Brisk Morning

I am being very lazy on this Christmas Eve morning. It is a very brisk 19 degrees out there so I am reluctant to leave my 61 degree house!
The pond out back is frozen around the edges and a small flock of geese arrived sometime in the night. Elsa is just sure that they are alien invaders and barked her head off as soon as it got light enough for her to see them floating on the water. We called her back to the deck and reassured her but she is still sitting, staring intently at the geese with her hackles raised.

I am much better health wise but still feel very strangely. Just not myself and if I do not get back to normal after Christmas, I will probably have to make yet another trip in to see my local doctor. I am not unwell enough to be alarmed but just enough to make me realize that something is just not right.

The kids and Neil have been handling the barn chores for over a week. I did manage to ramble over there a time or two but for the most part, I have been on sick leave. This morning, I am going to wait a bit and let it warm up before I let anybody venture out.

We are only milking the Jerseys in the morning. A little variation in their milking time will not affect them. We weaned two of the bottle calves and took them back to our friend. The other three are still getting a bottle in the morning after milking chores. The goats have full access to hay as do the horses and all the cows. It has been just too much for one person to handle hay rationing while I was sick. Besides, it has been too cold for me to feel comfortable restricting the hay. Everybody looks marvelous.

Still very little precipitation so the drought is still very much in effect. The spring that we were so proud of all during the dry summer has finally stopped running. The weather man has predicted light snow for us on Christmas night. I can not even allow myself to get even a little bit excited about that prospect because we have already been disappointed so many times.

Yesterday, Sis and I worked on baking and getting gift baskets made for friends, coworkers and neighbors. We have pretty much had a homemade Christmas this year. We packed up soaps, lotion, cookies, jelly, jam, candies, and bread, Today we will get busy delivering them.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and hoping that we all have a very wet New Year!!!