November 13, 2008 - Sunday
Farm life has been busy - with my husband nursing a broken collar bone, I have had lots of adventures on our huge Massey Fergusen tractor.  I love driving it and doing things, which is some times a challenge.  But it is also scary at times as it is so powerful but that doesn't stop me. 

Autumn is full of colors this year.  The trees are incredible, red, orange, yellow, purple, lt green, brown and ready to shed all of their leaves with the first hard freeze.  In this life on the farm there are many things that are "just a part of life."  Flies (that is why grandma had a pie cabinet to keep the flies off), ticks (they don't go away until a hard freeze), praying for rain - then praying it doesn't rain until you get the hay in, watching the local tv channels on days and nights of severe storms because they show the radar images down in one corner with alerts in case there are tornados in the area, making sure the weather radio is working after you go to bed as it will alert us of any tornado "watch" or "warning".  A tornado watch means the conditions are perfect for one, tornado warning means that one tornado has been spotted.  Accepting exceptionally dirty clothes from working on the farm, having slip on shoes and slip on boots at the front door, ready, for when you hear a noise or see something that has to be taken care of like horses broken out of the pasture etc. 

Then in the winter accepting the daily sweeping that must be done in the house because of the wood bin, the wood stove and all that it brings besides heat.  And accepting that living in the country brings dangers for you and your animals.  Coyotes, Cougars, Raccoons, snapping turtles, vultures, eagles and wild dogs.  The coyotes often take puppies and kittens if left out.  Cougars take small calves, dogs, sheep etc.  Raccoons can kill a dog by coaxing them into the water of a creek, lake or river then hold them down to drown.  Sheep face the same dangers with cougars, wild dogs and coyotes. 

We have just recently had to accept a loss - our two precious beagles.  The lived in beagle heaven, hunting in the daytime after it warmed up, napping on dog beds in the afternoon, going for a short hunt late afternoon and then settling down for a nice nights sleep in their own space, in the laundry room, with all the food and water they want.  They met a challenge last Sunday they could not overcome - Little Happy never made it home, and his girlfriend, Pretty Face, somehow crawled home only to die here.  That is the REAL world of country living and surviving. 

We have always taken in "dump dogs" who have been abused and/or dumped to wander and find another home, if they can.  So two beds have opened up and we wait for God to bring us some little guys who need help.  Meanwhile, their best buddy, Carver, a big Coyote Hound, who always ran with them, but age always brought him home early, is now desperately moarning their loss.  He gets up early every morning and goes to their room, then goes outside and looks for them, then comes back in and searches their room then cries.  It is so sad. I think he would have understood more if he had seen them dead. 

So, I have stopped leaving the barn door open at night, thinking Happy might miracously come home.  I know now he is dead.  They are both missed.  Our hearts miss them and I feel honored to have been a part of their lives and to have been trusted by them. 

Well, it all sounds ugly and depressing and then I look up, out the window and see the bright red Cardinal coming in for his seeds.  They are starting to feed as the fields get empty and the insects die from the cold nights.  Soon, all 5 bird feeders will be full of bright red Cardinals.  I am starting to straighten up my hobby studio where I have been
dumping all of the stuff, supplies for projects and unfinished projects.  Now the day has come - JUDGEMENT DAY - when it is time for me to dig my way through the stacks of stuff I have not put away, have done projects, supplies and ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE.  I actually love to organize but it has to be a cloudy, rainy, cold day in order for me to do it.  Otherwise I am outside playing in the garden, with my mule or dreaming up more projects for the barn and other outdoor improvements. 

Here are some of the projects:
*framing the hundreds of photos and many pieces of art
*playing with designing the frames myself as  hate the standard frames
*finishing the kitchen curtains
*hanging the pictures
*putting in the rest of the flooring in the bathroom and studio
*clearing off the shelves in the studio and mark thing to go to the booth I have in a consignment store in town
*putting together photos of my precious 4-legged angels
*design and put together small barn front, complete with doors to hang on the wall and hold  all the names of my 4 legged angels on it. 
*start making up cookie dough for holidays and freezing it

Well, that is enough to give you a headache I am sure.  No recipes today.  Just a visit.  Thanks for visiting and hope you come back soon.