Burning

There's something very satisfying about reducing an enormous stump pile to a heap of ashes. This afternoon I renewed our industrial burn permit and lit up the huge stump pile near the back fence...this was taken about two hours later. Tomorrow after work I'll use the tractor to pile up the outer edge stuff that didn't burn today, and possibly light up pile number two.

On a Soggy Sunday ...

This morning was drippy, soggy, melty and foggy...a fine morning for a slight sleep-in, which meant waking at 6:30 a.m. instead of my usual 5:30. After the critter related chores I headed for the kitchen to bake a batch of very tasty pumpkin spice muffins.

Mid morning, I opened the front door expecting four damp dogs to rush in, only to see all of them wandering around happily together half way down the field. This is a first...since Rudy joined our family several months ago, Lucy has been somewhere between not very nice and downright nasty to him. There has been a subtle change of dynamics between them over the last couple of weeks, and today for the first time she let him join the pack without banning him to the periphery.

Once all the dogs were back in the house, I headed to Cache Creek to meet Mike for lunch...he is on his way to Surrey from Weyburne SK. The roads were wet, and there was some patchy fog...I headed for home by 2:30 to avoid driving in the dark. Cody was very happy to see me! (I think Mike was too.)

I'm going to light the woodstove, and hunker down for the evening.

7 a.m. on Thursday

Another lovely sunrise this morning. The clouds thickened, and by 9:30 the snow began to fall...there's about 1/2 an inch on the ground, and it's plenty windy out there.

If Rupert Had His Way....

...I would be facing animal neglect charges from the SPCA.

I'm usually able to make a quick trip home from work at lunch time to let the dogs out and give Buck and Rupert some hay, as well as to dig through the fridge to find some lunch of my own. Today, I was the guest of honour at an unexpected work-related luncheon, and got to have a very nice meal. And when that was over, so was my break and any chance to coddle the creatures.

I left home very early this morning to do a home visit, knowing I'd be swamped all day at work, and made it back to the office exactly at quitting time, but with half an hour of paperwork and data entry still to do.

I arrived home late and in darkness, to be greeted by the hysterical braying of a donkey who firmly believed he was being deliberately starved to death (I actually gave him plenty of extra hay this morning in case I didn't get home during the day...and given Rupert's rotundness, it would take many months for him to wither away to nothing). The dogs were all doing the "pee-pee dance", but luckily had all managed to control their bladders till I could let them out.

Every one is fed and watered, Rupert is finally placated, and I'm settled in for the evening. It was a long day at work.

April Revisited

The snow from early in the week has melted, and the last two nights have been above freezing. The resultant mud is more like what we see in April than what I'd expect for mid November. Most of the mud is generated by Buck near the fence where I feed him, but the dogs have also been tracking it in for the last two days. Sixteen dirty paws make a lot of mess!

The sky has cleared this afternoon, so I'm pretty confident all the muck will be frozen and non-messy again by tomorrow.

Here's a picture of Rupert, taken Tuesday.

Another Sunrise

Here's the scene that met me & the dogfaces when we went out this morning to take Buck and Rupert their morning hay. Sunrises this time of year can be breathtaking.

A little more snow today... slightly warmer weather forecast for the coming days though. Our new and very fabulous woodbox (thanks, Gary!) is filled with enough firewood to last two or three days, so I'll be staying cozy and warm. I love wood heat...it's constant and comforting.

Red Sky In the Morning...

Here was the sunrise yesterday morning...

And here's what happened for the rest of the day!

The dogs love the snow...(Jasper and Cody)

And the chickadees love their peanuts.

So, yes, we are all alive and well here. I haven't posted for weeks, and I thought I'd better update so you didn't think we'd fallen off the face of the earth, or even worse. So, what has been getting in the way of blogging? Um, life. I recently finished working 15 consecutive days and lived to tell about it. There have been plenty of pre-winter chores to do, and Mike and Cody have just headed back out after 10 days at home.

I've actually been devoting most of my computer time for the last couple of months to following the US election. I've become somewhat of a political junkie, and spent the afternoon and evening yesterday following the election coverage. What a great day for the United States...the metaphorical tide is turning.

Meanwhile, back on the homestead, yesterday was first real dump of snow for the season, and everything this morning was pristine. Things melted a bit today. The roads are in good shape.

Buck and Rupert had their season-finale pedicures yesterday, and are all set for winter.