A Snowy, Blowy Day

This picture, taken just at dusk tonight, pretty much sums 

up the whole day. 

That's the dining room light reflected in the back door. 

Lilly looks pretty forlorn, but actually, she was about to eat her dinner.  She likes to 

eat it on the back porch, even in the blowing snow. 

We didn't get that much accumulation, but it blew almost all day, 

and is miserably cold. 

This happy picture greeted me today when I got to the old place. 

Silver, at least, has figured out how to roost. 

I was as proud as a parent of her. 

I stopped at Orschelns on the way out there, and bought a heater base... you know, one of those things we SOLD IN THE SALES these last few months. 

However... that heater base will pay for itself this week, when we dip to zero degrees at night. 

It will keep the water drinkable and I won't have to worry about the birds all day. 

There is also a heat lamp on... and I suspect the birds will take advantage of it 

tonight. 

They are all moving around freely, now.  No eggs yet, but I didn't really expect them. 

On top of it, I don't know how to set the lights on a timer.  Still trying to figure that out. 

The light coming on early would stimulate the hens to lay. 

I looked out the window of the henhouse, and saw little birds under the old 

feeder.  I took some scratch out there and sprinkled it around (you can see it in the snow). 

Within five minutes, look who was out there! 

After I finished with the chickens, I ran down to Tongie and bought a 

five pound bag of sunflower seed to sprinkle out there. 

The little birds were all over the water standing in the drive... that will turn to ice tonight.  I'll be parking at the gate tomorrow, and walking across the yard. 

I didn't forget the birds here at home, either, and spread fresh seed when I got home... I had already shoveled the sidewalk off.  

However... since I took that picture, it has snowed for hours and the patio is covered now... I'll have to shovel in the morning again and spread more grain. 

As I looked out off and on, there were probably a hundred birds out there eating. 

My friend didn't realize it, but she has two roosters, a blue and a black. 

There has been no sparring between them... and neither has crowed.  Having had 

my sixteen roosters until a year ago... I was used to roosters crowing constantly. 

I spread feed in the straw and topped the bowl off... they are all set until 

I go out there tomorrow, and that won't be until the roads are cleared. 

Here is one thing that I don't miss... the patio we had poured two years ago was so slick last year that I had to walk down the east steps and clear around it every time I went out in the winter.  I did it again today, too, because falling is the thing that scares me the most.  

It's a wonderful patio... just not in the winter. 

Can you see the geese huddling against the bank on this pond at the end of our street?  They were the only geese on the pond this afternoon, and they were being blown against the shore. 

Today, Keith was going to take me to Wyandotte County Lake to take pictures of eagles... but the weather this weekend precluded all of that. 

"Why can't we go with you today, Mama????"

They were disappointed, but Jester does not need to be out in the cold and blowing winds. 

Everyone be safe! 

Happy February! 

Descending into the Polar Vortex

Oh, boy, Mother Nature is about to remind us that 

she's in charge. 

We are having ice and snow tomorrow, and then 

plunging to zero during the night next week, 

with highs only going to the high teens on several days. 

BRRRR. 

No sun today, none at all.  In fact, it got darker and darker. 

The ponds were leaden. 

However, there was one glimmer of happiness: 

The Spehar's land wraps ours on two sides... there is a cow pasture between our place and the corner, along 24-40 highways.  8 calves were put in there 3 years ago... and these two steers are the 

only remnants of that herd.  I thought they had gone to freezer camp, I had not seen them in their little pen up by the house for at least 3 weeks.  

I happened to glance up on the hill, and here they came from behind their little barn!  

WOW. 

Happy New Year, guys! 

He was keeping an eye on....

Kathy's daughter's lab, who was in the back yard, down on the side of the dam.  You can't see it, but there is a fence there.  

I don't know what to think about this.  

I paid nearly 60.00 for it.  It was almost empty when I got there, and I thought... well... it could have been transpiration. 

However, I filled it full.... and then, as I was leaving, I ran up to look at it. 

