small pony who’s ransom had been paid. I wasn’t there for this rescue, but I’ve heard the story so many times. Scrawny, malnourished, and clearly elderly, this old boy followed the rescuers of his friend Lottie the pony and begged to come along. Of course, his ransom was paid and he was loaded up without a fuss. Three weeks later with a careful feeding regime and lots of grooming, his “starvation coat” fell out and revealed a beautiful liver chestnut horse who loves nothing more than to just spend time meandering the farm. Since Lucky takes so long to eat, he gets let out of his stall so he can enjoy his grain at his pace rather than lose it to his paddock mate, Belles.
One particular winter morning, I had finished my volunteer chores and was going to collect Lucky who had finished his grain and was just making his social rounds around the farm saying hello to all the other horses. It was a cold, quiet morning in December. Dawn had just started to touch the sky with the faintest white light and the ground was covered in frost. A pale blue glow clung to everything and the full moon was descending towards the horizon. My fingers were sore and frozen having spent the last fifteen minutes breaking ice off of troughs. Lucky was standing in the middle of the drive, ears pricked forward, watching the sky. I wandered up, patted him lightly, and reached for the front of his horse blanket, knowing I wouldn’t need a lead rope to urge him back towards his paddock. Lucky just looked at me from the corner of his eye and then stretched his neck welcoming the scratch I gave him. A flock of crows flitted across the slowly lightening sky and Lucky and I watched them together for a moment, savoring the cold air and the sight of the moon slowly slipping lower and lower.
This is where I find peace in the crazy, busy bustle of my everyday life. Sore muscles, manure stained boots, and cold, dirty hands aside, nothing fulfills my heart and mends my spirit more than moments spent like this on a quiet, blue, moonlit dawn with a sweet soul who, just like me, is grateful to be here on this farm watching the night turn into day. I could sleep in later, I could miss all these moments and grasp to find them in other ways, but I don’t see any good reason to do so. This is where I am happy. This is where I recharge and find joy that I can carry with me throughout the day.
“Ready, old boy?” I ask Lucky after all the pale blue moonlight has vanished and the pink hues have started to take over the horizon.
Lucky looks at me with his soft, brown eyes and his ears stand straight forward at the sound of Belles’ neighing for him in the paddock. I kiss his velvety nose and tug lightly on the front of his horse coat once saying, “Come on. Time to face the day.”
He comes willingly and happily, prancing into his paddock easily when I open the door for him and glancing back at me as I wish him a good day and lock the gates.
For more information regarding this amazing rescue, please check out their website at www.ponyuprescue.org.
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