Okay, this was yesterday in the big henyard.
Notice the ice that Keith and I had broken out of the fortexes. This was the second watering of the day, and oh WHEN will I learn to take a picture from the correct angle so that my shadow doesn't show? We have been pouring out the fortexes at night so we don't have to break thick ice in the mornings.
This was today:
Notice the absence of ice? We went from 18 degrees yesterday to 57 degrees today!
Keith took Hannah out at midnight or so, and told me this morning that it was warmer then than it had been all day yesterday. The starlings came early this morning while I was at church, and ate their fill... once I replenished the feeders, the birds had feed and water the rest of the day.
Keith worked in the garden today for a while, getting rid of debris and doing some weed-eating. We are going to start preparing the beds for spring, but we have not ordered any seeds... yes, the catalogs are tempting, but the fact is, we can get most of our seeds here and not pay any shipping. Burpee seeds are sold at Home Depot, and Grasspad carries many more. It's fun to go through the catalogs, but not very practical for us.
Here are some of the older birds... the original flock was mostly black and white, sons and daughters of Fred, our bantam Japanese rooster. You can see the old roosters One, Two and Three, and the little hens with them. These birds are now five years old. That's the dividing line between the two henyards, and Rocky and the bigger hens to the right. Today was very gray, though the sun tried to peak through several times. We are expecting some rain (possibly snow flurries!) tonight.
We could use the rain.
Here is Keith with Hannah this afternoon. Hannah would never let anyone hold her like this before... she has always wanted to be near you, but not ON you. We know she has changed profoundly since losing her sight, and now she is also eating only sporadically, as well. We'll see Dr. Tom one more time this week, and then are going to have to decide what to do about this little girl.
Last week wore both of us out, we admit it. It's hard work taking care of animals even when the weather is good, but extreme heat and extreme cold make it worse, and we aren't, amazingly, getting any younger. I spent the day after church baking and dozing... I admit it. I made an apple brown betty to my own recipe.... a layer of buttery croutons I made myself.... a layer of brown sugar with tabs of butter laid over it... a layer of Granny Smith apples, with another layer of oatmeal and brown suger and butter laid over... baked for an hour at 350. YUMMMMM. Tonight we are having simple hamburgers for dinner, I am out of oomph and Keith thankfully changed the llama trough for me, and we finished evening chores together. Now for an evening of football and Downton Abby!
I know what you mean about chores in the cold. Sooo much harder. I feel for you with the decisions about your dog. So glad for a break in the weather.
ReplyDeleteWill be thinking of you guys as you make your difficult decisions this week. I found it interesting you are not getting younger. Imagine that.
ReplyDeleteIt is spring like here. The roses are blooming!! The animals and I suffer during extreme heat here in the summer. But just a few days of freezing temps. Sorry you dog is not doing well. Mine are elderly now and and I know sad days are coming.
ReplyDeleteI'm not getting any younger either, Mary Ann! I don't have any outside chores to attend to other than keeping the bird feeders filled up, but I don't tolerate the cold very well either. It was in the low 50s today in MO and right now it's thundering and a bit of rain! Weird weather these days. I'm not going to complain about the 50s! I'm sorry about little Hannah, it's heartbreaking to see a beloved pet in this condition and knowing you can't help them. I'm sure she is feeling your love and support for her. Take care and have a good week!
ReplyDeleteI dread the time when we need to make that decision, too.. Hope all goes well.. We are cold today but expecting rain tomorrow..
ReplyDeleteWeird Winter.. smile..
Your dessert sounds heavenly..
God bless..
We're having these strange fluctuations is weather here also...yesterday morning I had to thaw water pipes and water buckets, and this morning it's drizzling and supposed to reach the low 50's today!
ReplyDeletePoor Hannah...she's so lucky to have someone to love her like you do!
I can relate to you weather. They say it's going to rain for 2 days not a drop. Hot, then cold.....
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