If I had a penny for every leaf I have raked up this fall I'd be able to pay off our mortgage, add on to our barn, and probably even have enough left over to buy a couple more goats, but alas that is not the case. I can say it is good ole' hard work that I would not want to forgo, but sometimes when I think I'm done for the day and then a strong wind whips through and it looks as though I have not even set foot on the lawn it just makes me sigh, then giggle, and I have to walk away. Leaves are so incredible once you begin looking at them. No two are the same and each one is a like a little masterpiece in and of itself. I sometimes feel as though a thousand little Klimts are scattered all over the lawn and I've been given the job of collecting them. I've actually begun to look forward to my weekly rake-a-thon as it gives me some idle time to ponder all the wheels turning in my head and catch up on all the latest barn gossip from the guinea hens. They check my progress constantly as I slowly pull hundreds of stray leaves into little mountains. Sometimes they just watch and then trot back to their own adventures. On occasion they stand with me and chatter. Today they told me that one of the hens was upset with the rooster yesterday. Apparently he told her she needed to cut back on the scratch. “Her tail feathers are really in a bunch” the guineas whispered, looking around nervously making sure the cat wasn't listening. If the cat were to hear them he would go right back and tell the rabbit about the hen and then feathers would fly! The rabbit and several of the hens are good friends. Once when the rabbit escaped his hutch he spent the evening getting to know all the chickens pretty well, but that is another adventure altogether.