Uh, Huh. 

Leaking?  I'm going to pick it up next week and look at it well. 

If I have to, I'll put a heater in a fortex (or something). 

Very disappointing, and I am probably going to bring it home here to 

use where I can keep an eye on it.

I just feel sorry for my bluebirds that were still drinking there.  

Yes, I saw some Coopers on the way home, but no one closely enough to get a good picture.  This guy, actually, is very shy. 

You see how very gray the skies are. 

However, it stayed near 32 all day, but that's just the prelude. 

I did get to see my brother with my sister-in-law today... he is doing well enough, and they are trying to get him to walk a little more at the nursing home.  He also is getting therapy on the arm that was broken so as not to get "shoulder freeze" as the physical therapist described it to us. 

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of our big ice storm tomorrow. 

And... I'm going to talk about my gardening plans for this year! 

A year ago today. 

Cold enough that I had to wear handwarmers in my gloves every time I went out. 

The Little Camera

I think this piece of the pasture is interesting. 

It is all clover... this is where we fed the llamas for 

four years... and the grass appeared to disappear under

the feeders... but clover established itself. 

It's right inside the big tractor gate, and right outside the goat-llama-pony pen. 

I ran back to the car to get my little camera... because 

yesterday, there were dandelions blooming! 

I drive by this cow frequently.  Until two months ago, she had a companion in 

her pen.  She has a little barn over on the right (by my mirror) and 

a nice pond to drink from... but no companion.  I don't know if the companion went to freezer

camp or what, but I feel so sorry for lonesome herd animals.  She often lays in the corner 

on the left out of the picture... there are cattle in the pasture one down from this place, and I know 

she can hear them from time to time.  Breaks my heart. 

In the house next to this, there is now a lone horse, where before, there were two. 

Same thing... breaks my heart.  

When we lost Lacey, the mini horse, we went to the trouble of borrowing another 

mini to keep our pony Beau company.  

I am going to think positively that this cow is bred and will be having her calf soon, and have another companion. 

You can see the ponds are beginning to freeze... some of these geese were standing on ice. 

We are plunging to the lower single digits and possibly zero tonight. 

Everyone stay warm! 

Long Time No Post

We have had quite the weekend here in Leavenworth County, 

and I have not posted for several days now. 

It has been unseasonably VERY Cold, and 

we have had record-breaking low temps for the last week. 

NOT as bad as Buffalo, Thank God. 

Monday, I ran up to pick up my sister in law, and we went to visit 

my brother Pete.  This is the best picture of the group I took... he 

has broken his upper left arm in a fall.  He has become very, very frail 

in the last month, and is almost unable to communicate at this point. 

Yes, it hurts to see him like this... but he's my brother. 

He was the funniest, goofiest kid when he was younger...

was a teacher, and a fireman... and had a bug-control company on the side.
It's hard to see him like this.  

Yesterday was the FIRST time Keith has gone 

under an anesthetic for surgery!  I did not know this about my husband... 

and he had his permanent "fistula" connection implanted in 

his upper right arm.  He was anesthetized for the surgery, but he 

did not tell me until this morning that he has never had that 

happen before!  

Prior to going into the operating suite. 

Smiling. 

Six hours later.  No, the surgery was only an hour or so, but we were there 

all day.  He had to go to recovery... and did not go under the knife until 3:25. 

I freaked out, see his hands?  One was very, very pale, and one was dark and 

discolored. 

I asked the nurse... and then breathed a sigh of relief because the hand on the 

left here... the hand where the device was implanted on the arm... has betadine on it. 

He was still pale, and he did not feel a bit good. 

He's better today, but is sleeping as I type this.  He did go to 

dialysis this morning. 

I did not go out to the old place over the weekend, and agonized about the waterer on the porch there.  You see... the wild birds still use it.  I  knew it had frozen solid, but it was just so cold I couldn't go out.  I've become a wimp. 

I was delighted to see that it had started thawing, so any bird trying to drink would have been able to do so. 

