Surveying the road

Mojo really says it all - "Oh, my gosh, so this is what happened last night! no wonder I couldn't sleep well!" I got up at 4:30, glad to be alive - which I guess I would have been able to surmise if I had been rudely awaken by house being washed away. I had to wait until 6 for enough  light to get a good look at the road and to take pictures. Fortunately the worse damage is  near the house, below where the road to Blue House begins. I will check that road later - it does look like it washed in places  though I doubt as deep as down here. The temperature is already at freezing, road work will be hard. But I need to do some work for Mr T to get out. At this point I don't think even his 4 wheel drive can straddle the gulleys; and I'm not going to try! 

snow flurries too!

A Whole Lot of Rain

It is too dark for a photograph, but certainly there will be evidence to picture tomorrow, that is, if I haven't floated away. Much rain on saturated ground, ground this morning that I slipped on climbing up thru the pines to the Blue House. The road is a creek which has swamped the front yard, I hate to imagine the ruts...tomorrow. The creek is as wide as the draw to the river, the spring house looks like it could float away. It is difficult to distinguish the sound of the rain from that of the creek, should I say, creeks which sound like a river. Lord the river must be high. Baldwin's chairs may not survive this storm. Fortunately, the wind has so far not been damaging; although I haven't been up the road or up to the Blue House. Tomorrow.

The dermatologist office called. Not a good sign. If they don't call 7 to 10 days after a biopsy, it means the biopsy was OK. Seems this last biopsy on the 24th revealed a superficial basal cell skin cancer. Phew, at least not another melanoma! But I have to go into the office a let them scrape some more skin on my left shoulder; the spot still sore from the biopsy. Perhaps I should take to living in a cave or move to Ireland. 

Murder Most Fowl

The ice scheduled for this morning was light to non existent; nevertheless, I wore my yaktracs up to feed the ducks some scraps and to open up the green house. I threw the scraps over the fence and went into the garden to pick a few spinach leaves. Then into the duck yard to pick up any egg they might have lain on the waddle; two this morning and unfrozen. Something seemed amiss as I watched the ducks delight in the scraps. Five. I counted over and over and said outloud, "where is number 6?". I searched for body or any evidence of struggle. No sign of lost khaki feather or of guts. There was no place in the fence that I could find where a body of duck could have been pulled. It wasn't until I hiked down through the pines that "owl" came to mind. Of course, the most likely murderer. 
Now I am wondering if there isn't some menacing structure I might add to the duck yard that might frighten off owl who I would assume will come again for an easy dinner. A scare-owl?

One Dead Hen yesterday

It wasn't the black and white hen (Dominick) whom I thought was sick, huddled by the feeder, not roosting with the others. But snug in one of the nest boxes, was one of the black hens, eye sunk in , dead. She's now on a bier of branches part way up Red Bud. I wouldn't mind if a coyote took her; but I didn't want the dogs to, so I flung her on the pile. I doctored one of the ducks who limped in their yard as if one leg had been half frozen, or so I imagined. I gave the duck some Agaricus (good for frost bite) and put it in the chicken house. Duck is doing well. What a marvelous feeling of duck in my hands like a warm pillow; I wanted to rub my cheeks against its feathers.

 

After snow forced camp out!

Snow, wet heavy snow, 8 to 9 inches, fell all Thursday afternoon and into the night weighing down trees (whose roots were loosened in the rains) and taking several trees down along with scores of limbs. At 6:50 PM my power went out after blinking on and off several times. I had prepared to the extent that I had laid a fire in the wood stove and stacked extra wood. But the camp out due to power outage causes a leap backwards into low tech that is not without plan. Fortunately, time moves by duties keeping the mind occupied with tedious questions (when to empty the freezer, whether the green house will maintain the solar heat all night, will the ducks manage...). I quickly gave up concern about chickens and ducks as beyond my capabilities. The ducks seemed to enjoy the snow; the chickens hate it and don't venture out of their house. The ducks even laid eggs inside their hen house and I did not have to locate white eggs in the snow. 
The road was a disaster that I wish I had photographed! Nine trees or tree size limbs across it; numerous branches which I could pull off. Mercifully, Robin cleared the road and scraped the snow in one sunny afternoon. The days of sun after the snow rescued the green houses from death.
By Monday, listening to the inauguration by my wind up radio, I was fretting the prospect of no power and a new frigid cold front. Around 4 PM a Georgia Power Company man knocked on my door causing great rounds of barking; he was asking if my son's road would get him close to the line going to Baade's land. The line was down there. Ah! Maybe just maybe, power tonight! By
5:20 PM the lights were on. I reverently approached the power box and turned on the water pump and prayed. The water had good pressure! Oh, delight, the pump kept its prime. Electricity and water and heat pump! 

 

I miss you as I miss the sun

in three days of rain! Exciting rain, filling the dry gulch of creek bed behind the house and flooding my spring, noisy all the way to the river which is milky and high though not high enough to take the cedar chairs into the roar. And finally this afternoon, the sun comes. The dogs and I are celebrating for the near forecast is for 2 to 6 inches of snow tomorrow! But now it is 45 degrees and bright and clean. Yesterday on the way to feed the ducks scraps, I found a large grub ever so slowly inching over the grass. I have seen earthworms above ground driven out of the soggy soil, but never a grub. I added it to the duck treats. 

 

 

will you miss me?

I keep wanting to begin: How will I miss you, let me count the ways! This question is from my grand-daughter who left swinging her yellow flip flops on a plane for the DR with her parents today - for almost 7 weeks (47 days). So to get in the mood yesterday evening, I dismantled the Christmas tree; I figure that if I'm going to feel sad, I might as well do something sad. The pathetic scrub pine dry, going a dull green, bare of decoration delighted me: this is how I feel missing you! I will try to find images during this time of "missing" that represent my state. Mojo, their sweet hound dog who is staying with me while they are gone, and I can commiserate. 
here's a before picture of the tree:

 Of course, when I do draw in a breath and look wistfully at a bucket of balls or the dollhouse in the living room, I turn my inner eye to a bright beach with a cartwheeling 4 year old and I smile! I am happy if you are happy dear one.

6 ducks

Six female Khaki Campbells, fairly camouflaged in their yard, I will care for while Blue house is on vacation; I am counseled that they drop their eggs willy nilly in the yard and seldom in the hen house. There will be water running in the green house and I need remember to open the basement door if sunny and warm, set up the fan. There isn't much that needs doing and the dogs and I will enjoy the walk. I can indulge in missing grand-daughter on the walk and coach my mind into imagining the fun they are having on beach and in fresh fruit heaven! 

Just Being and Now thinking of Comets

I feel like my life has gone into lagnappe time; I never imagined being alive in 2013. I mean like 1984 was the future to a child of the 60's. So here I am enjoying just what comes and I hear on Science Friday that we're due for a visit from a comet (named ISON) Nov. 28th of this year! Wow, that's an event to look forward to, if I didn't have enough with grand daughters and Loose Threads and the general getting along. Like trying to keep warm, which is a daily project I am finding - not that I heat by wood anymore. Just trying to be warm outside when I seem to get chilled so easily. Wearing leg warmers this winter - which are easier to negotiate than extra pants every time I go out to open/close chickens, walk, fill bird feeder, etc. Just becoming an old cold crone wanting to hibernate the winter away.