Falls Turns into Winter

We have been having marvelous fall weather 

here at Calamity Acres, with a few cool nights, and crisp mornings, 

but also some 50-to-70 degree daytime temps, like today. 

It's all coming to an end.  The wind is blowing in a cold 

system that is going to put us in the freezer for a while. 

As Keith would have said, it IS December!

Mornings have been very crisp.  Sometimes the ponds at 

the bottom of the hill look icy!

But that doesn't stop the hens from roaming out across 

the yard and now, the pasture, to look for good things to eat.  Remember, 

I have not actually bought pellets for them since the end of July, they 

are pretty much feeding themselves.  I do buy scratch, and they do get 

some daily. 

A naughty kitten named Twinkle has gotten out of the door several times. 

He usually heads for UNDER the deck, and I have to trick him into coming out.  I am petrified to leave him outside because he is still so little.  The hens are afraid of him, nonetheless. 

Right after I took this picture, the rooster crowed, and Twinkle slunk to the door. 

My girl Lil is more and more content to stay inside and snooze on the couch or 

one of her beds. 

Cogburn is going to have to (as my friend Diane called it this morning) 

have a "come to Jesus moment".  He is attacking me every time I go outside, 

even if he has to run clear across the yard.  I have to carry something to fend him 

off, but he did get my hand yesterday.  I need to bring a few Christmas things in 

from the shed, but I have put off running the gauntlet. 

He is way down in the pasture at the moment, and I'll go out in a bit and 

get the wreath and look around for some lights for the deck while I am 

in the shed.  The problem is, I am still going through boxes and getting "rid of"... I think my 

porch lights from the big house are way at the back of the shed.  

I went by the big house today, in fact, to turn the furnace up a little.  The 

contract on the house closes on the 12th, next week.  It will be bittersweet, 

you see, that was the house that Keith loved, but also, the house where he died. 

When I go in there now, I don't get any bad vibes or anything, I just feel so sad that 

he only got to enjoy his dream house for two years.   It was a big, strong, 

lovely house, and it was so much fun to decorate at the holidays. 

But, know what?  I love my little house, and it is, indeed, MY little house

where I can do what I want and not have to defend any choices.  It's the first time

I could do that, and I love being here.  

Saturday was the first day of "Santa's Express" at the 

Ag Hall , and we had great participation in the third running 

of the Reindeer Run 5K, and walk, and lots of families coming to do crafts, 

see Santa, and ride the train. 

Those are my helpers in the craft room, the General Store, Caitie, a friend, and Paiton, my granddaughter. 

They worked hard on showing kids how to decorate pinecones and make Christmas cards, and I was 

very grateful for their help, and the help of many other volunteers that day and Sunday. 

Here comes Santa's Express, actually!

Judy is our admin assistant, but while we have no director, she is 

the defacto "everything".  It just wouldn't happen without her and 

Marsha, our volunteer coordinator, thinking of it and doing it. 

I'm not leaving out all our other wonderful volunteers, (those are two 

behind Judy, Elaine and Gerri) who give tirelessly to make things succeed. 

I was only at the Ag yesterday morning for a while, so I came home to 

do chores while the warm weather held.  I spread straw in most of the buildings. 

Look what I found in the hen spa!  Uh huh!  I thought I was getting two or three eggs a day. 

Of course, they won't lay there again, because I pulled the eggs out of that nest.  

I bedded down the little red henhouse, where I had started the four feral kittens out. 

I still leave a litter box in there for them, but I checked it this morning and for the first time, 

it was not used. 

I also put a little cat food in there every morning, and it is gone by the next day... I think a 

possum is getting it.  

Keith would be dismayed to see that his little red hen house he made so lovingly for me 

is crumbling.  The porch is coming apart, he put roosts around the edges, and they have deteriorated. 

It is still usable, but is just not standing up to the weather as he imagined it. 

At some point, the porch would need replacing. 

I put straw in the duck house, behind the old henhouse. 

Oh, that's kind of a blurry picture, but I bedded the closet of the 

old henhouse, I notice on the game camera that the kittens had slept in there several times. 

I may just go ahead and bed the whole thing, in fact. 

Because Harlequin (Harley) and.... (look close, she is looking down from a beam) 

 the Spookapotamus (Spooky) are living in there, still, and 

were waiting for their food.  I do open a pophole all day long every day, 

so they can come and go. 

I also bedded the one remaining dog house by the house... and this morning, 

found where an animal had used it last night.  The hens tend to pull the straw out 

of this house, so I have to keep re-bedding it.  

On Saturday morning, the gray and white kitty who hung out here all summer 

was sleeping in the chair nearest my front door, on the porch.  I am keeping this bedded in case he wants to sleep there.  I am still feeding him out at the gate, but am going to start drawing him closer, 

I hate that his feed gets all dusty every day, we have had so little rain that our road is 

causing great clouds of dust to roll.  

He is often waiting for me when I put the feed out. 

This is a gratuitous picture of a beautiful creek that stretches under 

I70 that I often stop and look at on my way home from Walmart in 

Bonner Springs, it is one of my favorite creek views! 

Here's my girl Lil this afternoon.  She did not feel good today, and I 

think it was she who vomited while I was at the Ag this morning. 

I am keeping an eye on her. 

Last night's beautiful supermoon peaking over the Spehar's hill across from us. 

It disappeared a few minutes later behind the clouds, but oh, what a view we had. 

What I go through nightly here, and oh, I love that my work shoes are in it. 

Sometimes, there is peace. 

And by the way, that's TWINKLE'S bed.