Chores, especially those involving farm animals, remind me of Murphy’s Law. If something can go wrong, it will. With animal chores, even if something is “fool-proof,” it will go wrong.

The more ridiculous the clothing I have on, the more likely someone will stop in for an unexpected visit. I often slap gum boots on with whatever I am wearing to make “quick” work of chores. Shorts, with a flannel shirt thrown over a nice top I’m trying to keep clean and gum boots will guarantee visitors.

A big rain is the best detector of leaky boots. The amount of water leakage is NOT proportionate to the size of the hole in the boot.

The colder the weather, the greater the odds of problems. I am a fair-weather girl. When my husband is gone and I have the early-morning chores in winter time, I am too cold upon sliding out of bed to remove my pajamas. So, I layer over the pajamas my jeans and a hoody, followed by insulated bibs. My husband will promise he has taken care of everything! I just have to check the water tanks and feed the critters. A tank heater will almost always fail.

Ice storms make chores really hazardous! Even with the padding of pajamas, jeans and insulated bibs, a slip on the back stairs down to the frozen ground really hurts.

A donkey will get sick and a husband will have surgery during the ice storm. The wife/mom/nurse/chore-girl also works at an electric cooperative long hours during the ice storm. When it rains, it pours!

Pigs of all sizes take the shortest route to the food. They will not go around a person; they will go through, under or over a person.

Cattle can get their heads stuck in places that are not large enough for them to put their head through to begin with. How does that happen??

A beagle will run off with your gloves if you remove the gloves to do a task requiring better grip.

My sons do not appreciate finding steers in the yard and Mom at work later in the morning after Mom did chores. 🙂 I am pretty sure, after this happened twice, that the steers learned how to open the gate… Mom should drink her coffee before doing chores?

A clear, starry-skied morning is worth stopping for a moment to appreciate.

The hot cup of coffee waiting inside is also worth stopping for a moment to appreciate.