Snow Day

Anna looked around her room, watching the shadows dance around her bedroom wall. She did not want to leave the blanket of warm that her comforter encased around her. The shadows looked like little spiders crawling down her wall, she thought to herself, as she contemplated getting herself up and out of bed. Yesterday had been long and tiring, getting loads of cleaning work done in the barn. There was news of the first snow storm of the season coming soon, and she wanted to be ready. The last thing she needed was to freeze a finger, or anything off, being unnecessarily out in the cold.

She reluctantly rolled out of bed taking her comforter with her, not wanting to leave it's warm embrace. She made her way into the closet to pick out her clothes for the day. She settled on a red and black plaid flannel shirt, and black yoga pants to layer under a pair of dark blue jeans. She brought her clothes to the bathroom, lazily throwing her comforter back towards her room, after turning on the shower to warm up the small space. She took care of brushing her teeth and using the bathroom before stepping into the steamy shower. Once thoroughly cleaned and warmed up, Anna shut the water off, grabbing her towel off the wall hook. She grabbed the blow dryer to brush out her hair, after she got dried and dressed. She couldn't risk getting sick, since Justin was going to be away for the next week. She needed to stay up to the task of taking care of the farm on her own until he got home.

The shower woke her up, but she was still groggy as she made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Anna settled on a classic bagel with cream cheese, nibbling on some pineapple chunks, while waiting for her bagel to finish in the toaster. Taking her time to chew each bite, she noticed Sally slink into the kitchen. Sally was a lazy grey house cat, she usually laid around enjoying the sun rays coming through the window. She meowed as she rubbed her side along the door jam, joining Anna in the kitchen. Sally likes to take her time eating at her own pace, so usually Anna would just have to check her water and food dish every few days to top them off. Glancing over to her eating area, she noticed Sally was in need of breakfast herself.

"Alright Sally, let me finish my bagel and I'll get you breakfast before I get my day started." Sally cocked her head to the side, meowing at Anna again. Bending over to grab Sally's food near the back door, something caught the corner of her eye out the window. Straightening up, she looked squarely out the window and noticed the barn door wasn't closed. She knew she remembered closing it last night, the wind from the snow storm must have pushed it open. Anna would need to go out and close the door again to make sure the horses and pigs wouldn't get any colder then they potentially already were.

Dumping Sally's food in her dish, Anna made her way back to her room. She grabbed her comforter off the floor, and draped it on her bed. Anna grabbed a pair of her thicker socks from her dresser, before heading to the back door to put on her snow boots, jacket and snow gear. As soon as the door was open, wind whipped into the house. Anna had to hold to screen door fearing it would've been ripped off it's hinges feeling the gust of wind. Making sure the screen door was securely latched, Anna turned to make her way towards the barn, leaving crunchy footsteps behind her.

Peaking through the barn door crack, thankfully Anna noticed not much snow had been blown through the opening. She made her way inside the barn, pulling the door closed behind her. She made her way down the left side of the barn, checking on the horses, before turning and checking on the pigs in the right stalls. Double checking hay levels and blankets, Anna heard a noise. She took a step out of the stall she was in, glancing around, listening for the noise again. A bird like purring sound then echoed in the barn, Anna whipped her head around trying to find the source.

Anne caught sight of movement on a rafter about halfway up on the far barn wall. Inching closer, Anna tried to stay quiet as to not scare the barn visitor. Finally close enough, the creature moved, revealing it was a barn owl. It was beautifully covered in multiple shades of brown, with white patches on its belly. Anna realized it must have taken advantage of the barn door being open, taking shelter from the snow and cold. She did not wish to hurt it, and as long as it wasn't bothering the other animals she didn't see a need to escort the barn owl back outside.

Anna returned to attending to her animals, topping off their food for the day. Although she knew the barn was regularly cleaned, she pondered the thought of the barn owl permanently staying to help with pest control. She knew she wouldn't force the barn owl to be a pet, but as long as it didn't cause any problems, if it wanted to stay she would let it. She placed a water bowl at the far end of the barn, before returning inside the house to bundle up and watch a movie.

Anna enjoyed some garlic and lemon seasoned chicken baked in the oven, and her favorite soup, cheddar potato with broccoli for her dinner. Once her belly was filled, she headed back out the barn to check on the animals food and water dishes. Her face lit with a smile, seeing the barn owl had moved some hay to its perch, seemingly making itself at home. She tucked the animals in, draping them with wool blankets. She made sure to secure the barn door latch for the night, then turned to brace the wind again making her way back to the house. Before she knew it, it was bedtime for herself. Anna drifted off looking forward to seeing that beautiful barn owl in the morning, hoping it would stay and join their little family.