that the hose at the barn was frozen. It must have gone well below freezing
last night because there was ice on the bucket that I ran the night before
in anticipation of the hose freezing. It said 32 degrees at the thermometer
just outside the barn. I forgot my gloves, hard to get used to that again,
and my hands were freezing. But inside the barn the water hadn't froze -
the barn does stay a few degrees warmer than outside even though the windows
are still open.
The leaves are falling off the catalpa and mulberry trees like rain; they
hold their leaves and drop them all at once after a hard freeze. I can see
the neighbor's houses again now that most of the leaves have fallen off the
trees. After the color has dropped it always seems a little drab and
"exposed" around here.
The geese have been extremely noisy in the morning. They are taking the
corn off the fields around here and lots of it is spilled on the roads and
edges of the fields. Big flocks of geese are actually flying north-
following the harvest as it moves south to north. I have seen ducks, cranes
and swans flying south but not geese.
One beautiful migrant I was lucky to see was a bald eagle. He was feeding
on some road kill one frosty morning. It took me a minute to realize why
the "buzzard" I was seeing had a white head and tail. I was also fortunate
enough to see a Great Horned owl at daylight one morning. He was sitting in
a field trying to eat something he had caught while early rising crows were
dive bombing him.
I started feeding Lily, my horse, hay again. There is still plenty of nice
green grass in the west pasture but she foundered on it (went lame) either
because the grass was too rich or because she was getting too many windfall
apples or autumn olive berries. We had to pen her in the smaller east
pasture. There was still some grass there but it was older, tougher stuff.
Of course she has eaten most of that and now we added hay.
It's a shame to have all this pasture and not be able to let her roam and
eat it. I was naïve to think that I could give a couple of little horses
the nearly wild experience and just observe and play with them. Maybe it
would work if I had more horses to eat the pasture but they are so expensive
to feed through the winter.
Lily has lost some weight - which is really good for her- since being on the
east side. It is really hard for me to ration what she eats but the
expression "eat like a horse" is quite apt. Horses will eat continuously
until they make themselves sick. And Lily probably eats more because she
has no companion this year to run and play with. One day I will find the
right new friend for her.
Squirrels are back in the attic again. I am going to have to throw some
poison around up there. I also saw a squirrel drop a nut down our sewer
vent pipe on the roof. I wonder how many more are in there. And I know of
no way to get them out. I do not think squirrels are cute. These little
red monsters around here are mean and destructive.
Ah fall, I wish it could stay at least until spring. Does that make sense?
I am starting to sense winter coming. I dread winter. So not fun doing
chores and driving in it. I hate wearing coats and particularly boots. I
hope it's at least like last winter - not too cold or snowy.
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