And Now, Back to Regular.....

3 Days of thawing and re-freezing have left the driveway a treacherous place. 

There is just enough of a bank to the left that if we slip down that way, we can't get back up. 

And everyone doing chores, watch out for re-freeze in your gateways... they can become so 

dangerous! 

One slip on the ice... 

Everyone was very happy with the blue skies this morning... and we are up to 43 right now out there. 

The goats are loose in the pasture... the chickens are out... and everyone is glad to be in the warm sun. 

We are supposed to be back down at 25 for the weekend. 

One last Christmas shot... we visited younger son Jeff yesterday... he dwarts me, as you can see... but it was good to see him.  Jeff does not keep a phone, so we see him infrequently.. and I was 
glad to have this visit for Christmas.  Yes, that's a new hoodie he's wearing! 

The ducks are always so glad to get that first drink in the morning, since their water freezes at night. 
I should explain... at 6 or so, I go out and dump all the outside water, except for a low fortex for the ducks, and the goats inside green bucket. 

Everything else is poured out, so I don't have to deal with deep ice in the morning. 
I also empty the three containers in the old henhouse, because they would freeze during the day. 

So the ducks are very glad to see me coming in the morning. 

See the mess all around their fortexes?  The starlings descended on the water and feed, and wiped them out several times.  They drink the lower fortex down to the bottom, and drink as much of the high one as they can reach.  They eat ALL the pellets, and leave the cracked corn. 
I notice there are a lot of other little birds around, though, as well. 

It just creates a real mess that is going to smell badly when it really thaws. 

I'm going to close today with a short video that I took this morning... 
goat friends, check out this behavior and keep in mind that Delilah is still trying to breed Winnie off and on. 

Merry Christmas!

A blessed Christmas to all of our readers and followers!

Christmas Eve

The last two days has been all about family. 

Well... chores, cold and family. 

If you want to know what it feels like to do 

chores in subzero weather with the wind blowing, 

please read Michaele's blog at 

Sprout N Wings yesterday, and you will understand. 

She said it more eloquently than I ever could.  (And that link will 

take you directly to the story). 

Here's the Garnett Gang, blocking the Christmas tree so you can't see it... 

friend Jay, Nathan, Hayleigh, and Chris, (Hayleigh is his girlfriend). 

Mom Sherie did not get in the picture, and I didn't realize it. 

We had a good time, only staying an hour or so because it snowed all the way down.  

It turned out we were worried for nothing, it didn't accumulate. 

We had ham and cheese sliders, chips and dip, and I took lots of cookies for them to snack on. 

Jay celebrated Christmas with us, and we were so glad to have him! 

Here's something I read about last year and did this year. 

I saved all my change... just the change I got when I was out, and it took me a 

full year to fill three jars.  I gave one to Hayleigh, Chris and Nathan... we didn't forget Jay, either, don't worry. 

It did not "cost" me anything, except to remember to put the money in the jar every so often, so I am 

going to do it again next year.  I know one jar had over forty dollars in it. 

The Intrepid Lil does not let a little snow stop her from anything. 

I go out to dump the outside water about 6:15 every evening.  I also dump the water inside the old henhouse. 

Last night, this is how I found the goats... I had my little flashlight with me. 

What I am trying to say is that it was so dark, I had to turn the flashlight on to FIND them... and then I saw where they all sleep... the two little girls curl up in the corner. 

We do have a warming light in this barn, it has hung there since Kody and Kaycee came to us in May... but we have not utilized it with these... though it got down to zero last night. 

We are thinking of using it... but we are also afraid of the little three chewing on the cord outside. 

The barn is very tight in the back, and you see they are all hunkered down back there in the back. 

It's going to be cold out tonight again, and windy, but they are in the best place. 

Then today, I ran into Jim's house, and we exchanged our gifts. Tonight they go to a big party with Amy's family... so we did ours early. 

That's Jim, little Jax, Jacob, Amy, beautiful Madison, and little sister Paiton. 

One of Paiton's gifts was a farm set, not that I'm trying to subvert her or anything. 

Lilly Ann has the right idea. 

