Sticking Close to Home

Tomorrow, I start my first of many 

Fridays at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame .

Saturday, we have our first (huge) event of the season, 

Barnyard Babies. 

I stuck pretty close to home today, to get our house clean, and 

to rest in anticipation. 

We did go for a walk, and despite driving about 8 miles of 

back roads, this is all we saw: 

Yesterday...

I saw this in the hawk nest.  I got a little worried... from the street, you could only see white. 

The mailman stopped, he has been watching her too... and we talked about it.  The white worried him. 

This was this morning: 

She is fine. 

I left the door open while I worked in the basement cleaning today, so I could hear the birdsong.  

Then I took a chair and put it back in the shadows, and shot out the door. 

A grackle soon took his place. 

While this cowbird ate under the bench. 

He was not alone. 

They look a little spooky, don't they? 

Friday to Saturday

Something happened today that reminded me how much 

I miss my animals from the country house. 

A friend who lost her husband very suddenly this last fall, 

a fellow blogger... is having to place their farm for sale, 

and has already started rehoming her beloved animals. 

I have had to do it twice, at the first Calamity

Acres, and again, two years ago when we moved here to 

this suburban house. 

It is so hard, especially if you have invested hours and 

many dollars in making those animals comfortable, happy and healthy. 

She is facing it with bravery, and I admire her.  It's hard. 

Donna Adams Madigan, I'm thinking of you and praying for you. 

It also reminded Keith and me that we need to prepare better for 

"that day"... so that our kids are not left having to pick up the 

pieces.  We have wills and powers of attorney, but 

we need to make plans for funerals and to make a list 

for each of us for those who should be notified.  At least 

with email, etc. it is easier now. 

Now, onto something happier for the evening post. 

This was in the window of Sonic when the kids and I stopped there this afternoon before walking the dogs.  I had Paiton and Jax for a few hours because their parents had to attend another funeral, the second in two weeks.  They are at that age, sadly... in their late forties... that relatives begin to leave us. 

Only in Leavenworth County... 4H and Feeder Pigs for Sale posted at Sonic. 

Holy Field Winery is also a local winery close to this Sonic who has 

wine tastings all summer long with WONDERFUL bands, outside, on Friday nights. 

Yesterday was gorgeous, 61 degrees! 

We are still doing only one loop at the park, until Lilly is all better. 

The squirrels were everywhere. 

On our way home, our friend was sitting on his pole on Leavenworth road. 

Looking at this bird, that I thought was a Coopers, I am now not so sure. 

Friend Jill???? A red-shouldered hawk, maybe?  Way too big for a Coopers, I think. 

Paiton did a GREAT job holding onto Lilly for me, so I could carry the camera. 

Alas, there were so many families enjoying the 60 degree weather, that no squirrels were 

out in the open. 

The dogs are always glad to see the kids, Jester lived with them for a year before coming to us. 

After we walked, Lilly and Jester and I sat down on a picnic table and watched the kids play on the play equipment for a while. 

After we took the dogs home... we went to Michaels Craft Store for a few things. 

We did some modeling of the St. Patrick's day finery. 

I actually think the hat looks great on Jax! 

Keith and I are going to try to make a short trip to 

a close place to take some pictures tomorrow afternoon... we hope you will 

like them! 

We have also battened down the hatches, we have a potential for 10 inches of snow this week! 

A Cold Day in Kansas

Well, winter finally came. 

This is looking out the basement window onto the patio.  It was still snowing. 

I restocked seed five times today. 

I was looking down from the tv room here. 

For some reason... the starlings I see flying all around here are not coming 

to the feeders.  

There were doves and several other kinds... and once 

I looked down and saw at least 20 purple finches. 

This is what the dogs did most of the day.  Lilly wanted to walk... but 

it was just too cold.  I actually think she could have done it, but ... Jester would have been a dogsickle. 

This... is the last tomato of 2015!  I have been using the green tomatoes I picked in 

November little by little, and this was the last.  We had tacos for dinner tonight. 

It was a little tough, it had sat in the window a long time. 

I leave you with a lovely picture... 

I am sitting here this evening going through day by day, deleting pictures from 

storage, both from my Passport external hard drive, and from the computer. 

Not deleting this one.  

Everyone in the NE Kansas area, be safe out there, 

and we are praying for all those affected by the terrible tornadoes and flooding, our 

hearts go out to them. 

Three Days of Rain

This is how the dogs feel. 

Yes, it really is that gloomy. 

The dogs have not been for a walk since Wednesday, and 

you know we walk a mile a day, normally. 

I think Lil and I could have made it, but we

would have had to leave Jester home alone today. 

On my way to church, I saw some mighty frozen weeds. 

There has been freezing, thawing, freezing, thawing, and accidents are everywhere. 

