Friday, December 15, 2017

IT'S WINTER


The Sun has returned. It looks beautiful, looking out from my window in the North room. It is nice but cool 21.9 F. The chickens won't come out. I have had chickens that would brave almost any kind of weather, but this group is not very adventurous. If I threw some kitchen waste outside their door they may hop out, but without a good reason they choose not to explore the outside world. They enjoy their cozy coop.

The sheep are enjoying their large hay bales and it brings peace to me. Now when they baa at me, which they do whenever they see me, I can be sure it is just a greeting and not a distress call. It is sometimes more than a greeting however, I throw out the kitchen garbage for the chickens, the sheep have come to expect it. Why sheep would like egg shells, coffee grounds and scraps of this and that I don't know. They are so greedy the chickens don't get anything. Over the years I have noted much variation in the behavior of sheep i.e. kitchen garbage. In years past I have had sheep nose around to see if their was a bit of lettuce or carrot but they turned up their noses at the rest. These particular sheep like it all and think it is a spectacular smorgasbord. They know in the afternoon when I am going to bring it out and they are waiting.

The local tax people are weighing whether we are a farm or not and are threatening to raise our taxes. I think we will prevail. We have just twenty acres but we have always raised some kind of livestock. Their issue seems to be whether we are making money or not. If you are renting out your pasture for a farmer to use you are automatically included. If you just have a few animals, you may be a hobby farm and not eligible. It is neither a farm, in the commercial sense, or a hobby, it is our way of life. I am not sure they have a classification for that. It won't change anything if they do raise our taxes, but there is a principle involved.

The snow came in dribs and drabs and finally covered everything. It must be four or five inches deep. So Winter is here, indisputably. It kind of snuck up on us with that roller coaster of above average and then below average temperatures.

I can't believe Christmas is only ten days away. Time flies when your an old codger. I am going to devote a blog to the curiosity of aging. Not today. I just want to wish everybody a Happy Friday!

I hope we can all keep our minds away from the world's craziness and find pleasant companionship with each other. It is so nice to have loving kindness for yourself and envelope all others in it.

Love and Peace, Gregg

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