Only Gone for a Few Minutes

These last few weeks, I have been spending a lot of time in the barn with the show animals. Some of that time has been on an easy guard gig. Just hanging around so that if one of the critters got tangled in a rope or was having a hard time learning how to lay down while wearing a halter kind of job. It gives me plenty of time to talk to the dogs, or play with the kittens, or read a good book (as long as I only read a couple pages at a time).

Even during the actual fair, I can usually sneak in a good who-dun-it or thriller between cattle care and barn duty (we think of it more like barn doo-dee).

This week, I had an easy to read book that I kept picking up between cattle tasks. I had set the book down to go tend to one of the calves that was having an issue with his neighbor. I settled the dispute by shortening both of their lead ropes and headed back for the next chapter of my book when I noticed a problem.

Tobias, one of the 4 kittens, had decided he needed a new pillow. Instead of using one of his brothers as he normally does during the warm afternoons, he was using my book to prop his head.

He would not leave until I paid him a little attention. It took about 5 minutes, but I finally got back to reading before the next critter needed something.