Maisie's Guardian Angel

I am done with morning chores and had come back to the house for a second cup of coffee.  Now it's time to head back to the Wool House and it's gotten so dark out the window that I'm guessing a huge black cloud is sitting over me.  And now it's dumping rain.  So while I wait it out I'll tell you a funny sad interesting amazing story.  Wait, let me go shut the doors.  It's raining in.  It's December 5th and it's so warm I have the doors open. Never a good sign.

After dinner a couple nights ago I walked back up to the Wool House, planning to get a little more weaving done.   I decided to fix myself a cup of hot chocolate, which is a pretty odd thing for me to do when it's this warm.  I turned on the faucet and the water pressure was really low.  Even though it's 50 degrees, in the winter my first thought goes to frozen water pipes.  Well, that can't be...  

NOOOOOO!!!!  I'd left the water running in the barn, filling up the sheep tank out back.  I raced over there - I guess thinking if I ran, the couple seconds I saved would help counteract the hour or so it had been running (?!?).  I hate to waste water.  Argh.

After I shut off the hydrant I made a quick barn check.  Everyone was resting but awake, except Woolliam.  Woolliam is the highlight of nighttime barn checks.  He goes to bed early, sleeps in pretty much the same place every night and when he goes to sleep, he's asleep.  He's just so darn cute I almost can't stand it :-).

You can turn on lights, open doors, talk to Hank...pretty much anything shy of rustling a cookie box.  He sleeps like a worn out little kid.  And he frequently uses this old feed trough as a pillow :-).

As I was watching him, taking his picture with my iPhone, I heard Miss Maisie's quiet little voice "Mom?"

The sound was coming from the outer shed.

"Momma?"

"Oh Maisie, I'm so proud of you!  Sleeping in the big stall with all the other sheep like a big girl!"  She usually sleeps in the small stall during the day or out in the barn lot at night, following her beloved Hank throughout the day and night.

"Momma?"

I couldn't figure out why she hadn't come running out to see me.  Oh no.  Have the big kids got her boxed in over there?  I opened the door and peaked in.  She wasn't there.

"Momma."

It sounded like she was outside.  She was!  

Maisie's good at fighting her way to the food bowls when it's just her and the three (little) boys, but she's still nervous about jumping into a hay battle with the big kids.  I'm guessing she'd gotten scared off and jumped out there and I'd not noticed (!) when I shut the gate for the night.

"Maisie!  I'm so sorry!!!"  I opened the gate and she raced in... once again looking up at me saying "I just don't know how this stuff keeps happening to me!" 

Poor Maisie.  So I was mad about the water until I realized that if I hadn't have gone back to work, wanted hot cocoa, found the water pressure low, I wouldn't have found the hydrant left on (all night)...and wouldn't have found Maisie, outside by herself (all night).  Once again her guardian angel took good care of her.  I'm glad she's got a good one!

Okay, it's done raining (for now) and I need to get to work.