Fall Happenings

The weather has been typically Fall-ish in every way. I just love the warm days and cool sweater evenings. We have seen two groups of geese fly over yesterday signaling that colder weather is just around the corner. Today we saw 3 different groups flying in their trademark V formations.

We are still not ready for a fall garden, but Lon did manage to plant 2 kinds of cabbage and some collards we think, as the tag on the tray of seedlings were mixed up. I guess we will have to wait till spring to plant a garden in earnest. The best we can do this winter is to improve the soil with some natural amendments found around the barnyard. Then dream over the seed catalogs during the cold days when you don't dare stick your nose outside for long.

Curiosity got the best of us recently and we sat down to figure up the due dates for the girls. Not really knowing when Anna was bred posed a problem with her projected dates, but we just figured it from the week prior to her arrival here. The previous owner had said she and the buck had been seen together, so it is a safe bet that she came to us already bred. All three of the does have gone past their repeated heat cycle dates, so we feel sure they are all pregnant with our future herd mates. It was surprising to see how the due dates fell ~

Anna - due Dec. 24 - Jan. 2nd. (Holiday babies?)

Sugar - due Feb. 5th -Feb. 9th (her birthday is Feb. 9th)
This is one of her baby pictures from back in March. She has grown into a beautiful doe. Guess I need to take some new photos of her, huh?

Amber - due Feb. 12th - Feb. 16th ( Valentine babies?)

This will be our first kidding and we are excited about having baby kids running around the place. But a little nervous about any possible delivery problems we may encounter. I've helped deliver human babies before, but I have a sneaky suspicion that this will be way different. Reading up on the details will be one thing I can do as I wait for my injury to heal.

We now have the wood needed to put the roof on the new goat shelter we are building for their new living quarters. Hopefully it won't take too long to complete and they will have a dry place to wait out the winter weather sure to come. Plans are to also partition off a place in our "barn in progress"for a kidding area and holding pen. A big need that will be used sooner than I think we will be ready for. Here's hoping for some dry weather and well bodies to get the work done.

Lon put up a deer stand near his food plot behind the house, in hopes of getting us some venison for our freezer. We have seen signs of their presence on the property. The grasses and peas are coming up good in it and someone has been sampling the corn we left out in the woods. It is a wait and see game, that is played out each year about this time.

With all the time I've had to sit gingerly around the house, I was able to finish the quilted pumpkin I had been working on. I have several other fall craft projects I would like to get completed too if I am able. Some are leftovers from previous years and would be nice to finally see them finished. One is a small quilt that I started last fall during hunting season, from fabric bought many years before that. I have a wooden pumpkin that needs to be painted and some fabric acorns that would look great in a bowl with pine cones and other natural items if I could get "around to it."

Then there is this poncho I started knitting for myself that has been set aside for more pressing things. I am never at a lost for some sort of hand work to pass the time with. That is if I can ever find the time to pass. In an effort to get a jump on some Christmas craft items, I started back hand stitching some quilted pieces suitable to be used as coasters or ornaments for our tree. I think they would also make cute hostess gifts if we should get invited to some one's home this year. They are a pick-me-up kind of craft, one that can be easily set back in the basket by my reading chair if the need arises

As you can tell from my notes I am still not sitting or moving well. Lon is of the opinion that my tailbone is not broken or I would be in more pain than I am. I on the other hand is not so sure! I have had broken bones in the past and know what one feels like. Resting as best I can has been the order for the day and will continue for several more. Sleeping is beyond a comfort level that I can find right now. Lying on my back is impossible and trying to sleep on my side causes pain also. I am unable to sleep on my tummy, due to a previous injury to my cervical spine as a teenager. So that only leaves sleeping standing up or on my head. Don't think I want to risk another injury with that one!

Looking for some sleep,

Deborah

Is Spring around the Corner?

Could it be that Spring is right around the corner? We have enjoyed warmer temperatures this week up to mid-high 60"s. An increase in activity is seen all over the place. The Canadian Geese are heard first with their soft cooing then seen as we scan the skies for the familiar V formation. As they push ever northward on their trip back up to their breeding grounds. A sure sign that Spring is not too far away. Who's gonna argue with Geese about the return of Spring? Our own familiar pair has been back on our lake for about 2-3 weeks now and have taken up the old habit of coming up in the yard. Begging for a free handout and giving our granddaughter a real treat each day. They respond to my personal call and I can't help but believe that it is the same pair that nests near our house each year. Many years ago a pair showed up one day and became very tame around us. The male had a missing foot and walked around on a stump. We named him Peg, because as he waddled around he looked just like a pirate would on a peg-leg. His mate was a devoted mother and hatched out several broods over the years. Proud parents they were, and as soon as the babies would hatch out, they were sure to bring them up to the house for us to see and comment on. With each passing year they became more tame and their offspring would come up and visit as well. The last year we saw Peg and his lady, they had aged a lot and Peg lost many a battle that spring and summer with the younger males seeking the refuge on our lake that they had enjoyed. It was apparent that their kids still came to visit as they too would respond to my call and would come near to eat the feed we scattered on the water for them. We now regularly seen this pair on the lake and they too come when called or whenever they get the notion for takeout. Even coming all the way around to the back porch for a handout. I hope they are able to hatch out a brood for themselves this year and continue the cycle that Peg and his lady started.

The warming trend we have been having has triggered growth in some other areas that speak of a Spring on the horizon. Little tuffs of green are being seen on the apple trees and jumping up out of the ground all over the yard. Yellow blossoms are forming on the forsythia, a sure sign in my book that most of the winter like weather is behind us. As soon as they get a little more growth I will cut a few branches to force into full bloom for our table pleasure.

But the surest of signs that winter is not over and a cold freeze is still due is when our plum tree puts out it's blooms. It never fails that we will have a slight warming trend with the plum tree responding to the urge to push forth it's blossoms. Only to have a freeze mid-stream that kills most of the them right off the limbs. Which leaves us with only a few hopefuls for fruit each year. Maybe we will be able to escape a late freeze this year and see a bumper crop of plums for a change.

My most favorite sign and one that coincides with my birthday each year are the daffodils and jonquils that give the sunniest color to our yard. I have a mixture of several, some purchased, and some shared from my Mom's yard. It is such a joy to cut two or three for a vase of sunshine for my kitchen window each Spring.





Opps! I guess I gave away one off the list of my Spring Favorites too early. You will just have to wait for the rest. Have you started thinking about Spring yet? What signs of it's forthcoming do you see? Start making your "Spring Favorite's" list and we will compare notes next month. It is only 5 weeks away according to the calendar on my desk.



Hopeful Spring is really just around the corner,

Deborah