Today is the kind of day that’s the reason why weather forecasters like to repeat “turn around, don’t drown” over and over again. On Thursday when I went into town the two low water crossings (before I get to paved roads) were fine. So I didn’t think too much about it when it poured for a few hours before going to town. I checked the radar; the rain was moving out and due to stop. (In fact, an hour after I left, then returned to the house, the sun is starting to shine.) But when I went down the hill to the first low water crossing, a creek that usually has an inch or two of water in it, but nothing more than a puddle, I saw the creek had swelled to at least three or four times its size and it had pretty gnarly looking rapids and white caps on it. That was a big nope for me, so I turned around and came home. (And didn’t drown).
The funny thing is, my usual gauge of how hard it’s raining is the horses. They are paddock puffs and creatures of habit. When storms roll in, I often see them walking (in the case of the senior mare) or moving faster toward the shelter. That’s when I know the storm is about to get real. But today? With water sheeting down? They stayed outside grazing or standing under their favorite tree. Which was why I even contemplated going into town in the first place.
We’ve had a lot of rain here this summer. The runoff has been impressive. And through it all, the horses have made reliable rain gauges. The chickens, which aren’t stupid contrary to popular opinion, will go in as soon as it rains except for a couple of the roosters who are pretty low in flock hierarchy. Then they just sit outside looking rather miserable, dejected, and soggy.
The horses will stay out until the rain starts to get heavy, which was why I was surprised to see them still outside their shed. They tell me whether the weather is bad. If it’s raining too hard, they won’t even stand at their buckets (some of which are not under a roof) to eat. They’ll wait until the rain is over or I make other arrangements.
With their tendency to follow established patterns and routes, it’s easy to see how we can use the horses to check on the weather, but also, to get more in tune with nature and it’s rhythms.
