Winter Photos and Thanksgiving Thoughts

Jake - Doing chores Monday morning - hauling food.  I haul the water

Can you see the sheep in the back?  Snow covered - or frost.

And here he comes out to the field - I love the moon! 

Jake wondering what I am up to so early with my camera at 6:45 am!

Last Friday - I caught a glimpse of the waxing moon and the Eagle Caps

I love the full moon!  Of course, right here it still has 2 more nights to go! 

Back to Monday's Chores - Ernest our 15 year old dog in front, Lefty further back.

Apples!

My drive to Boise Monday morning.  I left at 8am with frozen windshield wipers!

The Opera Singer Tree - On our place, 2 miles down from home

It's beginning to feel and look a lot like Winter!! (sung to your favorite Christmas tune!)....

It's been snowing off and on since Sunday.  Then when it's not snowing, it's bitter cold!
Yesterday we woke to 10 degrees.  This morning?  Ten below!

We are hauling water out to the free-range chickens - they have not been moved yet to their winter 'cozy' housing, so, alas, they are at our mercy and frequent water checks!  The water is freezing up every 3 hours or so.  I had Jake gather eggs at 10am - I'm afraid they will freeze if we leave them out too long!

And speaking of chickens, our next batch of future egg layers, 100 of them, were supposed to arrive this morning at the Haines Post Office, but they were MIA when I drove to town.  The shipper forgot to call and inform us that they are coming express mail.  After some research we found out they are in Portland, and don't get to their next stop  - a later shipment - until 10:30 pm tonight, in Pendleton.  What were they thinking doing this during Thanksgiving week?  So, Dick and the kids are driving tonight, 1.5 hours away, to get them and come back.  They are meeting the truck.  The Post Office will not be open. And, there are no deliveries tomorrow, after-all.   They would be dead if they had to wait until Friday.  So much for Express. 

Ernest, our 15 year old dog got to sleep in the house night before last.  I was afraid for him.  He was sleeping out in the cold on the front step, refusing to be in his spot.  So, I brought him in and covered him with blankies on the hall carpet.  Did I mention he is 15 years old?  Oh my gosh... I am starting to cry as I write this!  I love this dog.. He was given to us as a puppy as a wedding gift. He was a fat, rolly polly little guy and Dick named him Ernest Tubbs (after the CW singer, of course!).   And that little puppy was at the mercy of a very green ranch wife!  I was given the job to go do something with an electric fence one day, and he came with me.  This was at our ranch in CA - in the foothills west of Artois/Willows.  Way out at the end of a 7 mile dirt road.  Anyway, Ernest and I were on a quad, on a good sloped hill, and poof!  He tumbled off!

I have photos of this dog kissing our first born when she came home from the hospital.


He grew up being 'the mean dog'.  Very protective of all things around the house.  I worried that he would snap at the kids.  He snapped at everyone else!  They were and are his babies...  He walks them to the school bus when his bones aren't bothering him.

He's retired.  He sits out and watches Dick and the younger dogs as they drive around on the ranch - his 'flying nun' ears perked out at the sides of his head.

Wow.. I didn't mean for this to be about Ernest!  But he has been on my mind a lot. 

Where am I going with all of 'this' on this Thanksgiving Eve?

1. I'm Thankful.  I'm thankful for a warm house on a bitter cold day - and that the wood that heats our entire house comes off our ranch.
2. I'm Thankful that 100 chicks are still alive, and that three of us see tonight's trip as a Grand Adventure..with the moon to guide them across two mountain passes, and it will be the only clear night this week. (Thank you God for holding the storms at bay).
3.  Sami is thankful that she did not move her 'babies' (bummer lambs from May) into the far field with the other sheep - where two other lambs got killed - one each, these  last two nights during the full moon. 
4.  I'm thankful that all those sheep are now safe here, by the house, where we can keep an eye on them:)
5.  I'm thankful to you, our customers who buy our products and tell us you love what we are doing, and that you are amazingly.. thankful for the lifestyle we have chosen.  My heart goes out to all of you.

Thank you, for helping us put good healthy and local foods on our own table.  Because of our customers, we are in places we would never venture - Dick goes to Portland every Saturday!  This is a man who would rather stay on the ranch than ever go to town.  And look!  Each week he drives to the city, and meets people!  My gosh how he has changed! 

And you, our customers, have given us the opportunity to meet other amazingly wonderful vendors that are also raising beautiful healthy products. 

Tomorrow our Thanksgiving Table will have:  Leg of lamb - ours; Brussels sprouts (still on the stalk right now) from a Portland vendor; purple artichokes from another Portland Vendor, potatoes in our garlic mashed potatoes from North Powder and garlic from a La Grande vendor - Arrowleaf Farms, eggs in the desserts from our chickens, and apples from our trees in our apple pie, and a beautiful bottle of red wine, from Cove. 

Thank you all, for this bounty. And thank you for your friendships.
We are truly Grateful!