Saturday morning we awoke to this... a tiny little snow, that was suppose to begin later in the day. A pretty snow, but we weren't quite ready. Which is silly, because we live in New England, it's winter... it snows... you need to always be ready.
And here's the "not ready" part... we asked Rick to dump off a load of wood, to prepare for "what's" coming, and we thought we could have this load all tucked away before the snow began. Oh well.. it stacks in the snow as well as the sun.
I had hoped we had put up enough wood for the winter, but with the extremely cold weather we have had... day after day.. the furnace is eating it like candy!!!! So, I'm hoping this load is a "just in case".. but we'll see....
Heating solely with wood has it's pros and cons. Yes, it's a pain for Ed to have to feed it twice a day.. sometimes I have to feed it in the middle of the day when it's been super cold. And with that kind of commitment, we aren't traveling very far. But, I must say, our house is always warm, we haven't been cold at all and it's really very efficient and cost effective. One day we will need to consider putting a furnace in the house, but for now.. this is working very nicely.
In the fall, I did all the stacking of wood... but with this load, and Ed being home, I have help. We put it up pretty quickly, but even nicer, was having Ed push the pile up close to the wood shed. That way we never had to walk very far from where it was going. Love that tractor, we couldn't run this farm without it....
I would rather see this filled to the front, but very happy to have this tucked inside....
Two other sections are half full, it seems like a good amount, but we go threw this pretty fast...... one can only hope spring won't take too long getting here....
So, was it me "complaining" on New Year's Day that we had no snow. Well, looks like it's here now.. and what's to come is already making the news.......
Say hello to blizzard "Juno" (when did they start and why... naming the winter storms like hurricanes). This is a real blizzard... with winds that sustain 35 mph or better for more than three hours. Snow fall 1-2 inches per hour.. and this is a photo of the doggie's morning let out!!! That's Miss Bella... braving the snow and making paths for the cockers....
This photo taken moments later shows Danny (that black blob) in the snow. It came in waves, sometimes you could see across the yard and the next moment.. nothing but white. The wind howled.. and my fear was losing power. Needless to say, Ed was home from work. But, there's plenty of "work" to do...
Hunter, Trev, Camille, and Tazzy were not impressed. The "puppies" Livy, Danny and Bella thought it was great. More times I caught Livy zooming around the dog yard.. until she ran into some snow drift that brought her up short!!!!
Can't really say if Bella is enjoying the snow or not in this photo..... poor California gal.. this is a real first for her....
The dogs really didn't stay out more than 10 minutes and all of them came in looking like this. Getting them out again will take some doing I fear....
Looking down towards the end of the driveway.......
Sometimes I could see the old mower, but more often.. I couldn't..... course all that snow is filling in the driveway....
Which makes trips to the barn "interesting" to say the very least. Ed and I had to plow our way out to it... and by the time we finished chores and headed back... we had to plow our way back to the house. I remember movies of the "olden days" where they would tie a rope from the house to the barn so they wouldn't get lost on their way. Well.. I can appreciate that now!!!!
On a day like this, the horses will get four meals... it's going to be a continual plowing day for sure.
This is what a "white out" is.....
Can't even see the trees that are just outside the windows.....
Pretty much the whole day was this... doggies snoozing on the couch, I worked on Ed's quilt most of the day... we watched movies... ate good food.. and went plowing. Not much else to do but hunker down and enjoy.
The snow went well into the night. I was hoping to get some really neat shots, but my little camera mostly took photos like this. We don't even bother opening the sliders on the barn and just went threw the pass door into the tack room. There's going to be lots of shoveling tomorrow.
I have to say.. the barn was just as cozy as it cold be. There horses were all locked in, so they helped to keep it "warm"... and by that... it was about 15 degrees warmer in the barn than out. Even with the wind howling around, it was very quiet inside.
Other than the fact that they were all stuck inside, everyone seemed pretty happy. Silver in his winter blanket....
Duke and Tonka have their own thick winter coats. Notice how much snow has just blown in under the door. It's a very fine "dry" snow because the temps are so cold. Mucking stalls will mean more than just manure the next time....
Mocha and Twinkle happily munch away. Everyone has come threw the day just fine.
A sleigh for the snow.. this isn't exactly what I had in mind. And actually, if we're going to use the sleigh, Ed will need to plow me a path, because it's already too deep for the horses to try to pull it.
Back to the doggie let outs... this is what I have to deal with first.... just make a path so they can get out into the yard!!!!
I can only dig so far... they'll have to make a trail from here......and besides, it isn't stopping anytime soon, so tomorrow this will probably be filled in again.....
Everyone goes pretty quick. It's also a week where I have quite a few doggies in the kennel..... so big ones go out first.. and then the smaller ones. After this we're heading for bed, and see what needs to be done in the morning. Blizzard Juno has been an interesting day......
A cold (very cold) winter day finds us at neads for the beginning of our monthly check ins. We haven't been down since November, with the holiday season and the like. And as usual, we get a warm welcome when we arrive. Now, looking back over my stories, I can't believe that I haven't once mentioned Bella!!! She's the golden (saying hi to Sherrie's dog)... Bella is staying at the farm along with Danny. She arrived a few days before the New year, flying in from California.... she is (was) a guiding eye dog who didn't pass the program out there, so she's here, trying her hand (er paw) at service work. She's a sweetie pie, though I can tell you the snow is NOT her thing and it has taken her some time to get used to that... she's very sweet, but very soft, and my personal opinion is, she'll make a fine pet... but time will tell and that's why she's here... to figure that out.....
