The Post I Was GOING To Make....

The past couple of days have been a little "different" to say the least...

Earthquakes, deer troops, bathing goats, and even theft and intrigue....

It all kept me from posting the story that I was originally going to post the other day...

First, I'll relate some of the events of yesterday - it STARTED out fine:

I latched hold of our "house goat" and took him out to the barn. After spending the night, he was warmed up enough to return to HIS house. He figured out how to use our dog door, though. MAYBE if we can train him to go outside to get rid of jelly beans, he could move back in......

Never mind....

I came back into the house and cleaned up after the goat so Deb could wax the floor.

That goat was sure full of......er....beans...

I was getting ready to head BACK outside to do chores when I got a call form my neighbor. He wanted to talk about the earthquake the night before.
Nothing exciting, just general conversation about the shaking and rattling. During the course of the call he mentioned that he was going to "The Big City" to do some shopping.

It was too cold for him to work outside, so they were heading out for a day "on the town".

A few minutes later he called back and told me couldn't find his wallet. Figuring he misplaced it somewhere, he wanted another set of eyes to see if it could be found.

Chores would have to wait a few minutes - I headed up the hill to his place to see what I could see. When I arrived, They told me it was worse then they thought - there was other stuff missing, too.

Long story short - the Sheriff, Nebraska State Patrol, the local City Police, and two deputies converged on the house. It was a spiral web of intrigue that involved stolen vehicles, stolen goods, and breaking and entering.....

It lasted most of the morning - and they were all parked behind me - but when the fine Lawmen were ready to depart, they had a pretty good idea what happened and - more importantly - WHO did it.

I gotta hand it to them, It took most of the morning, but they knew their jobs and did them well.

By the time everything was collected and done, it was after noon when I finally got out to feed the critters and milk Mabel. She wasn't none too happy about her (VERY) late breakfast, but she survived.

She even came RUNNING when I opened the door! I expected her to be in one of her moods and try to ignore me. I'm glad she was co-operative...

Hopefully, she will STAY co-operative...

Now for what I was Going to write about....It took place early this week, I'm not TOTALLY sure what day. All I remember is:

I was heading out to break up the ice on the stock tank. I grabbed a couple small logs it put into the "smoke box" I have to keep the ice melted off. I used it the night before, but it went out early morning. There was just a thin skin of ice on the tank.

At any rate, where the tank is set, it is on a small slope. Nothing major, just a gentle slope toward the "cow" side of things. On dry days, it's so small of slope, that it's hard to even notice.

On slick days, it's enough to notice - and THEN some.....

I had two small logs in my one paw, walking stick in the other as I came up to the edge of the tank. I deftly tossed the logs into the smoke pot, then grabbed the side of the tank as I broke the thin ice with my stick.

All was well until I had to reach across to make sure the "goat" side of the tank was clear. That is when my feet started to slide on the ice on the slope below the tank.

It was a slow process. Just slow enough to get me to believing I'd remain standing. I caught myself, re-positioned my feet, and slid some more. I even managed to catch myself AGAIN but, not matter where I put my feet, my rubber boots started their slow slide on the ice.

It's an odd thing when you start sliding - and can't do much about it. Just like in a car, you just kinda hope for the best, and keep trying anything you know to keep from going "splat".

Another odd thing - when your are sliding, and happen to be leaning over the edge of a full stock tank, the place you have your hands becomes a pivot point. It also so happens that any movement of your feet to "climb" up the slope, increases this lever action, and your face gets closer and closer to the water in said tank.

Being stretched out to reach the other side of the tank is also NOT advantageous....

I was stuck in the middle - if I kept fighting, I'd over center for sure and go head first into the fridged water in the tank. If I QUIT fighting, I'd lose my footing and go sliding down the slope - over center and get a face full of water.

Either way - I was doomed - and seemed destined to have a wet head.

I inched closer to the water in the tank then was comfortable (I was close enough to touch my chin), I started to slide sideways and my foot caught on a frozen cow pie.
I FINALLY had the foothold I needed to avoid a watery grave!

I pushed with my foot, then was able to reach out and grab a post, bringing an end to my ordeal.

I got to my feet, shook my self off - dried the water off my chin - and then noticed the frozen cow pie had broken during the fray. It lasted just long enough to save my life, then sacrificed itself for the greater good.

Mabel and Belle came by a couple minutes later to get a drink. They both snorted and shook their heads - just to make sure I knew how easy it should have been to stand by the tank without drowning.

Cows can be SOOO condescending at times...