Striking Fear in the Heart

After a lovely evening with friends at book club where much wine was consumed I made my way home to an empty house. N is at band camp, S stayed at grandmas and The Man is away on business.

The first thing I noticed was two horse feed buckets in the cul-de-sac. I went into the house to find a link of sausage with two big bites taken out of it on the counter and a note from S that said "Cats ate sasage, they are in basment. They have food and water."

I wandered back outside, for although it was 10:30 I didn't want the horses to go unfed for the night. It comforts me to feed them and make sure they are all okay.

As I rounded the corner to their pen I gasped in horror at the sight my flashlight caught...an open gate! I hurried into their pen flashing the light around its beams finding water tank, feeder, gates, fence...no horses.

Heart pounding I ran back out of the pen and wolf whistled, once, twice, nothing. No answering whinnies, no pounding hoofs. Where could they be? I raced to the road and looked down each way. Nothing. I looked up to my in-laws house and saw their lights were on, so I hurried into the house and called.

I listened intently to the story that followed: Yes, the horses had been out, S and Grandpa found them in the alfalfa field when the came down to take the clothes off the line. One was rolling around. One was in the pen, two were busy eating. S, knowing the tricks horses play haltered up Classy and led her back and forth in front of the others. Grandpa tried to shoo them into the pen. Our horses don't shoo. Eventually they made their way up to the yard when S put their feed buckets out. Shortly there after, they ran into the other pen, as we switch them between lots every week or so. A very upset Classy followed, although S said she had to hold her "way away from me" because she was nervous being left behind.

Sigh. I rushed back outside to find all four horses loafing in the barn. I went into the barn and hugged and patted each horse, even Kelzon, my "Grumpy Old Man" let me hang on him a bit. I checked legs for cuts, tummys for blockages. All was fine and calm at the farm again, including my heart...

Calm indeed until I went back inside and opened the door to the basement, only to have two VERY unhappy cats run up and meow. Can you imagine the indignation of being put in the BASEMENT!