The Cold Side Of The Ditch

What have I done to deserve this?

It's lashing it down with wind driven rain, out there. Seems to have been doing for days now.
Something the postcards and tourist posters never show ye. But, we live with it.

That's not to say I'm one to make my creatures live with it though. At least not in it. Rats has her little house; Built with love and attention to detail. Of which she's immeasurably proud and extremely happy with. le Ding too, for the occasions when I simply Must leave him to his own devices, has a roomy and weatherproof kennel.

My horses (well, alright; My horse and my donkey. But, it's easier to just say " Horses ") have free access to their field. They can them come in, through the cow bier, to their own little pen where they have all mod cons laid on for their disposal.

The only problem has surfaced to be that pen area. See, it consists of what was once the outside cattle stalls. Thus it has the usual, steel dividers, all set beneath a lovely roof in a block and concrete built shelter. Under there they have shelter from the elements as they enjoy the uses of a small hay rack, a hanging Salt Lick block, Rosie (My real horse) has her wall mounted feeder bowl and there's the fully automatic, plumbed in, corner Drinker. Happy horses.

Spoiled rotten horses, some might say. Because pride of place out there must go to my Round Bale Horse Feeder! Basically, a galvanised steel ring with alternating panels and gaps around the top. Horse sticks its head through a gap and eats from a round bale of hay kept inside it.

£500 this thing cost me. Cow one, with a bar round the top of all the slots, costs £200. But I tried that and Rosie rubbed a big patch of her beautiful main off on the damn top bar! It'll grow again, of course. But how long will it take bristles to flow? I'd pay another £500 to have her gorgeous mane back.

Anyway, thing is, this wonderful feeder was certainly worth every penny. They don't get to drag and trample the hay everywhere. Hay's like gold dust right now ~ I'm serious. People are selling off their horses, or trying to, because they just can't afford the ever increasing food bill. And will we ever get a decent hay harvest again?

But, the one thing Nothing out there is doing is keeping this damn pissing rain off what ever valuable hay I manage to buy in for them. In dry weather, 99% of a bale goes through my horses. In this shit? Hay stands to get rotten before it gets eaten. I'm desperately trying to find them a new bale. No way am I going to see it rot down, if I ever get one!

And that's why I bought a tarpaulin and bag of bungee's yesterday. I decided to throw an awning right over the top of their pen. Find that elusive bale and my horses can stand around in there, day and night, simply munching on their hay. Might even save my field from being poached up into a fair representation of the Somme.

Did it yesterday evening. Brought the gear home. Fed the Dogs and horses. Under half an hour later I had a bright blue, water proof lid on the entire pen area. Not a bad job, if I do say so. I'll buy some more bungee's now, and some screw hooks. Make a really proper job of it. Not that it's bad now. Survived some fierce winds last night! I was, frankly, surprised to find it even still there today!

But, there today it was. And there this evening it was. It was quite fun, going down there to give the horses their supper. There we all were, mincing around beneath this artificial, blue sky. I glanced at a few bungees and decided they'd held twenty four hours so should be as good as it gets, for now.

Couple of eye rings I'd tied with baler twine ~ not having quite enough rubber ropes. I noticed one had actually managed to become unknotted. No problem. Soon sort that out. It was supposed to be tied to a beam beneath the cow stalls roof. I reached up and caught the two ends of the length of twine and pulled them together.

And screamed; " Oh god! NOOOOOO! Fuck! Aaaaaaaaargh!!!!! " As a good, full gallon of trapped fucking rain water poured itself, with quite amazing speed and unerring accuracy, straight down the open ended sleeves of my fleece and quilted shirt! It liturally ran right down my sleeves, inside my shirt and I was only saved from further, unthinkable horror by my damn belt!

So, here I am. Hour later. Sat here with a wet left arm in a sodden sleeve. And the entire left side of my poor, skinny body is all wretchedly wet and horribly cold!

What the fuck have I done to deserve this?!