Not much, you?

Pansy chose this place for a photo op. I couldn't resist although I did not get a super picture. She is our beauty queen.

What do you know? There is not much happening up here on the ridge this week. I am finishing a quilt on the quilter and waiting to go to town tomorrow. I can't bare to take down the Christmas tree, so, I guess, I will leave it up until I am good and ready to take it down. It is cold,......nothing new. It isn't snowing........something new. As they say.......clear and crisp.

Butthead has ruined more of the shed. Jake will have to do something to shore it up, or it will collapse soon. Just when I thought that that ram was settling down, he up and ruins more of the shed. Go figure!

Creature Comfort

Pansy liked the stove when it was in the old living room, now dining room. As you can see, she still likes it. It is hard to believe how warm/hot she can get and still lay in front of the fire.

Sure is a cozy place to be here in the below zero weather.

The winds are blowin ............ (as the song says.) But we can weather the storm........ It's a lot easier with that fire in the corner of the room.

You know.........global warming.

Home for the Holidays

This is Outside Toonces. (of SNL fame) He was born here about four years ago. His mother was left here when we bought the farm. He has one brother and one sister. The summer that they were a year old, they all went on "walkabout". The sister never came back. The brother, Puff, came back with half a face and a broken front leg. He was nursed back to health. Toonces came back but continued to disappear. One time he never came back. Last year on Thanksgiving vacation, when my son and dauther-in-law were up here, Toonces reappeared. I kept him in the little house for a day, and then let him out. He left and hasn't been seen again. He had been living inside somewhere because he was sleek and fat.

This afternoon while I was working in the kitchen. I looked out the window and saw a cat sitting in front of the barn facing away from me. I thought that it was awful dark to be one of our cats. All I could think of was.........Outside Toonces. Sure enough, I went out and it was him. Here he was at the same time of the year. He is still friendly to us, and I captured him on camera. I will not keep him inside this time. I am just glad that he came home for the holidays...........or............is he here for deer hunting? Either way, it is good to see him again.

Hiding

I'm hiding. I'm hiding.
But no one knows where.
Cause all they can see,
Is a bunch of my hair.



The poem is changed a little from the one that my mom used to read to me when I was small. For some reason I have never forgotten the first part of it.

I have no idea which end is up on Pansy, but I do know that she was comfortable this morning when I caught her napping.


I told you he was sassy! After all the work I am going through so that he can have a soft comfy bed, he has the nerve to stick his tongue out at me.



Junior is wondering how much longer it will take to get the table filled up again because it is getting close to nap time. Go figure.

Indian summer

Now the trees across the road are in full color. Going to town or to the village is a real treat because you get to see the fantastic fall foliage. All the hills around here make terrific viewing when it comes to autumn color. We didn't have that where we lived down by the Illinois line. It was too close to flatland. Of course, you can see the elm that will become fire wood since it succumbed to Dutch elm disease.




Today Jake is working outside. He has to take advantage of the wonderful weather. He is digging a trench for a water line that won't freeze. The dairy barn was not equipped with a line that did not freeze. It always froze towards the end of winter when the last thing we wanted was trouble getting water out to the cows. This should take care of that problem. That will be a big improvement.

But.....Jake found another "attachment" that he "must" have for his Bobcat. We rented the backhoe attachment from the implement dealer. He loves it. I guess I love it, too, since it will mean that I won't have to drag a hose to water the cows in the dead of winter. I guess "you got to give some.......to get some."

It is quite a mess, but he knows what he is doing. It is a good thing because to me it just looks like a mess.



Ruffy and Dickie Smothers got a new home today. Neither of them is particularly happy about it, but that can't be helped. Fluffer may join them later; I just can't decide if I should do that or just leave him in with the big boys. There is no pasture, but there won't be green grass for much longer. They can get into a large pen in the barn when the weather is bad. The only problem is that their door will have to be closed when the weather gets snowy because otherwise the whole barn will fill up with snow. It is a west wall.


Of, course, we can't forget Junior. In the wall we bared last week, there was a hole for a chimney. Junior had to investigate. If there is trouble to get into, he will find it.