Another Picture Heavy Post

I need to explain about something.  I always go to church on Sunday... but we are allowed to go on Saturday afternoon, to satisfy our Sunday obligation.  My sister and I used to laugh about this, because the majority of those in church on Saturdays were the "old folks"... you know, the ones who had gotten up on Sunday morning for 60 years and now wanted to sleep in.  

Well... I'm one of them now!  

For the last four weeks, I've gone to church on Saturday afternoon with the other old folks so I could stay in a little later on Sunday, do the chores, get the ever-shrinking Kansas City Star, and sit and read it at the kitchen table.  I'm getting the hang of it! 

We ate a brunch this morning at 11, with Nathan and his mom, Sherie, as our guests.  It was so good, and when we came home, Keith and I spent a lazy afternoon together.  He sat at the computer and researched greenhouses... and the result of that search is that we are going to build our own. 

I'm glad. 

We'll tell you more about that later, as plans progress. 

Tomorrow I'm going to call the people who put up the chainlink for me for the henspa, and have them come and bid on fencing the corral with no-climb horse fence, and replace one section of the old big henhouse fence, the north side.  That was the very first thing Keith built here, and it is leaning at this point, and the gate won't open more than halfway.  The fencing crew is reasonable, and does great work, so I'm having them bid both.  

Now, to the pictures.  As we came home from eating brunch, we saw this: 

I was driving, and I hit the brakes and backed up.  Keith pronounced it "Probably a poach" because that is a totally dark, connecting country road with  no homes along it.  I thought it was a buck.  

I went back an hour or so later, to look at it again. 

Not a buck at all.  A doe.  Field-dressed, and the edible parts taken.  It was a branch that had either blown up against it, or someone had placed against the head, because, you see... 

When I walked back over the car.... you can see the actual scene, beer cans all around. 

Poach. 

That road is very beautiful, and has one of the best building sites in Leavenworth County... the pasture behind this deer.  The turnpike is way back there, but you can't hear it. 

Son Jim lives about 14 miles away from us, in Wyandotte County.  He has a large uninhabited area at the corner of his street that was a failed or undeveloped housing tract.  This guy was sitting on the wire there yesterday... is he beautiful or what?  I'm going to have to look him up. 

Nathan and I went shopping yesterday and Grandma bought herself a new shirt, too. 

This, incredibly, was the temperature on January 19, 2013.  Do you see it there on my console? 

No, not the cute little squirrel... the SIGN!  These folks live right across from the food pantry in Tongie, and they have a chicken tractor in their yard with six beautiful Buff Orpington girls in it.  This sign made me laugh out loud! 

And last... a FACEOFF! 

Now, it's time to tell you all what you can already see with your own eyes.  Yes, we do put garbage out (plus some very cheap dog food) for the predators, to get them on camera.  No, we will not do this indefinitely.  We plan to stop at the end of February,  or early March.  We have enjoyed seeing all the predators in our pasture, but enough will soon be enough. 

We still hope, depending on the fencing quotes, to get a pony for the grands to ride, and perhaps, a mini donkey for our own enjoyment.  We also have always wanted a couple of small goats, such as Nigerian dwarf wethers.  We would keep these locked in the corral at night, knowing what we know now... and it will be a predator-proof corral. 

We don't know if they were coming when the llamas were here... we always felt that Tony was a very good watchdog for us.  But just because we couldn't see them doesn't mean they weren't always there. Something got several hens, and the two turkeys were also killed... so we know they were there, just outside the ring of light cast by our farm light. 

Now it's time to get this posted and go watch tonight's episode of Downton Abbey!