frozen weather silver linings

So the weather around here is getting a little schizophrenic. I guess to be expected with what is *hopefully* the slow but steady changing of the seasons!!

Last weekend was FRIGID omg. So cold, especially overnight. The horses at our farm are typically out 24/7 except in instances of extreme weather. And how "extreme" is defined varies by horse - some horses stay out in worse conditions than others.

But last weekend? They were all in. Which means that my typical barn chores shift transforms from quickly picking out the stalls to full on mucking duty.

i never get tired of this face

Every single winter, tho, without fail - I have to relearn the same lesson over and over again. Namely: aside from being kinda cold out, cleaning stalls in 15* temperatures is AWESOME. So awesome haha.

bali says "helllloooo blog land, wanna play!"

Essentially, the stalls are so easy to clean bc they're all completely dry - whatever would be wet ends up in frozen little chunks that separate easily from the clean bedding. And those rock hard frozen manure nuggets make the most satisfying little *thunks* as they pile up in the wheelbarrow.

The only aspect that could even be considered mildly annoying or challenging is making sure you don't accidentally toss clean bedding that's frozen into manure-sized chunks. Call me weird if you want haha.

i love stopping to say hi to my formerly ear-befuzzed buddy while checking hay
(i say 'former' bc he was not spared when i pulled out the clippers a couple weeks ago, and lost his beard and excessive ear fuzz and whiskers, tho you can see they're already growing back...)

All that said, tho, I'm not sorry that we won't be having another similarly freezing day today. Nope, not sorry at all. Instead it's going to be high 50s and maybe sunny! Meaning I ought to be able to just plow through the chores, no actual mucking required, then off to our lesson - which might even be outdoors!!!!

Ooh, and if everything goes according to plan, Bali might be coming along for the ride too with his lease rider. Should be a fun day! Hope you all have equally nice weather today. Or, if not, maybe there are at least some silver linings?