City living with its many conveniences causes us to forget the harsh conditions which lie beyond the city limits. Conditions that farmers face every day when caring for their animals during this seemingly-endless winter.

My son, Josh, needed a little assistance this week and asked me to accompany him to feed and water the horses at our farm. Snow hid the metal plate covering the turn-on valve for the water supply in order to fill the stock tank. We had to scrape the ground with a snow shovel until we located the valve. One step accomplished.

The hose connection froze solid. In order to turn the water on at the hose we had to boil water to thaw the pipe. With that thawed, we had to boil more water to pour on the hose to fill the stock tank so the horses could drink. Thankfully, the tank has a heater to keep the contents from freezing.

Josh went to feed the horses. I stood by the tank until it was full. I grabbed my camera to capture the windmill and the horses.

 

We came home to a warm bowl of soup while I wrote this poem and blog while the animals remain in the cold sheltered by a two-sided barn.

Winter 2019

Frigid wind sweeps the frozen farm.
Windmill stands against the gusts
in stubborn defiance,
daring each gust to stop its action
as it longs for the day
when soft summer breezes
will tickle its paddles
and winter will be long forgotten.

My latest book, Joshua’s Journey: One Boy’s Victory Over Allergies is available here on Amazon.com. All my books are available in Kindle and paperback. The Miracle Books are also available in audible.