Bill was kind enough not to mention it, but I abandoned him and the livestock again – for 28 days this time! I was in Arizona with my older son and his family for the birth of their second child. Our granddaughter, Bailey Brooke, was born May 11. She’s beautiful – of course! I really enjoyed spending time with my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter, but it was hard being away from my family back in Tennessee (2-legged and 4-legged) for that long. I even missed Valentine’s birthday, on May 18.

I’m back now, and although some people may scoff, I know my babies missed me. Okay, the dogs were more open about welcoming me back, but Moonshine and Valentine were happy to see me too, I could tell. It was something about the look in their eyes, and the way Moonshine tucked her head into my shoulder and just left it there.

That, and probably that Bill instituted a no-spoiling policy while I was gone, without my approval. Our friend took care of them while he joined me in AZ for 10 days, and she does NOT spoil her horses – so she didn’t spoil ours either. No sleeping inside all night with hay and water, they just stayed out in the pasture all day and all night, with about 10 short minutes in the stalls in the morning for oats. I think her no-frills way of caring for our horses (perfectly safe, by the way) appealed to the lazy side of my dear husband. I have to admit, it’s sort of appealing to me too – I haven’t had to shovel poo since I got back – but I still don’t like the idea of them being outside all night long. It still makes me nervous. But we’ll see. Paranoia may win out in the end.