Happy New Year!!

From all of us here on the farm,

to all of you who follow our daily "tails"...

We wish you all the best in the coming new year.

Thanks for taking the time to visit with us each day...

sharing the many joys and occasional sorrows that farm life brings.

We will continue to bring you daily "tails" from the farm...

ever hoping that we can bring a smile to your face, or a chuckle to your day.

It is our hope that your visits with us help to keep your eyes open to the

big beautiful world in which we live...

with its many tiny miracles.

Thanks for sharing our journey...

and for sharing your personal experiences and thoughts...

in all of your heartfelt comments and emails.

You will never know how much they are appreciated!

Happy New Year!!

Snow!

There is something warm and comfortable

in seeing the farm buried beneath a blanket of soft whiteness....

a peaceful, quiet stillness that settles over the land

after a snowfall.

The colors of sunrise are a sharp contrast to the grays and whites of the ground.

The garden, once the center of the farm, slumbers for now.

There are some who revel in the coldness...

and some who prefer to stay indoors....

and some who just don't know what to do with themselves!

This is how we will spend the end of 2012,

and how we will usher in the New Year.

A Very Merry Christmas

If I had to imagine a perfect Christmas,

it would start with morning chores in a freshly fallen snow.

And that is just how our day started!

We were treated to a White Christmas...

just enough snow to make the farm beautiful and wintry,

but not enough to put a damper on any of our Christmas plans.

We finished our chores, and put a Santa hat on Daphne,

so that she could welcome our guests as they arrived on the farm.

The sight of a Santa donkey in the front pasture was sure

to please those who passed by.

Our day was filled with fun and family fellowship...

The "Kids"

great food...

gifts from the heart...

the excitement of a child...

and laughter as we had our annual "gag gift" exchange...

the best gag being a pair of blow up Sumo wrestling outfits.

Another snow storm arrived on the day after Christmas...

adding several more inches to the top of our Christmas snow.

We will continue to enjoy family over the coming days...

so blogging may be sporadic.

Bear with us.... we'll be back on a regular basis after the New Year's holiday!

We Wish You....

Merry Christmas!

From all of us...

to all of you...

We wish you the happiest of holidays.

We look forward to sharing the coming

new year with you!

A Tale of Two Kitties

This is an all-too-familiar scene...

Yes, that's Bobby, one of our barn cats, headed up the driveway to the house.

For years now, Bobby has begged to be an inside cat.

And for years we have ignored his pleading.

After all, our barn cats have a great life....

plenty of food, warm beds with headlamps, company.

What more could a cat want?

"To live at the farmhouse," would be Bobby's answer.

Imagine my surprise when the other day I witnessed Bobby dragging his heat lamp up the driveway,

with a can of cat food in his mouth, and his suitcase tucked under his arm.

Yes, that's right.

Bobby has moved to the house...

well, at least to the garage.

He picked out a little corner (right next to Maddie, our Newfie)

and set up the perfect home for himself.

(Maddie chooses to sleep in the garage, as the house is too warm for this cold weather dog.)

Bobby's bed is right next to a door that is equipped with a pet door,

so he can come and go at will.

(The potty is outside!)

He enjoys "meals on wheels" which are delivered to him daily from the barn.

So, why this sudden move to the garage?

Bobby has decided that the barn is equipped for only four cats.

Up to this point there have only been four cats 

(with the exception of transient Moll Flanders).

Now, however, it seems that ole Moll has moved in for good.

She has been in the barn for the past week.

All the other barn cats have adjusted.

Apparently, Bobby's way of adjusting is to move out!

I thought you might enjoy seeing how fluffy Leo has gotten this winter.

He looks like a Buddah kitty!

That is one serious winter coat (I promise, he's not obese!)

So, are you ready for Christmas?

Are you in a mad rush...

or can you just coast through the weekend?

We'll be coasting...enjoying a little quiet time on the farm before the holiday festivities begin.

Hope your weekend is whatever you need it to be!

Scrooged

We've talked before about how our chickens love to take dust baths.

And you might remember (or know from your own hens) that they do this

as a way of controlling mites.

However, this....

seems to be something altogether different.

With the amount of rain that we have been having, there is no dust to be found....

just good old fashioned mud and moist dirt.

And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out what came over my sweet silkie Elton.

Normally, Elton keeps himself pristinely clean...

bright white and fluffy.

But for some reason, yesterday, Elton decided it was time to get down and dirty.

Filthy!

I don't know about you, but it even looks to me like Elton has a scowl on his face.

Perhaps he is a little angry about not having his own Christmas outfit 

like the donkeys, pigs and sheep.

Is it possible that we have our own little Scrooge, here?

More Dress-Up Fun

When the goats heard that the donkeys were playing dress up,

they begged to play along.

Of course Dot was the first in line for hats.

She chose the reindeer antlers because of the feather boa trim and the bells.

Dot is a girlie girl!

O'Malley was next in line and was overjoyed to see that we had antlers.

See how she is smiling?

Sissy:  "Malley, is that you?"

O'Malley (smiling):  "Finally, I'm not the only goat in the yard without horns!"

"And red is my favorite color!"

I don't know, Malley....
Santa just might think you're one of his reindeer!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....

Christmas!

After all of the sadness, it's definitely time for a little Christmas cheer!!

First a couple of party pics that I had promised you...

By the time I started getting food on the table (buffet style),

I forgot to take pictures.

But I did get a few shots of the cookies that I baked....

Coconut macaroons, peanut blossoms, pecan pie bars, spritz,

ginger snaps, russian tea cakes, spritz, and iced lemon cookies.

The table was decorated in red with white snowflakes.

About a half hour before the party, Oakley came back from a run in the woods.

Oakley:  "Ok, I'm ready for the party.... I finally smell good again!"

Why is it that after you give a dog a bath, he's not happy until he once again

smells gamey?

The first activity was a farm tour.  

Moonbeam welcomed everyone with his Mr. Ed impersonation.

The goats are always a favorite...

especially Dot, who was extra charming (begging for Ritz).

Following the farm tour we had a buffet dinner:

London Broil, Tequila Chicken, Shrimp cocktail

Pasta Salad, Fruit salad,

punch, mulled cider,

Vidalia onion/ Swiss cheese bake,

Fresh vegetable tray,

Homemade Guacamole, and other munchies were on the menu...

and of course Christmas Cookies!

Yesterday we spent a little time playing "dress up".

Chloe:  "Hmmmm, so much to choose from...."

Me:  "Oh, Chloe, you look so festive...

which is your favorite?"

Chloe:  "I think I like this garland the best!  It reminds me of hay."

Chloe:  "Definitely not this elf hat....it makes me look like a unicorn!"

Daphne:  "Is that you, Chloe?"

Sam:  "I don't know, but...."

"I think this hat is a little too heavy for my head"

The rest of my afternoon was spent constructing a Christmas star for Hubbs.

He had told me over the weekend that he thought our old log cabin needed a star.

So, I got to work in the shop and made this...

Thanks, Jim and Kathy, for helping me get it hung in time to surprise Hubbs!!