When the Heat Wave Ends

When the 11-day stretch of 90 and 100-degree ends, I:

Clean the horse stalls and paddocks,

Move more hay to the livestock barn,

Mow the weeds,

Discover the cucumbers, melons and squash that are growing (along with the weeds) in the garden,

Ride the horses (and am pleasantly surprised that they didn't backslide during their two-week break),

Take the dogs on long walks through hay fields, and marvel at the alfalfa that has grown in the heat,

Wean the ram lambs from their mamas,

and sit on the crunchy, dry grass,

and pet the cat until a moth draws him away,

and watch the ram lambs, who at 110-days old, look more like rams now, as they eat and cry for their mothers in the adjacent paddock.

It is one of the saddest sounds I know.