A picture is worth a thousand tasks

Consider this photo:

This photo was taken about 9 pm and represents the conclusion of a thousand tasks that occupied our day.

First, the dishes are done. Third time today.

Second, those are a bunch of tankards on the counter we're just about to card and pack for a shipment going out tomorrow. Don's been working on these all week long.

Third, that's 18 pints of canned pinto beans on the right. I soaked them overnight, simmered them for a few hours this morning, and canned them this afternoon.

Fourth, those two white upended buckets on top the jars of beans are cleaned milk buckets, because I'm milking Polly again. This is because we butchered three animals on Monday, including Polly's yearling steer calf Chuck. We castrated Chuck when he was a few days old, but apparently we didn't get "everything." He suddenly started acting like a bull. The last thing we need is another bull around the place, so when we called the butchers to dispatch two other animals, we threw Chuck in there as well. However now Polly needs to be milked twice a day, so I'm back at it.

Fifth, the pot on the stove is frying down bacon bits. I had accumulated a lot of el-cheapo bacon ends in the chest freezer. With the meat due back from the butchers in a couple of weeks, plus the fact that we now have a smaller chest freezer, space is at a premium and I need to clean it out as much as possible. I've been meaning to can up bacon bits anyway, but it takes a long time to fry everything down and drain off the fat. That pot on the stove is the third batch I've fried down today.

Bottom line: the photo above represents a LOT of work. Don and I are both wiped. I'm off to bed. Good night.

Random pix

It's been awhile since I put up a collection of random pix, so here you go.

In early February, a light dusting of snow covered a bench normally tucked on the porch.

Drippings from the barn roof also created mini-icicles on some cattle panels below.

Steamy breath on a frosty morning.

Lydia basking in some winter sunshine.

Matilda peeking at little Ninja, gavotting around the barn...

...and later, like Lydia, basking in the winter sunshine.

A crescent moon and planet.

And just for fun, the same photo with automatic color adjustment. I was actually impressed with how many stars showed up. Maybe I should try a little more night photography.

Early early dawn shadows of the house and barn, stretching westward.

Chickens basking in the winter sunshine.

Dramatic afternoon clouds.

Here's Sparky (black) along with her yearling calf Dusty (on the right) and this-year calf Lucy (on the left). What color calf will Sparky produce next?

A thin sheet of ice on the pond...

...and some fuzzing cattails.

Little Ninja enjoying some winter sunshine

Lydia in a remarkably cat-like pose, with her paws tucked underneath.

Very cute.

Ninja cuddles in the hay on a chilly morning.

Chuck still sneaks drinks from a patient Polly.

Dirty water tank.

Clean water tank. (That's a tank heater inside, to keep the water from freezing.)

Appreciative cows.

Sunrise.

I think the potatoes are trying to tell us something.

"It's spring! Plant us!"

Brit, resting.

Remember the phrase "the grass is always greener...?" Well apparently it also means the hay is always tastier on the other side of the feed box.

Sorry for all the Ninja shots, but he's so durn irresistible!

Breakfast!

Here's patient Sparky doing double-duty with this year's calf (Lucy) and last year's calf (Dusty).

Incoming snow flurry.

Just hanging around.

When the mud dried out, we put Shadow and Ninja down in the woods with the rest of the beasties so he could meet his herdmates.

Even dominant cows are very respectful of a baby's youth. Always nice to see.

I think I'll start keeping a "running tally" of random shots since I always seem to have some. These are from a few weeks ago when the weather was a bit cooler, and before Hector was born.

Winter weather

We were expecting winter weather this weekend.

For the past week, the weather has been sunny and brutally cold. This photo showed some of the winter sun highlighting the tree trunks. What looks like snow flakes in front of the trees was falling bits of hoarfrost that, honestly, looked like falling diamonds. It was indescribably beautiful and the photo doesn't even begin to do it justice.

This red-shafted flicker has been hanging around. Doubtless he's having a hard time finding food.

When the weather was at its coldest, we kept the Jerseys (Polly and Matilda) and their calves in the corral where they could go into the barn at night for maximum protection. After the close call with Polly in mid-November, I'm not taking chances with the more delicate Jerseys. (Dexters are tougher.)

But the temperature (thankfully) rose and snow was anticipated. Here was the forecast for January 3:

So on Saturday we split some firewood before the snow arrived.

Front porch, before:

Front porch, after:

I cleaned the barn stalls and made sure the floors were padded with straw.

It pleases me to see animals at the feed boxes at any time during the day. Don built the boxes last fall under the barn awning, and they've proven remarkably successful in keeping food clean and available at any time without getting trampled or soiled.

After a day of battening down hatches, a dinner of fried rice warmed us all.

On Sunday, it snowed. Man did it snow! It was a day to stay huddled at home, but Younger Daughter had an obligation in a nearby town, so I drove her.

Once we get off our dirt road onto the paved road, here's the view across the fields. Rather monotone, no?

Driving back home, Younger Daughter snapped these birds on the frozen lake. I think they're coots, but since I was driving I couldn't be sure.

Even in mid-day, everything looked ghostly with the snow falling so heavily.

This is the paved road, heading back to our house.

Nearly home.

Matilda and Polly were anxious to get into the barn, so I cleaned their stalls, gave them food, and put them to bed early.

Every time Lydia came in from the yard, she had jingle balls of snow on her toes...

...which she would chew off.

Major looked like a reverse Dalmatian.

Here's that red-shafted flicker again, tucking himself under the roof awning to get out of the snow. I took the photo through a glass window which reflects the lights from the Christmas tree (which, um, we still haven't taken down).

I experimented with photographing the dusk with the tree lights reflected in the window.

It snowed the blessed day long and into the night.

Then the temperature rose, and as of this morning it's raining and windy (go figure). The snow is melting fast. It's predicted to get to 40F today, with up to half an inch of rain. This means the snow will turn to slush, possibly the worst driving conditions. Schools in the area have been canceled. It's a good day to hole up with the wood stove glowing.

What's the old saying? If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes....