camp fire in the day time

camp fire in the day time

fiction
edward w Pritchard

I built a camp fire in the day time and I raked up the horse manure around the barn under a blue clear sky on a Monday morning. Finally I was adjusting to being old and having some heart problems. Raking around the barn is heavy work, the manure mixes with the stones and the soil is thick from being chopped up by horses hooves after wet cold weather. While you rake you use a wheel barrow to carry away the piles and find and fill in holes about the ranch.

Traffic dies down on the road in front of the house about 9am. For a while the horses follow you around but then they go about their business and you are alone with your thoughts.

I was thinking if I ever have a special friend again I will always take her side right or wrong and keep her close. The sky is bright but the air is cold. When you work you wear yellow leather gloves that originally were bought to be stylish but now serve well to help tend to the horse's needs. My daughter doesn't approve of leather, it's her ranch, but is she glad when the horses are properly cared for. I miss her too, she is far away.

Later is time for some lunch. That's something to look forward to. Sometimes I drive into to town and buy a cheap book at the goodwill and the two dollar noodles at the Chinese place. When I come back I stir up the camp fire and admire the work I did about the barn. Usually I walk around and check all the fences. I saw on google-yahoo that you can get the time and sunrise and sunset for seven million precise locations now days. It's nice sometimes to have a camp fire in the day time.