My Non-Pets

I live in a very small town. We have a bar, a gas station, a post office, and a city hall. No grocery store or doctor. No movie theater or hardware store. For any of these we must drive to a larger town.

There is a slightly larger town about 4 miles from here. That is where the children from our town attend school because ours was closed years ago. There is a small grocery and hardware store there. They even have a pizza parlor. But for major shopping we have to go to a larger town.

There are three larger towns that are about equal distances from us. One is in another state. They have a lower sales tax rate but for some reason I do not like the drive to get there.

I do go to the second town quite a bit. It is slightly smaller but offers most of what I need. But the drive to get there is all hills and wears me out.

The final town is where my doctor's office is. It is where I pick up my medicine. I go there more often.

On my way I notice a lot of things. There are the many farm houses. Some are new and very modern looking. Some are older but well kept. Some are dilapidated but still have people living in them. Some have been left to the elements and are barely standing.

There are fields and stands of trees. The river runs beside the road for much of the way. There are occasionally wild animals like deer and turkeys. There are domestic animals like dogs, cats, horses, and cows.

Out of all of these animals I have adopted three. Do not ask me why. I have no idea. I am not what I would call an animal lover. I have no urge to own any of these animals. But they are mine and I watch for them every time I make the trip.

The first is a mule. I noticed him soon after I moved back to this area. He is that dirty off-white color. He stands out in his grassy area in all sorts of weather. Sometimes he is grazing but most of the time he just stands there with his head down. I have named him Eeyore for obvious reasons.

Eeyore looks so despondent standing there all alone. I watch for him more than the others because he is by himself. I miss him when he is not there.

Gifford the goat lives with a bunch of horses. It is a stable and training facility for riding horses. There is a training paddock as well as grazing areas.

Gifford is a little white goat. He grazes right along beside the horses. It seems that they do not notice him but they seem not to notice each other either. I believe that Gifford is only out with the horses at certain times of the day so I often do not see him.

Down the road a ways is another mule. He grazes with a small herd of cattle. He sticks out because the cattle are black and he is that dirty off-white color of mules. He is the only non-bovine of the group.

I have named him Maurice. I havev no idea why. I hate the name (sorry to anyone named Maurice) but each time I tried to think of a good name for him Maurice is what came to mind. I gave in and he is now Maurice.

I have not seen Maurice since the fall. I have not seen the cattle either. They have been moved to another pasture for the winter I suppose. I am sure he will return in the spring.

It is rather fun to have my adopted pets. It provides a diversion when I am driving to watch for them on my trips to town.

These pets cost me nothing. Someone else feeds them and looks after their needs. I do not have to expend any emotions because they are not my pets. But I get a great deal of pleasure from my pets.