I think I've thought of a solution for this problem, but I will show you in a few days. 

The dogs were in for four days, except for jaunts around the yard... so they were more than happy to get out there this morning. 

While I fooled around with the water fortex, the dogs disappeared into the pasture. 

I had to go in search of Lil, and finally saw her tale wagging at the brush pile, where Troy had cut the tree up.  She was pointing at something... I suspect mice. 

She was pretty intent on the search. 

Jester started looking, too. 

And for once, Lil did not go after him to warn him away. 

I took him away, though, after a while, because I worry about his getting his 

extruding eyes hurt with the branches. 

I took him in the old henhouse, and he was looking around carefully... I can't tell if the mice are still living in there, it is so quiet and empty. 

He could hear the pophole banging in the wind, and he kept stopping to watch it. 

I would have loved to see him around the chickens. 

Everything has died in the intense cold.  These were the big orange zinnias. 

I'm going to save a bunch of those seeds. 

In the monarda patch. 

(but not monarda!) 

Where "The Tree" was.  Now a sere, cold landscape in a week. 

Friend Jill is of the opinion that this is a young redtail hawk... and I think redtail or 

red-shoulder... juvenile.  He was perched on a pole on our way to the farm... 

and happily, was on the same pole on the way back! 

I stopped in the middle of the lane... no one was coming... and shot some pictures.  Jill suggested switching to black and white the next time so I get the detail in the cloudy day... and I will. 

Black and white would have shown you those hawk eyes better. 

A car pulled to a stop on the cross-road (gravel) and he flew off, but I suspect not far. 

I'm going to look for him again. 

You can see it was windy! 

Here's Jester, all-excited, getting ready to run down to the pasture after we got out of the car.  

We'll be back to our regular "programming" the rest of the week. 

Fall is Flying

From this: 

(10/23) 

To this: 

(11/10) 

When I took this picture this afternoon, the dogs were running back and forth in the 

pasture in 71 degree heat, with bright blue skies. 

It was a gorgeous day. 

Jester ran and ran and ran. 

And he finally flopped down in the shade. 

Troy has cut the maple tree up that split in the storm several months ago, and has split the 

wood and taken it home to cure for his fireplace.   This is what's left... a pile of 

brush.  I started dragging it down to the brush pile.  I got about half of it dragged. 

Last week, I showed you some horses in this pasture.  These horses belong to a man who 

used to trim our pony and mini hooves for us.  I went back and looked at the first picture. 

I particularly liked that Appy mare with the loud pattern.  (He breeds Arab crosses)

I realized when I looked at that picture again that she does not look good... she almost looks lame, or in pain. 

I have not seen her since this day, and I've stopped and looked. 

I don't see her in the pens across the road at his homeplace, either. 

This handsome GIRL is named "Bob".  She was with this guy: 

And they were just across the fence in Troy's back yard. 

They belong to the Spehars, our neighbors to the east with the beautiful ponds. 

Lil was NOT HAPPY to see them. 

And boy, was I ever happy that Troy had pulled the fence up and re-attached where the tree had fallen on it from his pond-side. 

She would have gone straight on through last week. 

Tomorrow, it will be too cold to wander around and take pictures. 

The water will have ice on it. 

And though I have the game camera pointed to the fortex of water... I saw some birds still drinking there the other day... we are supposed to have winds to 40 miles an hour as the front blows in tonight, and I suspect that the camera will blow over during the night.  It's set for 24 hour pictures... so maybe I will get a few pictures. 

I have been listening to the local news while typing this post... 

and our temp of 71 will be a thing of the past for the week... they are now predicting 

18 as the overnight temp for Friday night. 

BRRRRRRR. 

Please continue to remember our little friend Macey in 

your prayers.  Tomorrow, she has another MRI... and her 

blood tests results have now gone to the Mayo clinic.  The family 

will be taking her now to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines for 

follow up.  We are holding them in our hearts and asking God to hold them in His hands.