Rick had to leave for the airport at 3:30 this morning, and I couldn't go back to sleep. Not a bad state of affairs; I'm enjoying my early-morning alone time. I'm thankful for a wood fire, a warm house, time in the Word with a hot drink, the world-wide web, and knitting at the ready; let it rain!
And rain it has. Yesterday it blew and
poured, overwhelming low-lying areas. Highway 18 was closed right after the exit we take to get to church; it had turned into a substantial lake where it dips below an overpass. The rain abated briefly in the afternoon; I paused here and there to take some photos on my way home from our Thanksgiving potluck at the church. If you click to biggify the last one, taken from our lane up on the hill, you will see a lot of standing water in the valley.
I am so very thankful it isn't 20 degrees colder; we would be buried under
feet of drifting snow. I was a boarding student for three years of high school and all four years of college in eastern Nebraska, and Thanksgiving break was
notorious for blizzards – much more so than Christmas break. We always made it home and back, but sometimes it was a long, drawn-out, nail-biting drive.
Last night I was thankful to see these three all standing and eating.
What a lot of drama this second little breeding group has been. First, Nightcap was quite lame on a front leg when he arrived (that has since resolved). Second, both maiden girls were shocked – SHOCKED! – with the new arrangements and yelled non-stop about it for days. Then Bree came up lame, first in her left hind, then in a front leg. She wasn't grinding her teeth, but spent most of her time laying down rather than putting weight on the affected limb(s). On top of that, very little hay or water was being consumed. I was beginning to think these quarters were cursed or contaminated in some way (I lost both Bart and Browning in the Ram-ada Inn this year), so you can see why three hungry sheep were a welcome sight!
The sky is just beginning to lighten; time get on with my day although I'll let Brian sleep awhile longer. If it stops raining long enough, the neighbors want him to work for a few hours. This afternoon I'm taking him to a violin lesson, picking up some horse and wild bird feed at the farm store, then dropping him off at Grandma's to spend the night. Woot; I'll have a quiet evening alone as well!
Lots to be thankful for at . . .
5 comments:
That's what I was thinking reading the first part of your post . . . what if the rain had all been snow!? Oh, my.
Glad all your sheepies seem to be right as rain (pun intended) now.
Do enjoy your "alone time" and do exactly what YOU want! (If that's possible while still at home with all those "things to do" calling to you.)
Oh, what lovely puddles and ponds!! Can you send some eastward?
We got hardly any rain and none of the predicted snow. Enjoy your alone time. I'm finishing off some gift weaving and just relaxing after a full day of cooking yesterday. Leftovers anyone?
Hooray, an evening / night alone!!! What cherished moments those rare opportunities are when parenting.
We've had approximately 17.5" since the beginning of October!
Is that a blueberry field in the center of the valley picture? I love how the red, new shoots add a splash of color in the dreariness of grey winter days.
Well, Mama Pea, it ended up being less "alone time" than I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.
I wish I could, FFG!
No leftovers here, Theresa! That's the down-side to potluck dinners.... I do hope you get your much-needed snowpack!
Wanda, I need to get another rain gauge (and then remember to not leave it out during freezing weather!). I'm not sure if that is a blueberry field.
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