It was a Cold and Rainy Night

(To paraphrase Snoopy.)

 

I spent a wonderful afternoon visiting with a friend over lunch... when you quit working, you lose track of what's going on in your friend's lives.  We had such a good visit over lunch, Jill and I... and I forgot to take the camera, so there are no pictures!

 

Coming home in late afternoon, I did not realize when stopping at WalMart why it was so busy.  Getting my few things in the basket, I realized the checkout lines were long, and went to the self-checkout.  I realized, when I got home, that the threat of a winter storm is upon us, and people were stocking up.

 

Keith helped me do chores, and we got things organized for morning, which is expected to be well below 20, and we expect to have to carry several buckets of warm water out for the birds.  That's one good thing about my being home... I can go out during the day and check on them.  My only errand tomorrow (which could be done Friday) is to register our car and truck and get the yearly tags, so I can hang around here and keep things going while Keith works.

 

Here's our Ranger, waiting on us in the yard... isn't he handsome?

 

 

 

Unfortunately, this is what I found in the feed room of the big henhouse.  The fencing in between the coop and feed room has come loose, and numerous hens come back and forth to lay eggs daily.  Now a rooster is coming over... and this is the ensuing problem.  Someone is going to have to go, and I hope it isn't my pet, Butch.  The damage, thank heaven, was done to his bad side, the good eye is okay tonight.

 

 

But here is the really neat thing tonight... I went out just now, at 7:50, to see what was going on with the weather.  It is raining, and there is lightening.

I was clear out at the big henhouse carrying something in my hand, when I felt eyes on me.  There, not ten feet away, was this guy:

 

 

Oops... you can't see him like that.  You see, he sat there for almost ten minutes while I did stuff.

 

 

There he is.  He turned his head and looked at me for a minute, then, satisfied I was not going to bother him (he's watched us a lot in the last few months)... he calmly turned back to the pasture where he was waiting for mice to move.  The white spots you see in the picture were raindrops coming down.  A minute later, he flew over to the fence surrounding the big henyard, and I walked out to dump most of the water fortex in the pasture, so we can fill it in the morning. 

 

Our storm is supposed to last only one day, with a chance for more rain on Christmas Day (or snow).  The newspaper this morning described western Leavenworth County as being in extreme drought, and Jill mentioned to me at lunch that the alfalfa planted at their country place was barely up above the ground.

 

I'll take the rain!