Nothing is instant but Instagram

(Link to Boulderneigh's Instagram over in the right column.)

But I am making progress! I do believe these will be finished and ready to gift at Saturday night's Christmas party. They just need thumb turtlenecks, finishing and a bath. I'm hoping to start a thumb tonight.

Last night I forgot to cage Elvira, but this morning everyone was still standing and she ran out into the run with the rest. AND I've gotten an egg a day to start out December; that's progress, too.

An assortment of small, freelance graphics projects is crowding my plate, but I'm slowly wading through them (and am thankful for the extra work!). I'd like to set aside everything long enough to write our Christmas letter and send it out, but nearer deadlines loom. I channel Magnum, P.I. and tell myself, "Work the lock; don't look at the dogs." Otherwise I get distracted by those snapping hounds and everything falls apart! ;-)

We dodged the ice bullet here and now it's wet and gray. Not sure what that will mean for our Christmas tree plans this Sunday, but I'm going to keep working the lock and not look at that dog. Rick flies out tonight and will be gone until Saturday evening; I've got my hands full during his absence.

That's it for now from . . .

Wrapping up my birthday month

The weather, it is a-changin'. I posted the above photo on Instagram this morning; within an hour it had clouded over and started sprinkling.  It hasn't amounted to anything so far; I'm hoping the temperature stays warm enough to prevent anything nasty accumulating overnight, because I have to go to work tomorrow.

The boys enjoyed the last morning rays we may see for awhile, while exploring changes to their environment:

Yes, the Shetlands are segregated again. Yesterday Rick finished up a couple projects he's been working on, one of which was an access lane between the little Ram-ada Inn lot and the larger wooded lot. Once he completed that, I caught and moved Vienna and Sarai back into the Sheep Sheraton with the other girls, then led ram-man Blake through the lane to the wooded lot and back to show the wethers the new passageway. To my surprise, they were immediately comfortable moving back and forth through this new set-up. Now I have a much easier way to round the boys up for hands-on management like coat changes; slick!

In addition, Rick finished installing a new hydrant outside the horses' paddocks. Brian helped with that, cleaned the henhouse, and did some homework. Besides shuffling sheep, I worked on some graphics jobs, made a four-loaf batch of bread, and sliced, salted, and kneaded 12 pounds of cabbage for sauerkraut. After all that, I sat down for a well-deserved rest:

Well, one of us got a rest!  ;-)

That's it for November from . . .

Getting colder or getting older?

It's been clear and cold here for over a week now. Nice winter weather when you can get it in the Pacific Northwest, but also worrisome. Last winter we had a bit of normal wet weather to start with and then the faucet was turned off and mostly stayed off until this month; not good. But it can stay dry until we get a Christmas tree cut and installed indoors next weekend. ;-)  We often do that the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but this year Brian requested that we do it as part of his 14th(!!!) birthday celebration.

Last night my MIL treated us to ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo. BRRR! We adults bundled up but still got chilled (the teenager ignored our warnings about how cold it would be and froze); I thought my hands were going to fall off every time I removed my gloves to take pictures (but you can see I managed).  ;-)  When we got in the car to come home, it was only 39° – not nearly as cold as it felt. All but Brian have lived in much colder climes, so we must be getting soft in our old age. Or is there something about the dampness that exacerbates the temperature? We did get nearly 7" of rain in 8-9 days before this clear spell....

It does stay colder in pockets. On Friday I rode my horse down the hollow just south of us, and it looked like it had snowed there:

Things have changed in the henhouse, and not for the better. The morning after we found the Buff Orpington dead, we found a Speckled Sussex in obvious distress. Rick examined her and found a broken humorous, so she had to be dispatched and buried. Also, we have gotten ONE egg in the last week, after getting 1-3 a day this month. All suspicions rest squarely on aptly named Elvira. After fatality #2, I've been confining her to a cage at night, so there can be no fighting in the henhouse before the popdoor is opened in the morning. I am contemplating tossing her out to join the neighbor's free-ranging flock, but I'm afraid the damage may be done, that the two dead hens may have been the main layers. Time will tell, I guess. Chickens!!!

The sheep, of course, are fine. The wethers have an abundance of crunchy potato chips, otherwise known as picturesque fall leaves; I love capturing them in the slanting morning sun:

The traffic has been bad on our lane, thanks to this tradition. I cannot believe that every vehicle leaving neighborhood wineries is piloted by an unimpaired driver, and that makes me nervous. I prefer wineries at night, quiet and vacant:

That's it for now from . . .

Sharing a little music and love

I wish you all peace and plenty this Thanksgiving, while not forgetting the many in this world with neither. "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

Thank-you for visiting my little corner of the blogosphere at  . . .