We're Harvesting!

Yes, we're harvesting some cool weather crops.  A bit of lettuce, spinach, and radishes...

We had a wonderful salad with our turkey bone soup!  I had forgotten how wonderfully tasty fresh vegetables are.

"Knock-on-wood" the critters stay away from the crop!

It's Done!

It's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yep, we finally finished the front walk.  It was back-breaking work, but we're done.  We had a big rain event a couple days ago and the water drained away from the house the way it was suppose to, so that's good.  Now we need to move all of the extra crushed granite and flagstone--another back-breaking job...

Big Move

We had been planning to move the protein feeder down next to the deer feeder for several months because it was getting no feeding action.  We had asked several people to do it for us but all have been busy---deer hunting.  So we did it ourselves.  Thankfully is was fairly light and easy to take apart and put back together.  So here it sits in anticipation of some hungry deer...

Pantry

The drought over the summer was broken by heavy rains we got at the end of October and during November.  Unfortunately, the warm growing season was over so little grass was produced.  Now the cows are having to be fed hay that is brought in.  The hay bail area becomes the hangout for everyone.  It reminds me of a charity food pantry.  The cows, like people, come running when there is a delivery.

You can see ADD standing there with her daddy.  Dad is babysitting while mom is off running an errand.

Water

Water is a big deal in this neck-of-the-woods.  Thankfully we have a tank that has been reliable providing water for all the critters on our plot.

Interestingly we have two other very old tanks which fill when we get copious rainfall.

This old tank is down by the deer feeder.  When it is at its fullest, is is about 2.5-3 feet deep.  Rooster loves to walk around in it when it is full during the hot summer days.

This tank is probably the oldest.  It is located west of the drive a couple hundred yards in the trees.  It is here that we see our turtle friend, Timmy, when he's out and about.  Again, this tank only fills when there is a very heavy rain.  One reason I am calling attention to them is they are attracting all kinds of ducks.  Both offer lots of protection from the elements and are great hiding places from predators.  The bad news is it works both ways.  I watched a coyote stalk ducks the other morning along the edge of one.  He came close to getting a meal but failed on this day.

Early December Sunset

The sunsets have been spectacular the last few days.  Here are a couple examples...

future one....

This is a late December sunset; another "feast for the eyes!"

Rewarded

A couple weeks ago, Peg and I put the fencing panels surrounding the deer feeder back up.

The extra money we spent on the stronger posts paid off.  The other day when the cows made a check of our work and were not able to push over the posts and get in, we felt pretty good about our work!

Cooler Weather

Took this picture the other morning when the air temperature was in the low thirties.  The tank water was so much warmer than the air temperature, a little fog was created.  Then add a slow north breeze, and it becomes a little spooky.

Update On ADD

Even though ADD is kind of a free spirit, it is very difficult to get close.  I finally was able to and made the discovery that he really is a she.  She has grown and is acting more like a little calf.  After a delicious breakfast prepared by her mama, ADD heads away to join the small group of calves.  She is the youngest so after a bit of time with them, she follows her mama out into the pasture and lays down for a nap while she grazes.  And that is pretty much the order of things throughout her day.

 
From this photo, it is apparent how much she has grown in the last month or so.  Looking around at the other mama cows, it is obvious that several of them are fixing to "domino".  So ADD will have some new friends soon!

Work Continues Two

Now that we know how much work the front walk is going to be, we're beginning the procrastination process.  It is back breaking work!  I would like to say there is some fun and a sense of accomplishment in a task done well, but for me there isn't any.  Yet we continue...

Our latest strategy to keep us at least marginally focused, is to do a little bit every weekend.  My next posting of the walk will show it as complete.