This, That, and The Other Thing

I have to say, I enjoyed all of your Morning Glory horror stories yesterday!!  Yes, they are invasive, I know... but I still love them.  Luckily, my garden is about a quarter mile from our house, so we won't have them growing across our mantle in my lifetime [laughing].

We rose very early yesterday morning.  There was a storm predicted for right around the time of sunrise, and we hoped to avoid being rained on while doing morning chores.  

As I walked up to the barn in the dark, with my headlamp on, I was greeted first by Bea One, 

and then by Pete.

I turned the horses out into the front pasture in the dark to graze and we went about our normal morning tasks.  Just as predicted, the rain started right on schedule... just as we were finishing up the work.  

We arrived at the chickens just as the sun had met the horizon.  The cloud cover was heavy, so the light was dim.  I could hear our five crazy chickens, who refuse to roost indoors, waking up in the willow tree above the chicken yard.

You might remember me showing a photo of Hubbs and his chicken girlfriend, Ruby, a few weeks ago.  Still, each morning she stands in front of him and waits for her chin-scratching session.  We were curious as to whether it was always the same hen, so we put a wee red bracelet around her leg to identify her.  

Sure enough, Ruby is one single chicken, who, for whatever reason, is especially fond of Jack.

I stopped at the fig trees on the way back to the house to pick those that were ripe (by the light of my headlamp.)

With a colander full of figs, I washed and cut them - then placed them on the stove to make more fig jam.

By the time breakfast was cooked and consumed, the jam was jarred and processed.  I also cooked the rice that I would use later in the day to make fried rice for supper.

All of that before 8:30 AM!  I love starting days off like this... getting a head start on my daily list assures that I have extra free time later in the day for creative endeavors.

I love this time of year.  I am once again drinking tea every day and lighting candles in the kitchen.  The cool weather of Autumn inspires me to cook and bake and make my home as cozy as possible.

While we were busy working, Annie, our older dog, disappeared on an adventure.  Every time it rains, if we are not vigilant about keeping an eye on her, she disappears into the woods on a hunting expedition.  She is usually gone a few hours, and slinks home exhausted and wet.  Yesterday was no different.  

This behavior is so concerning to us and we really have tried to curb it.  Yesterday, it didn't dawn on us until it was too late - a rainy morning is more than she can resist.  I wonder what it is about rainy mornings that calls to her - and wonder if perhaps the scent of wild animals is better carried through the moist air.  I've asked her several times, but she is pretty tight-lipped!

While we are on the subject of the pups, Chester seems to have made a full recovery from his toe injury...

and I am so grateful that that was all it was!

By afternoon chore time, I had cleaned out a couple closets in the farm house. ( Just trying to make life easier for my kids if I suddenly kick the bucket!)  Why do we accumulate so much stuff during our lifetimes?  (If I could live my life over, I would definitely be a minimalist... and build a Tiny House somewhere in the countryside.  I would definitely have a farm and animals where I could be outside in nature... but, definitely, a tiny house!)

We headed back to the barn for afternoon chores and were once again greeted by Bea One requesting some attention.  It's utterly amazing to me how these feral kitties have become so tame!

Aren't her eyes fantastic?  They shine like 14 carat gold!