Monday, October 30, 2017

A wild night

Well, our prep work over the weekend proved to be a very smart move. Around supper time last night, the rain began to move in, the wind began to pick up and the big storm that they had been predicting all week came to be. I've seen these Halloween storms a few time before, and generally they are "good ones" in every sense of the word. Thinking back, one of our first Halloween's here on the farm was actually a snow storm, with nearly 20 inches of snow. So, when I hear... "storm for Halloween" I pay attention. 

The biggest worry was the wind. They said a lot of rain too, but the wind is what brings down the trees, and ultimately the power lines, and as of this morning, nearly 300,000 people are without power. However we manage to still have it here on  the farm is simply a blessing, because I don't think too many folks in town have power. Ed was up early to head to work, I told him I thought he should wait a few hours and go in late, but he wanted to get there. The sad thing is... to took him twice the time.. an hour's ride was turned to two hours, trees and power lines blocked many of the roads that he usually travels on, and he just kept getting detoured from one to the next. 









For me, it was business as usual... with Cadi and I heading to barn chores in the morning. Our usual "sippy hole" was more like a "sippy lake"... and after we got done, Cadi just had to check this out. I have to admit, I enjoyed watching her, and thought... leave it to a lab to fine fun in what a major storm has left behind. The barn, horses and other critters fared well... and I just have to think how blessed we are to have good strong buildings and protection when things like this blow in. 

I have to wonder if Cadi thought this was brought in just for her. 
Due to the lack of power everywhere, dog classes were cancelled and I kept checking on the rest of the family to see how everyone was faring. Both Kass and Sadie were without power, but Mom... who happens to have an automatic generation, had power. The electric company is warning everyone it might be days before everything is back on line, so... I guess there's nothing more to do but wait and see how it all works out. 

Since I really had no plans for the day after cancelling classes, I didn't venture out far. I did go and check the camps, which were good, except a tree broke and has blocked the road, and taken the power out. But, that will be left to the people who know how to handle it... and I did get this shot of the farm as I was pulling in. The storm on it's way out... and though the wind is still very strong, the sun is beginning to peak threw. 
Makes one appreciate all the things that are good... because we certainly have no control over things like this!!!
Our road will probably be a mess for awhile, but this is minor....

I guess all I can say is that October hasn't disappointed me with it's mysterious ways....

Trunk or treat

Halloween.. well, almost... and while I am not, and never have been, a big fan of Halloween, there are some cute traditions that go with it. Trick or treating, when i was little, and when my girls were little, was always so much fun. Though mostly .. cold... and I can remember being so very upset when we had to wear a jacket or some other type of warm clothing over our costumes while we were out trick or treating.... such fun to run from house to house collecting our goodies, and then when we got home... we spread it all out and sorted threw the best to the least. 

Like everything, it seems, in life... trick or treating has changed over the years. Some towns still have it, but the big thing now seems to be this"trunk or treat" idea... where there is just one location that the kids go to.. and then people bring their cars and decorate the cars (i.e.:trunks) and the kids can go from car to car to collect goodies. There's often other things that go with it, bake sale... jumpy houses.... games.. and it seems like it's just as fun, only different. 

Such is the idea here in our little town. Course our town is so rural that I'm not sure trick or treating was ever that "big" around here... but either way, they do the "trunk or treat" at the school, and it's a big hit. 

Ed suggested that maybe the read dog team might want to be a part of this... I hadn't thought of it in the past, but the doggies are certainly well known at school, so I thought it was a pretty good idea. 

I decided to do an inside table instead of a trunk because I wasn't sure how to decorate a car, and I wanted to be sure that the doggies were seen... plus, i wasn't too sure what the doggies would think of everyone all dressed up... costumes can be pretty scary. 

So, we decorated a table with pumpkins and books.. passed out some candy and glow sticks, and the fun began. At first Livy kind of looked at all the little goblins that were coming by, but then she realized that she actually knew the people "underneath" and everything was very OK... especially when one of her favorite teachers stopped to say hello.... Livy climbed right up in her lap....
Chief dog took it all in stride... he just sat quietly and waited for the petting to come his way...
But Livy in her true greeting fashion, reached out to everyone and pretty much said... "one must pat the dog in order to get treats"... I don't really think they minded, and to be honest, I think the doggies were one of the more popular stops on the route. 
I must admit that a couple of times, I held my breath when certain costumes showed up. This "wolf" for one, when I saw them enter the room, I wondered how this would go over. At first, Livy just stood and took a good look as he approached, but the moment he bent down and said her name, she ran right over and took all her pats. She did keep looking at him, like..."what are you doing", but no fear, no worries and I was pretty pleased about that...
"I got this Mom... I don't know what you  are worried about...."
Even after the event was over and we were beginning to pick up.. kids still came back again to give both Livy and Chief some hugs and kisses....
and Livy almost seemed sad when they began to leave and head for home...


but that's OK... read dog is on Tuesday and we'll be back at school again......