Winter came hard on the heels of a warm wind here. Well I know by US standards freezing is not cold, it's just us wimpy Brits who think more than two days of low temperatures is a new ice age! But still, when a northerly wind cuts like ice and the troughs start freezing over, I am thankful for my all-in-one quilted overall and can (sort of) laugh at the elements. As a Billy Connolly joke goes "........... there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes"! Our older residents get nice warm blankets as well, and it is time for their "soup" to be served hot. In fact Sunny, Jorg's old riding horse, keeps dipping his nose into his cold mash and raising the horse equivalent of an eyebrow in disgust. Mea culpa, but we still don't have the flash heater I bought a year ago fixed up in the tack room - it is next on the list!
The fall leaves are mostly in the yard now, and it still astonishes me how dead the trees always look in winter over here. Maybe it is because there are so many, or the types of trees, but I never remember my homeland trees looking quite so desolate over the winter. I am always surprised, and very pleased, when they spring back into life again.
Our new puppy, Cassie, is proving to be an absolute gem. Well apart from an ethernet cable, my beard trimmer, the back of my cell phone, and sundry tights and stockings (Jorg's not mine!) that is. I had forgotten what having a small child around the house is like. Move everything four feet above the floor until the difference between chewing toys and personal possessions is learnt! However, this is a bright little dog and anxious to learn. She watches everything that is going on and really only gets into mischief when left to her own devices - silly us! I have always wanted a dog that would be a companion, especially around the farm, and she has every sign of being that dog. Once I can get her to remember that, while the other dogs don't mind her seizing them by the leg, a horse might!
We have been putting up with the "desperate" sounds of mothers and calves separated at night, prior to full weaning. Goodness knows what we will have to put up with when we finally separate them for good. Apart from finding a suitable place on the farm out of sight (although probably not out of sound!) of each other, it will put a strain on our "soft" hearts to hear them missing each other. Talk about the children leaving home, this is way worse! (Sorry kids, only fooling!)
