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October 29, 2021: Winter is Here

Okay. Call it early winter. It’s here. I always think back in May, to October, and then realize that it’s the month furthest from spring. Now we have seven, count ‘em seven months of cold, snowy, windy weather ahead.

Now is not so bad. There’s just a light dusting of snow on the ground. A few dumpings, and the snowmobilers will be out. Too bad, because it’s nice and peaceful on the trails right now.

Pete brought in the winter cloths box, and I dug out my winter gloves and hats and put them in my gear drawer.


Ryder and Shadow on Tinni


We are way, way behind on getting wood. Pete does not seem all that concerned about it. I estimate that we will get some over winter break. But we are now firing up the woodstove a few times a day and heating water for the horses in the big buckets and hauling it out to them.

My friend Terri was supposed to come and ride with me today. She ended up cancelling because she was told by her husband that the roads were too slippery for trailering.

The ponies are now shaggy. When in the spring they lose their coats, they will again be horses.

All the animals’ water buckets were frozen in the morning.

It’s dark out now at 7 p.m.

I attempted to take Tinni for a night walk this evening. He would have none of it. He saw the headlights of an approaching car, turned and bolted, and ran home without me. My neighbor Judy said that she was glad I was wearing my reflective coat.

Shadow chewed the zipper off the reflective coat, so I need to get a new one.

The poop is freezing in the five-gallon buckets, so we’ll be dumping it directly in the compost station soon. Bill will again come and get manure again next spring.

I might start putting the manure on the hillside in front of the cabins, then doing as Bill has done and scatter wildflower seeds on the hillside surface.

Swampy the goat is drying up, now giving just a bit more than a half-gallon a day.

The milk in the bucket is steamy because of the cold.

I can’t drive in the dark, so the hours I can drive are limited. Also, I am limited by the fact that I have just one working windshield.

In town, saw trick and treaters going into and out of local business buildings. They were all bundled up.

The outhouse seat is cold in the mornings.

The leaves are now all off the trees.

The last of the tomatoes are ripening in the windows. We picked most green, even so, we did end up with a good-sized crop.

The dogs have more room to run when out on the trails because the ground is hard and the grass all dried out.

The chickens have been molting. No eggs for a while.

Still putting away things that have been out all summer – otherwise, we won’t see them again until spring.

Next: 300. 10/30/21: Shadow’s Dog Blog: Hollow Weenies

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