A year ago today, we lost little Gertie Lou very suddenly, our smallest pug, and 

only three years old.  I can't believe a year has flown by. 

I hope Santa is good to all the little girls and boys tonight. 

(from Hazel the White Pug) 

Racing the Temps

It is 40 degrees out as I type this, but we reached 60 degrees today. 

I think that is the highest we are going to see for at least a week! 

As Keith says, the calendar doesn't say it, but winter is about to descend on us. 

There won't be much sittin' and visitin' on the patio. 

Or swimmin' in the "pond", or the "duck pool" after today. 

The deep fortex is going to have to suffice, and I'll have to fill it by bucket several times a day. 

I made the duck's bed of soft prairie hay even deeper and more protected today, since they are not using Fort Apache. 

Thank heavens Chatterbox the Ameracauna has regrown all of her feathers since she molted, she'll need them. 

We are predicted to have single digit nights for at least the next six nights, though it looks like our county will dodge the bullet on snow. 

We made hay while the sun shown... or, Keith got me four more bales of brome.  It does not look as good as the hay we got at the feed store before, so I am a little disappointed.  See how "strawy" the top bale in the cart looks?  I got it out of the truck and over to the haybarn and stacked so we are good to go. 

Nancy Thellman, if you see this... I am going to be calling you and buying some brome from you... yours was TOPS! 

We did get one bale of straw today... to wit: 

Half went into the old henhouse, and half into the henspa.  Two of the roosters jumped down and set right to work in it... I hope it will keep them all busy as the temps fall tomorrow. 

This old henhouse has only one outlet working now, and I have a heat lamp on Butch's side (where the feed cans are...) and the old hen Mary is using it. 

 Once before, I had a hen displaying the same symptoms as Mary... 

see how she is trying to bend from her neck down, instead of flexing and pecking?  That hen died overnight one night.  I always wished I had the gumption to cut her open to see what was wrong with her.  I thought Mary was just getting VERY old, but she does not seem right now, and I may have to have Keith put her down. 

I am also worried because I never found anyone to put a new door on this henhouse, and there is a two inch gap where it no longer meets the jamb.  We are going to single digits, and I fear what could  happen to these birds. 

Here is how she looks most of the time now, standing under the light.  I think her time is just about up. 

Look!  Up in the sky!

We are seeing more and more geese moving now. 

Okay, do.not.laugh. 

No, you can laugh. 

This pitiful thing.  

Chris and I found two trees in the storage shed.  This tree is so tall, it touched the ceiling of our little house.  You see it is QUITE large.  It was also extremely rickety.  

It was taken apart and put back in it's bins, and it will actually be going to the transfer station after Christmas, because it is too rickety to donate.  After we laughed about it, we realized it was the tree that stood in the living room of our Victorian house we rented in Leavenworth the year Keith retired from the Army.  We had a beautiful living room and parlor there, and this tree had to be tied to stay upright. 

As you can see, one small tree replaced it, but the Big Reveal will come tomorrow. 

The Pile o' Christmas is much reduced, and Keith has been so kind as to put the empty bins back out in the shed, except for the six or so still in the house.  I am racing expected drizzle to get them back to the shed and my tractor unhitched and put away before it starts. 

We did have one happy, happy find today that I will also share with you tomorrow.  It made my day. 

Now, I'll end with two remarkable pictures from the game cam. 

No, these pictures are not remarkable because of the ducks modeling for you. 

Do you see Lilly Ann, Protector of Us All? 

She is on the pasture side of the fence, my friends.  She was shut into the pasture this morning by a person whose mind was obviously NOT on her duties. 

She was in there over an hour, when I went looking for her. 

She did not kill ONE bird. 

She actually walked in front of the camera several times, trying to get out the closer walk gate to the left of the camera.  Then she laid down and calmly watched the ducks eating. 

They equally as calmly ignored her. 

She is my BEST girl.  

I also surmise from this that all the birds killed in the yard were BECAUSE they were in her yard. 

The camera is back out in the pasture tonight... we'll see what we find in the morning.  I wonder how all the wildings will be faring in the intense cold.  At least they won't have deep snow to contend with. 

Tomorrow... the Christmas Reveal!