A Good Laugh on Me

Good gravy Gert. 

Behold the dying goose. 

DECOY! 

Michelle McMullen and Friend Jill... I must be as blind as a BAT!  

I have had a good laugh at myself all afternoon.  

I'm glad it wasn't a dying goose. 

There are lots of live geese across from it, on the farm pond.  Yes, we have some 

sunshine today. 

I had the game camera sitting outside today to catch 

some of the visitors to our feeding area on the patio... 

I see I need to clean the lens.

This red boy usually is among the last to feed. 

It looks like he may be among the earliest, too. 

I stopped to catch a couple of squirrels today... this one... 

And this one, two trees down. 

I was not able to get a clear picture of the crows on the road. 

But I WAS able to get this! 

Last week, I showed you my two Christmas trees. 

This was Keith's youngest daughter, Amber's, when we 

got to their house for Carson's birthday on Sunday:

Amber is a graphic artist, and she is so very creative. 

The tree was gorgeous (it was one of four).  She has 3 children, 

how does she do it???

So... I re-dressed our tree in the living room, since we are 

having everyone for Christmas on Sunday. 

I feel better now.  

Tonight, I'm getting some of the presents ready.  I have ONE thing left to get. 

Tomorrow, we are still cleaning and finishing the decorating. 

6 days until the start of winter, can you believe it? 

The Soggy Weekend

Yes, the weekend was very soggy, raining and raining. 

That is standing water that has run down off the high end of our yard, and is 

now making a pond at the low end. 

There is standing water you see beyond it, on the left... everything is draining down there. 

It's a muddy mess. 

I took this picture of a local creek Friday night. 

Same one today. 

And another in the same vicinity. 

The dogs and I did get out and walk this afternoon in the cold... and stopped just short of a mile.  Jester has been out like a light since we got home. 

There is a large pond near us that is now very full.  It had been surrounded by 

small saplings, but about a month ago, the farmer came out and knocked down all the underbrush around the street side and the north end so his cattle will have more grazing next year. 

Now we can see the birds on the pond. 

These three migrating mallards were on the little pond I showed you all summer. 

Look how small they looked on the pond!  It is full again, too. 

And here are the cattle who hung out in the pond all summer.  

I think all those mamas are in calf again, so I expect to see this year's calves disappearing soon. 

I have been trying for two weeks to get a good picture of some of the geese 

flying over here.  You can see our skies are still leaden, and this was as 

good as it gets. 

Here though, to end with, is a very sad picture.  This goose was in distress. 

When the dogs and I left to go walk... we passed it.  It was in the backyard of someone's house along 155th street, very near us.  It was standing just like this. 

An hour later, we came back, and it was in the same exact position. 

I am sure it was dying. 

It has a very odd spot on it's neck where it has lost feathers, but 

I immediately thought H2N5.  We just had our Kansas poultry travel ban lifted a week ago after an outbreak here in the spring.  It is spread by migrating birds. 

I sure hope not... but I suspect this goose is already dead, or will be by morning.