This poor cold hawk was on a pole at a farm where no one lives now (but it is still farmed). 

I felt so sorry for it. 

This past week, Izzie's Pond, a  rescue I follow on FB, attempted their 

first rehab of a red tailed hawk, under the tutelage of a wildlife rescue. 

One of the things Izzie's posted was that the number of hawks coming 

into rescue triples at this time of year.  Many juveniles or injured, cannot feed themselves, especially in the bad weather.  They grow emaciated, and then die.  

Sadly, the hawk in their care was injured too badly to live... but now I can't look 

at a hawk on a pole without worrying. 

Izzie's Pond has a wonderful story, and they have just purchased a larger property 

so they can expand their operation.  

Our skies have been so very leaden. 

Rain is predicted through Monday. 

I stopped at the bluffs... look at Stranger Creek!  

It is predicted to come out of it's banks upstream, at 

Easton. 

Here is the other side of the bridge, you can see that the water is roiling on it's way. 

We were supposed to have Jax over to stay the night tonight, but when I got home 

after church, Jim texted to say they were taking him along to dinner and a movie with 

Mom and Dad, while Paiton had a sleepover at her cousin's.  

As you can see, we are taking it EASY. 

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow, if the driving is better. 

Geese are beginning to fill the skies here. 

So Far Behind

I am so, so far behind reading your blogs, and I apologize for that! 

I can't believe that my days are busier, instead of quieter... 

if someone had told me retirement would mean this... I would have laughed. 

I'll try to get caught up on what everyone is doing tomorrow. 

This, I think, is a dark-morph redtail. 

It's a beauty, isn't it? 

You can sure see why they are called redtails! 

It didn't go far. 

About 30 feet. 

Jes was not feeling so hot yesterday or today. 

I think he's better now. 

Here is the big hawk who lives down on the corner of 155th Street.  He is just almost perfectly camouflaged, isn't he? 

I took this picture to show you what happens when you don't take care of your fence lines. 

The pasture behind these red cedars is also overgrown, and unfortunately, the buffalo live there. 

The beautiful barn is on the piece of land where the buffalo are supposed to be kept.  There was a house there, too, but it is burned and falling in. 

The greater piece of land around this... 146 acres, was for sale from the time we moved to Calamity Acres.  Yesterday, I took this picture: 

The for sale sign was being taken down.  We don't know what this means. 

Keith called about it once... they wanted nearly 2 million dollars for the 145 rolling acres along the highway. 

Tonight's sunset, from our back door.  

Wow. 

Any doubts about the glory of God???

Happy Grammy watching! 

(I'm taping Downton and switching to Grantchester at 9:30) 

63 Degrees!

This is our friend from down on the corner.  I wasn't able to get his takeoff. 

If you click on it, you can see his beautiful eye. 

Big Sis will be making a trip to see the vet next week... the 

"thing" on her elbow is worse, much worse.  

I am crossing fingers and toes. 

We have been so blessed... it was 63 degrees today! 

Sometimes it's fun to look back... here are my eggs from two years ago today! 

It's so fun to see these pictures! 

A Bunch of Pictures

Another gray day in Leavenworth County... ugh... 

but I am NOT complaining... we just had on the news stories about the terrible, terrible weather on either coast, and my heart goes out to those folks who are going through that mess.  

I hope they are safe over the next few days. 

The dogs and I did not let the cold and grayness keep us from going out. 

This is on a barn about a mile from us... near the alpaca farm. 

All the alpacas were in their barns today, with the cold and drizzle. 

This guy flew over the pasture fast... and no, I don't think it's a hawk.  I think it was a 

black vulture.  He literally went so fast I could hardly get pictures of him, and I suspect he was watching Jester. 

This, on the other hand, IS a hawk, one I pictured a few days ago.  He does NOT like it when I stop the car to take his picture. 

See where I found him?  I have gotten really good at scanning trees and telephone poles.  

I didn't steady myself enough to get a good picture... and he was pretty far away. 

Then he took off, but circled back around. 

Look who is back in the pasture with the other mares.  

I just love her spots.  

They seem to have ample hay this year, unlike last winter, when I worried every time I went down that road. 

Can you BELIEVE THIS?????

I saved the best for last.  You know that Lilly completely ignores Jester... and 

he follows her around constantly... and goes where she has been, because if he gets too close, she goes after him.  So...

He uses the circling tactic 

As soon as she left the goat yard, he rushed in to see what she had been 

investigating. 

Then, he followed her down to the bottom of the pasture.... 

Where she actually had her face down in the opening under the fence into the wooded area on the Spehar's side. 

I'm always afraid she or he will try to tunnel under there, so I watch them closely when they go down there. 

How I've grown to love this dog! 

Tomorrow, I'll show you how we have decorated the house for our Christmas gathering with Keith's family on Saturday.