Post by calder joseph hennessey on Aug 8, 2011 15:06:49 GMT -5
[atrb= border,0,true][atrb= style, border: 8px solid #588c55;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,5,true][atrb=style,background:#C4C4C4,true] . "We'll keep things simple for your first week." The woman held out a pitch fork in offering. Calder looked at it incredulously, then to the empty stall to his right. Only it wasn't empty, but filled with piles of dong. It was obvious what his job for the week entailed. Poop duty. He met the eyes of Regina Randall, his boss and owner of the farm where Cale now worked. "You're kidding right? I have to do all these stalls? I'll be here for days." He received a stern look in return, losing the stare-off and snatching the fork. "Better start earlier tomorrow." The woman turned to walk back down the aisle, but not before Cale saw the beginnings of a grin pull at her mouth. That was nearly a year ago that Cale found his new job, and by default life at Pine Hollow. He was still on poop duty, but it no longer consumed his days. There were other staff that helped and students when they had nothing else to do. His mornings were still early because he needed to get to the barn to feed, but he was done relatively early in the day. He worked his way up the seniority ladder, but his attitude often got him knocked down a few pegs. He was often outside mantling or dismantling jumps, walking the trails to remove tree limbs and other debris, walking the pastures to check water troughs, or bringing hay from the shed to the barn. He preferred this to mucking stalls any day. Poop duty was for low man on the totem-pole or punishment, even the occasional student was placed on stall duty for acting up or running in proximity of the horses. Still, someone had to do it. Calder was on stall duty today, but it wasn't for punishment. It was part of his morning routine. He liked the farm in the morning hours before boarders and students arrived. It was quiet and peaceful. Even the trainers weren't around yet or they were keeping to themselves in the lounge going through their schedules for the day. Aside from him and the other staff, the only person Cale had seen all morning was Regina and even that was for a brief moment as she walked by with a couple horses. It had taken Calder a few months to work up the nerve to walk two horses together, but it greatly shortened his trips back and forth to the pastures. He learned quickly which horses were okay to walk together and which would lead to disaster, not that anyone felt the need to give him a heads up. At this point, he had everything pretty much down pat. On occasion he was thrown a curve ball, but not too often. Finally he dumped his last forkful of manure into the wheelbarrow and dumped the load into the muck pile near the edge of the forest behind the barn. He returned his equipment and yanked off his work gloves, shoving them into the rear pocket of his jeans. His hands were calloused from the farm work, no longer blistered and painful. It took him a few bleeding palms to invest in a pair of gloves. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he sat on a near by tack trunk in the aisle where he placed his breakfast when he had arrived. Summer was definitely in full swing. It was barely eight o'clock and already the temperature was in the low eighties. The humidity did nothing to help matters. Scooting back to lean against the stall behind him, Cale unwrapped the first of two honey buns, taking a large bite. He folded one leg onto the trunk, resting an arm on his knee as he devoured his food. TAG - OPEN |
