Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween.  Back from the "wild west".  We had an incredible time.  Everything is SO VAST and so diverse and SO beautiful!!   We saw a few sheep and then this one.

It was across from the visitor center at the Colorado National Monument.  First John tried to tell me it was mechanical and then he told me they paid it to stand there.  I saw two more the next day on another rock in another place.  The mule deer out west are heavier looking than our deer here.  We saw a beaver dam and an eagle nest and assorted small animals as well.  The rabbits are really fast.

When we returned, the animals all acted like they did the day I left, over a week previous.  I guess they didn't miss me and were not mad I left because Cathy takes such good care of them.   It is So nice to have a fine farm sitter.

I think it is really important to take vacations and see all the magnificent places there are.  I think there is something special about every place but sometimes you have to look a little harder or deeper.  This vacation I didn't have to do either, we were oohing and awing from the first moment on the train, almost.  We flew into Denver and took a train for 8 hours, along 230+ miles of the Colorado River, through canyons, and along forests and through falling snow.  We got off the train in Grand Junction Colorado and rented a car to explore some of the National Parks of Utah.

I had a few flashbacks to when I was between school and work or work and work and and had time to just wander.  Back then, if I had $200.00 saved up, I felt I could go anywhere I wanted.  Now, most people need a little more security and a little more traveling money, though you can still camp for free in some of the most beautiful places in the world.  

Back at home, it is fall with leaves turning and a nip in the air.  Many fall projects to do, but alas today is Halloween and it is cloudy and nice sitting by the wood stove writing the 6th blog of October (not bad for being gone over a week).

Burrrrr

This morning we woke up to 29 degrees.  The first hard frost of the season.  I even put on my gloves to go down to the barn.  Something felt funny in a couple of the glove fingers and when I investigated I found beach glass.  When was that?

There was frost all over the grass but the water in the buckets was open.  It seems a little early to go into winter mode and after tonight it is suppose to get warmer again, so I won't get the plug-in buckets out yet.

Lyndy came over to work on her house and besides being cold it was windy, so we had to bundle up, but we got some more clapboard up.  I am glad we are almost ready to move inside.  The sheep are loving this weather and have hardly been inside at all for several days.  Sure makes cleaning the barn easy.

The geese don't seem to mind the cold either but I put straw in the barn closet incase they want to get out of the weather.  So why doesn't everyone wear goose down or wool?

Lyndy's Tiny House Update mid October

Lyndy's tiny house has a new look.  Lyndy and
Brook and John of course, put the house wrap

on and then covered it with clapboard. Jerry helped paint the sage clapboards on Saturday.  Door knobs were order, more decisions made,  we are plowing forward again.  The question remains- "will it be ready for Thanksgiving pies?"

 Doesn't it look inviting?  Even the stink bugs and a spider were making them selves at home on the front porch.

Some of the inside is getting done too, but you can't see it here.  That is for the next peek.

Fall on the Farm

YES the sheep still live here.  It seems like all the talk, lately, has been about the chickens and the geese.  I guess that is because the sheep have been behaving better than the birds recently.

It is funny how the geese hang out with the sheep and all get along so well and then they get back to the barnyard and still behavior is good most of the time until the geese decide to harass the sheep for no apparent reason.

A few days ago, Sal was limping and then holding up one of her legs a lot.  I thought, "Oh no, the golden goose again".  She probably got stepped on.

  I consulted with the nature spirits and Sal's spirit guides and ended up giving Sal a homeopathic remedy in her water.  The remedy is used for sprains and strains and dislocations.  The next day she was barely limping and today she seems fine.  I love when things work so well.  I love this picture with every one following me down the pasture and then posing.

Then there are the brown sheep and the grey geese and then a good shot of the white sheep and Charlotte, and of course Zorra gets to be in all the pictures because she is the farm ambassador.  

Another beautiful day and additional small projects completed.  Still lots to do but the weekend looks to be good to polish off a few more.

We may have a tiny house crew this weekend so keep tuned for an update.

Timing and Timelessness

Today, two more things got crossed off the list of farm projects thanks to John.  The hay storage area and the chicken coop have been winterized with that clear wavy panel stuff.  The fall rains have started and the nights are getting cool (mid to low 40's).  Now the chickens will be cozy.  We also got another present for the chickens.  I bought them an automatic door opener so they don't have to wait for me to come down and let them out in the morning.  It also closes at the right time in the evening.  It seems like, this time of year, if I go down to close the coop before dinner, the chickens aren't ready, and after dinner it is dark.  One of the hens is back to sleeping outside of the coop, but at least she has selected a better place than the tree.  So when I go down after dinner, I have to turn on the light in the barn, peek in the closet to see where exactly she is, turn off the light (so as not to rouse her), go back and open the closet door, pick her up, and take her back to the coop.  If I could just get there a couple of minutes earlier, she would still be drowsy and I wouldn't have to turn the light on and off.

This morning I helped John put the big green shutters ( he made for the little church down the road) on to replace the 50+ year old ones that were on it.  The old ones were in rough shape; maybe not the best timing.  I wonder how long the new ones will last.

When it comes to personal timing, I go between thinking, I am doing things at just the right time and feeling that I am dragging my feet.  Sometime, there are moments, however, that seem like time stands still and nothing needs to get done.  This morning, I was waiting at Cedar Hill Church for John to go back up to the house to recut a shutter, when just such a time arrived.  The temperature was perfect, the sun shone  warm on my back, and shadows of turkey vultures glided by on the tree tops.  I was definitely living in the moment.  Then a young woman walked by with a large German Shepherd puppy on a leash.  He/she wanted to come over and see me but the young woman just kept going and barely acknowledged my greeting.  She was tuned in to her headphones but her dog turned around at least a half dozen times before they got to the bend in the road. 

My inspection sticker on my van expired the last day of September.  I knew it was going to expire but then I forgot until Monday.  I didn't get noticed by law enforcement and I pushed my expiration date up an extra month for next year so does that mean I did it at just the right time or I was dragging my feet?

I wish I could have more timelessness in my life.  My short term memory has not been that great lately and I was thinking it might mean that I need to "live in the moment" more, because then I wouldn't have to remember the past moments.  

So what about that dog today and what about the animals at Cabin Spring Farm, do they live in the moment or do they have to worry about timing?