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As I write this, I’m Listening to (no affiliation, just sharing): 
Tonight, I was flummoxed.
Our routine, for the last 18 months, has been that I go to the barn after dinner and tuck Mama Tess into her nighttime routine.
That means that MT is in her barn and she watches me as I provide her with the necessary four buckets of fresh food (soaked beet pulp, low carb senior feed, CoolStance and Renew Gold – all with hidden ingredients – meds/supplements – that she knows are in there but humors me all the same).
Well, tonight, it was different.
One of the players was not on the field.
My flashlight caught the glint of her eye.
SO, I WENT HUNTING FOR HER
I had a quick tinge of alarm when I entered the barn and saw that she wasn’t there… but I figured that she was simply ‘outside’. I mean, the poor girl had been locked in the barn for a week while Mother Nature bawled her eyes out. Today was the first dry day all week! And, MT had taken advantage of the nicer weather and had spent most of the day outside.
In fact, at dinner time (4pm), she didn’t come in. She stood in her favorite spot and tried to steal the other horses’ hay through the fence.
So, I fed her outside in her favorite spot.
Could she still be there – now? But she always comes inside by now. Always. She has never, ever been outside when I have come to the barn to tuck her in. Never.
I grabbed my flashlight and headed to her favorite spot.
She was peacefully sitting in her favorite outside spot, under the stars… like a healthy horse does.
I tried to entice her back into the barn with a bucket of beet pulp, but she declined. And, to be honest, I felt silly asking a grown horse to come inside because it was her bedtime. So, I left her to enjoy her evening while I readied the barn for her return.
OUR CONVERSATION
Me: THERE YOU ARE!! I was worried.
Tess (resting on the cool ground in the darkness) Why?
Me: ‘Why ‘is right… why are you out here and not in bed?
Tess: Because I’m a horse. This is where healthy horses sleep. Under the stars.
I couldn’t argue with her logic.
Me (shaking her bucket): Well… do you want your beet pulp? C’mon in and get it.
Tess (looking sleepy and at peace): Uh, I’m fine. I was kindof meditating, in fact.
Me (feeling chagrin and silly): Of course. OK. You are a big girl. You do what you need to do.
And with that, I left.
I couldn’t help myself… I gave her a handful of hay to round out her lovely evening. She was happy.
THE BARN IS READY FOR HER.
So, I went back to the barn and readied it like I always do. I put out her fresh buckets with her assorted meds, fluffed up her bed and smiled to myself.
And, I did as I always do. I called for all the Angels, Healers, Spirits, everyone I can think of that has passed and HorseGods to come down to this barn and heal this mare. Sometimes I beg, sometimes I ask politely, sometimes I demand. I figure someone, somewhere, sometime has to hear me…
Her assorted feed buckets with all of her favorite foods for the night.
New shavings on her deep, fluffy bed.
I TOOK THIS PHOTO TONIGHT
I took this photo tonight to show you all how drenched Tess’ veranda had become due to all the rain. I wanted to show you the clear divide between the inside dry part and the outside wet part.
But… that’s not what I see here. I actually started weeping when I saw this. Call me crazy, but I am choosing to believe that somebody has been listening…
Tess’ veranda this evening. I think that maybe some of them heard my prayers…
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