Snow!

Snow!! It’s not much, but it is sticking, at least for the morning. Even though I always feel a bit depressed during the dismal days of November, anticipating the long, cold winter, I do get a surge of giddy, childlike happiness when first the snow falls.

We spent all weekend preparing the yard and  outbuildings for winter, but aren’t quite ready - hope we get one more warm weekend before winter settles in.

After a week of battling with the  lawn mower not starting, I was finally able to finish leaf sweeping  Saturday. We have so many  deciduous trees that the leaves get pretty deep and smother the grass if not removed.  You can never get them all - they are still falling - so some will remain to replenish the soil.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get the house and fence completely painted before winter. Before the leaves fell  you couldn’t really tell, but now it s going to bug me every time I take this walk. Oh well, that project will wait for us until spring.

After chores, the dogs and I took a little walk through the woods and prairie.  I especially like the first snow because there are still bits of vivid color bursting through the white.

Zinnie on the big rock--such a good lookout spot.

It  is a very good year for wild cranberries.

The barns barely visible through the trees.

Leaf Patrol

Our yard gets very deep in leaves in the fall.  Deep enough for a child to shuffle through knee-deep, deep enough to lose a chicken in, and too deep to leave them to decompose naturally or they would smother the grass.  We have  discovered it is best to tackle leaf removal in stages. If you wait until all the leaves fall, it will undoubtedly snow and you will lose your opportunity.

Plus, our handy-dandy leaf sweeper  does a better job when it doesn't have to plow through too deep a layer of leaves.  Also, it fills up pretty fast, and it is more satisfying to be able to create a swath of cleanly-swept lawn behind you before you have to unload.  We bought this sweeper very used for $50 on Craigslist when we first moved here, after we realized several hours of raking could not make a noticeable impact in leaf removal. The sweeper has seen better days--it doesn't tilt to empty any longer.  To unload it I have to actually lift the big green basket out from the frame and tip it over, but it is still a heck of a lot more fun and easier on the back than raking and filling leaf bags to take to the County compost site like we did when we lived in town.  Now I create a big mulching leaf pile in the garden and a huge compost pile by the loafing shed where we can easily mix in manure and bedding.

The leaf-swept front yard. It took about three hours to sweep the front yard and the barn and granary entrance. It will stay pristine like this for a few hours before being littered by more leaves.

Many of the trees haven't even begun to give in to autumn yet, spreading out the fun for a few more weeks if the snow holds off.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Last Gasp of Winter -we hope

Halfway to the 6 inches snow predicted today. 

Wild Turkeys

The past week we have been watching a wild turkey hen and her babies foraging at the edge of our yard each morning and evening when we go out to milk the cow.
Last night I had moved the cows to the   west pasture next to the woods, and when I filled their water tub I accidentally startled the turkeys. The  hen flew up into the top of a tall tree.  She was so big, it was  hard to believe she could fly through the dense branches and  make it up so high.
I was wondering  what the four  poults would do.  The mother called to them encouragingly, and they peeped back at her. After a few moments, they  all took off and erratically flew up to her. I am pretty sure I was witnessing their maiden flight.
The hen flew from tree to tree, each time calling the chicks to follow her, which they did. I haven't seen them since their flying lesson - I hope they return.

Another Frosty Morning

We have been having foggy days and nights lately. So much moisture in the air creates lovely hoarfrost. The field across the road beyond the mailbox is a wonderland- the dogs' favorite rabbit-chasing grounds.
Speaking of rabbits, this one has been hanging out around the chicken coop and on the patio, feasting on birdseed. He provides the dogs with hours of exercise every day.
I love weekends when Rog and can putz around the farm. As soon as we finished our morning coffee yesterday we took a little tromp through woods and prairie to enjoy the beautiful frost.



This sign is just a reminder for visitors to drive in slowly and watch out for oblivious dogs and chickens and geese. If cows are ever crossing here, that means they are loose and we have trouble.

Feather Frost

Nature has been playing variations on the theme "Frost" this week - today everything was covered with delicate white fluff that Cadence described as being like feathers.
The frost was also very fragile. I discovered I could blow gently from four feet away and it would flutter like snow to the ground.
Photographs cannot really capture how magical it is to walk through this landscape, but I'll post them anyway.

Hoarfrosted

Crystalline hoarfrost coated everything this morning. Cocoa and I tromped through the snow to take a few photos.