Blog Hopping

While Keith was gone, I did a little blog-hopping the last few nights. 

I went to cottage on main , featured in the sidebar, where I found a wonderful recipe for a Brown Sugar Scrub, which was attributed to One Heart At Home, another wonderful blog I found... which attributed the brown sugar scrub to yet a third blog .... May Days, and both of these blogs are real finds!  The upshot is, I'm going to go to WalMart over the weekend and look for some small decorative bottles, and then I am going to plan to make a couple of batches of the scrub to put in our Christmas baskets this year. 

I have bought some body butters from Michaele at Sprount N Wings Farm a few weeks ago, and this week, I contacted her to buy some small bottles she has of handcream in Christmas Scents.  These two things will also go into our baskets. 

I wish I were more crafty, and could actually make wonderful things to give people.  My sister gave me LAST year's Christmas gift last weekend... you see, we never got together at Christmas because of the terrible weather.  She could not go out in it, and I couldn't get into her house.  I still have her basket, and I am going to refill it this year.  She gave me some wonderful silicone baking utensils, and a pie plate, which I needed... a very cute apron which I will model this weekend... and some dish cloths that she crocheted for me.  Those were what I loved best.

We ARE planning to get together this Christmas, weather willing!

Tonight I did chores before Keith got home from his epic drive across Kansas.  He is in bed already, absolutely worn out from seven hours of driving.  The dogs were overjoyed to see him, and Lilly, who stayed out all last night and was guarding everything in the yard from the other dogs, is finally relaxed and out like a light in the living room.

She would NOT settle down last night, and didn't come in until 5 AM.  It's no wonder she's worn out, from being on patrol.

Notice these smart birds in the big henhouse... up around the light where it was warm.  This weekend Chris will be here... I am going to have him run all the electric lines to the water tank and little henhouse.  We burn a red chick lamp in there during winter to keep everyone alive.  The one in there is old, and I am going to get a new one, have him change it out, and then run the line over so we don't have to do it at zero out. 

Here are Fancy and April on top of the big cabinet... and Butch is behind them, he has historically roosted on the corner of the cabinet.  If you look closely, you can see Reddy in the rafters above them.  I gave up and put a feed dish and waterer up there, I could tell they had been up there most of the day.  The three of them ate as soon as I put the food in.  Butch has accepted Fancy with no problem, so these three will hang out while the weather is bad.  I'm re-thinking where everyone is going to go next spring.  Reddy is actually hanging with the rest of the flock now during the day. 

I also suspect we will have some attrition amongst the older birds if the winter is truly as bad as they say it is to be again.

And here, lastly, is a shot of the beautiful Hunter's Moon out tonight.  You can just see the Spehar's lights from their big house on the hill under it, and the top of the llama shed.  See how the big pond shines in the moonlight?