Tale of a tail.

No, I’m not trying to ‘moon’ you. This is the north end of a southbound mule. His name is Big John and his rider is Bruce (my landlord). If you’ll notice Big John’s tail is cut to show three bells. This is a practice that dates back to the time when the US Army used mules and horses instead of humvees. An Army mule was trained to do one, two or all of three tasks: pack, drive and/or ride. Once in a while, a mule would go AWOL from its assigned unit and, if it was lucky, join up with another unit. His new handlers would need to know what their new recruit was trained to do. If his tail had one bell, they knew he was a pack mule. Two, meant he could both pack and pull a wagon. Three bells meant he could pack, drive and carry a rider. No bells in the tail meant meat for supper. Big John’s bells tell us he can do all three. He stays in a pen at my place during calving season and Bruce rides him out amongst the cows to check on things.

Okay, ‘fess up. Who is visiting from Alvo, NE? And Blair? Annoymous comments are not only allowed here, but encouraged. But please, mind your language. I am the only one allowed to use profanity. (Well, it is MY blog).

We had an inch of rain overnight and it was still coming down when I left home this morning.

I enjoy May and June. It’s encouraging to me that every day offers a few more minutes of daylight than one before. So what to do with this extra light? The possibilities are nearly endless! Walk the dog. Ride the horse. Mow the lawn. Weed the flowerbeds & garden. Plant something. Or just sit on a lawnchair and watch Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal. That last one is my favorite.