Danny has learned to grab all the attention he can get... but "just a black lab"... I have to say the goldens usually grab the attention... but Sherrie knows how to give the love to everyone.....
Kathleen and I have become "co raisers" if you will... she has been swapping back and forth with me.. Danny and Bella... it's a nice trade and we enjoy working together with the puppies....
Can't you just hear Danny.... "really Bella... you don't get enough pats as it is"......
Danny Boy is doing so very well... I have a feeling that it's not going to be much longer before they will be calling him back. He's been such an easy, willing boy.... I'm going to miss him....
Bella...
After our greetings, round table talk and the like we head to the city.... sure was cold this day.. but we bundled up and moved quickly. Kathleen worked with Danny and I took Bella... and even as we unloaded the dogs from the car, I could see that Bella was on edge.... the sounds and sights of the city were not her thing....
When we got to the train station, she needed just a bit of time to take it all in. So, I just stopped with her and let her check it all out.
She needed some coaching .. but I could tell by the look on her face she wasn't overly excited about all of this...
Things began to look much better when we brought Danny in. They have become very good friends, and once Danny was close, Bella perked up and seemed like she was going to do better.....
I think Danny knew she could use a hug.....of course Dave was watching all of this as carefully as I was. I think he already has a game plan for her, but like us, he's willing to give any dog a try and see what they have to tell us....
She did OK when a freight train came roaring threw (which sort of surprised me)..... but I think between Danny and us, (people she knows she can depend on)... she just trusted what we told her...
From the trains we went onto the bus station.... Dave was giving us tips the whole way threw.... Danny seems to be paying close attention....
Again, Bella pretty much kept it together... as long as Danny was close by. However, the thing is, if she is going to make service dog.. she'll need to handle these things on her own. Not every dog is cut out for this type of work, and though it's disappointing to let one go.. neads is very sensitive to making sure that the working dogs, want to be working dogs....so, if it turns out that this is not Bella's cup of tea.. then they will put her where she will be the happiest...
By now, everyone was feeling the cold, so we decided to head down to the big hospital for some lunch, elevator work, and to warm up....
Once inside, everyone settled in....
Danny, by now, knows the drill and knows when to take advantage of some snooze time.....
I loved sitting under all that "green" in the hospital while we had lunch... makes me forget for a moment all that cold and "white" outside....
It's nice that Ed's (Papa's) birthday comes just a few weeks after the holiday. It's something to fun to look forward to after we have had all the excitement of Christmas and the New Year.... a reason to celebrate and, of course, to get everyone together.....
Ed prefers family "events".. so I opted with a nice lunch and a cake.. (a few gifts...) and that in itself was a great time....I just love seeing the kids and the grands gathered around the table....
Course the grands were far more excited about Papa's cake and the candles... though Reagan hates it when we sing the Happy Birthday song.... it makes him cry... so we decided to just sing it very softly (but that didn't help)... it's funny, just one of those little kid quirky things I guess....
A big event.... blowing the candles out!!!!!
And the cake met everyone's approval.....
Papa and the grands.... we just feel so very blessed to have some a wonderful family and these two.... are the apples of our eyes!!!!!
After such a fun afternoon, Papa got to do one of the things he likes best. Oh and the quilt.... the quilt that I have been working off and on for over the past 10 (yes ten!!!) years. Ed loves this quilt and continues to ask... "do you have it finished yet?" Being a queen sized quilt, hand quilting it, and that's in "all my spare" time... it is taking a long time to finish. I really just have (for it's size) just a small area to finish, and I am determined that it will be done before spring!!!! This spring!!!
The winter days are really here... the sun doesn't stay out long, the winds are cold.. but the house is always so nice and warm. These two... Darci and Mona... you hardly see them in the summer time, but come winter, they hardly leave the house. Guess you know where the warm spots on the floor are!!! Because if a dog isn't there, then a cat is.....
Morning sunshine coming threw the window of my sewing room....
One of the wonderful things I got for Christmas is a bread maker. I have been having a grand time making all sorts of home made bread. It's become a breakfast favorite... warm bread and jam... now that's the way to begin the day.....
I saw these "tracks" on the house roof the other day as I was coming home. I told Ed if it had been just a bit closer to Christmas... I would have been certain that Santa had been here....
Looks pretty convincing to me!!!!
And on a trip out of town, I always pass this beautiful barn. I thought their wreath with the ice hanging down just looked so pretty....
I also got in the mail this past week... this wonderful photo... "my" dear Debbie dog. This is her "official" graduation photo... she has been trained as a hearing dog, and is (right now) working with her new owner at neads. I can't wait to see her in the spring at the graduation.... this little dog will always have a very special spot in my heart.... I truly love(d) her ....
And it won't be much longer that Danny Boy will be leaving the farm and heading off for his advance training. I'm beginning to feel that many of the "stages in my life" are being marked by "what service puppy was I raising at the time"..... it's such a fun "project" and I feel so humbled that I get to do something as grand as this....
Livy too is coming along in her training... I have plans to begin her obedience show "career" next spring. She's a bright little girl, she's fun to work with and I expect that she'll have a good time in the ring with me....
The horses are doing well.... nice thick winter coats are doing their job.... and Tonka is just soaking up the sunshine...
Winter is plugging along....
