Salt Lick

After arriving at Somerset Grain and Feed, men load up our car with bags of horse feed, doing their best to avoid Mother as she frets about them, trying to make room around the junk. On our way home, I take out the prize purchase, a salt lick, meant to supplement the horses’ diets. Fearing Mother won’t approve, I sneak licks all the way home, getting in my month’s worth of salt intake before the ponies taint it with their own saliva. It’s not ruined then, but I try to avoid licking areas deeply dished out by the ponies’ tongues.