[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

When she was finished with the tuskow pen, she pushed the wheelbarrow over to the barn door, and fought against the wind as she pushed it outside and over to the compost pile, ignoring the smell. This winter compost would be the secret to her flower harvests over the rest of the year, and she could put up with any smell for that.

[16]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She pulled the wheelbarrow back into the barn and let herself soak in the warmth for a moment before she headed over to the Yingshee pen, parking the wheelbarrow beside it and returning with their feed in her hand. Seven Yingshee ate a fair amount, and she tipped both buckets into their trough, waving them over to eat.

[17]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

While they were eating, she pushed the wheelbarrow into their pen and began cleaning it out, using the rake to pick up the soiled hay and dump it into the wheelbarrow.

She paused to catch her breath when she had finished and the smooth, clean floor was visible all around her, before pushing the wheelbarrow out of the pen.

[18]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Scattering the fresh, clean hay around so all the floor was covered, she was surprised when one of the Yingshee wandered over to her and butted her gently with its head. She put down the hay in her hands and rubbed the Yingshee's head affectionately, taking pride in the thick winter coat that had grown in.

[19]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Come the spring, Honey would shear the Yingshee and their bright and colourful wool would be used to make colourful balls of yarn. Honey often kept these, to make colourful and warm things to wear and sell, but sometimes she would sell the yarn itself, or gift a couple of balls to her neighbour who knitted as a hobby.

[20]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She gave the Yingshee one final pat on the head and left the pen, closing the door behind her. Once again, she repeated the ritual of dumping the soiled hay on the compost heap outside, and this time parked the wheelbarrow over by the egg pen - so called because although it housed one roosken, the majority of it's occupants were there to lay different eggs.

[21]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

There were several nests occupied by Matches and Skyllards, and a couple of nests occupied by Alluria and Pingune couples that were her pride and joy. She grabbed the two buckets of mixed feed, ever grateful they could all eat roughly the same things, and headed into the pen to pour the feed into the troughs that occupied the corner walls.

[22]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Next, as always, came the cleaning of the pen, though this time rather than the rake she used a small toothed trowel, in case an egg had fallen out of a nest and become tangled in the hay. Some eggs she ate, and some she sold, but the Alluria and Pingune couples were part of a breeding program, and their eggs would be hatched.

[23]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She looked on with pride at the cleared pen, before she lay down fresh hay for them; eight of the nests had at least two eggs in them, and a single large egg was in each of the Alluria and Pingune nests, indicating that so far the program was a success - once they hatched, the live chicks would be sold to the breeding and rehabilitation program.

[24]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Satisfied with the final pen, Honey took a moment to sit on a hay bale and enjoy the various noises of contentment coming from her animals. The warmth of the barn was far preferable to the chill of the winter weather outside, and she did not want to stay too long lest she begin to feel sleepy.

[25]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She struggled pushing the wheelbarrow out to the compost heap this time; the wind was getting worse, and it was a relief to finally dump the last bunch of soiled hay onto the heap and retreat back to the barn's storage shed. She paused a moment to wipe the sweat off of her brow, only to feel the frost on the edge of her mittens scrape her delicate forehead.

[26]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Returning to the barn once again (being small unfortunately meant making several trips, she had come to learn), she collected the basket of eggs she had picked up as she cleaned out the fowl pen, and carried them carefully over to her house, setting them down just inside the front door, where she could be sure she wouldn't kick them.

[27]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

One final trip, she promised herself, as she fought against the wind to return to the barn one last time. The sky, which hadn't really lightened during the cold winter's day, was rapidly darkening and a storm was sure to be on its way, and Honey hastened her pace as much as she could.

[28]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

One final task - she kept repeating it to herself as a mantra, as she dragged the urns of milk out of the barn one by one. They were each as tall as she was, which in truth wasn't very tall but posed a bit of a problem for her in times like these, especially when she was in a hurry.

[29]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

This time, she secured the barn door behind her - she would not be returning to it tonight. It could be opened easily in an emergency, but it would hold against the storm and she hoped she would not need to leave her cosy little house for the cold outdoors until the next morning, at the very least.

[30]