A Bloody Mystery

So I got down to the barn this morning to do chores and I decided to let everyone outside since it is such a gorgeous day. It's almost 50 degrees and it's only 10:30AM! The sun is shining brightly and the birds are singing. Spring is a comin'! The only nice thing about long cold winters is the excitement that spring brings. I really do love the sound of the birds and the warmth of the sun after a long hiatus. I brought the grain to the barnyard feed trough and discovered these little puddles of blood in the snow. Here is one such stain.

There's no telling how fresh it is since it's wet from the snow. I let the sheep out and look them over in the natural light. There are spots or smears of blood on a few coats and one ewe has a small spot on her neck.

Other than that there is no sign of injury, no sign of bleeding, nothing. No new lambs nothing strange, just blood. Was there an animal in the barn or two, having a fight? How did the blood get outside? I guess I will never know. There is never a dull moment here.


To add to the mysteries at Windyridge and the valley in general we have been hit by an illness that has already sent two of Mike's friends to the hospital. One kid had the flu which is hitting hard and late this year and the other I'm not sure about yet. Half the school is out sick. Daniel has been very sick with huge swollen glands and a terrible sore throat. He tested negative for strep and probably has a bad virus. He was in bed for three days and missed his YMCA lifeguard test. Fortunately the instructor is a very sweet lady and agreed to test him later in the year. But Dan has the talent show looming this Friday and the band needed to practice this weekend and didn't, and he missed lots of school work, so it's been a stressful time here. And of course I worry about Mike getting sick but so far the rest of us are OK. Today there was a 2 hour delay for school due to freezing rain so that helped, and then off they both went. He is much better today but certainly not at 100% even now after more than a week of feeling under the weather.