Todays' weather
It was just too extreme to leave a single comment on the side of the page.
When I stepped out into the predawn darkness this morning to do my chores, I was immediately made aware that I was significantly underdressed! The air temp was at 3 degrees F - the single digits I'm getting used to - but the winds were howling in from the north at around 30 mph. My goodness. It was one of those mornings that makes it hard to have a conversation because your lips and cheeks feel stiff and the wind drowns out your voice. You don't dare blink because your eyes have begun to water and they might freeze shut, so you just let the tears freeze to your cheek.
However, the barn - my famous barn - proved to be a cozy haven of warmth. I was greeted by the grateful nicker of my Bubba - who is always glad to see me at feeding time and even Lucy, my two year old who doesn't have much to say, gave me a little whinny of welcome.
Everyone should have a horse; they never expect more from you than you can give; they never chide you for being late or complain about the weather (like I just did). They carry you around no matter how badly you've gone off your diet and the most soothing sound on the planet is the nicker of welcome when they see you coming.
Because that nicker is reserved only for you.
They don't talk to just anyone, only to the person they have claimed as their own.

My Famous Barn
My barn and house are appearing on national American television in a new Robert’s Dairy commercial. The commercial opens with a woman smiling passionately and talking. They make us think she is accepting a marriage proposal when she says, “I choose you!” and then they pull back and we see that she is talking to a Holstein. At the very end of the commercial, you are treated to a pastoral scene of cows grazing in a pasture with a big red barn, a white farmhouse, and an assortment of outbuildings in the background.
That’s where I live. My sewing room is in the red building to the right of the house. My two horses are hidden in the barn. They weren’t allowed to be out during the filming.
Only cows. Actually only one cow. She is a 4-H cow borrowed from a neighbor and hauled in for the event.
Filming took place on a sunny day last fall. The crew that came to do the filming started pulling in about 7:30 AM – several trucks full of equipment that looked like it came from the USS Enterprise (Beam me up, Scotty!) and a catering vehicle. As I left for work, I drove past a shaded table laden with fruits, cheese, deli meats and bottles and bottles of purified water and sodas. All the exciting stuff must have happened while I was at work. They started to wrap up and leave around 5:30 PM with the last one pulling out around 7:30 that evening. I’ve often wondered where they went to the bathroom during that day. Then again, maybe I don’t want to know. There’s no evidence of it visible in the commercial. Even the cow stays tidy on camera.

The place is now blanketed in snow and the cow has long since gone home, but my gorgeous horses are still there. If I can figure out how to do it, I’ll post some pictures of them here.
For now, American TV watchers will have to be content to see the cute actress and the pretty Holstein.