Winter has indeed arrived, though it will definitely get colder tonight, Monday, and Tuesday nights. But no hard freezes ... yet.
Just for the record, I had 1.25 inches of rain in the gauge this morning early. But it has showered a few times since then, and now looks like closer to 1.30 - 1.35 from a distance.
I turned Strawberry (see blog below) out of the corral this morning into the pasture with Shiplay and her gelding, Dandy. Shiplay is nearly 20, maybe a year or two more. Dandy is 8 or so, and has zero manners, and is very protective of anything that he deems his ... like hay.
I've been feeding Strawberry in the corral and the other two inside the barn. They've been sniffing each other across the fence for a week, and the squealing and cavorting had nearly stopped, so it was time to let them run together.
As could be predicted, they ran around the 3 acre field a few times. Dandy bit Strawberry on the rear a few times, and Dandy got thumped in the chest an equal number of times when the new girl fought back a little. Neither the bits nor the kicks were serious, just territorial in nature.
I waited a couple of hours to feed everybody hay to give them a bit of time. When I went to the barn, Strawberry was very interested and Dandy was determined to keep her completely away from "his" hay.
Finally, I shut the door on the two, let Strawberry go into the corral she's been in, and threw her hay in the feeder, then closed her gate to keep the other two off her back. This is where we've been for a week, so that should get things settled down long enough for everybody to eat. I'll go down and let her out of the corral after a while.
Does this description of what's going on sound like 2-year-olds in the playroom? Or young teens being young teens?
This morning I went out to the trash trailer with kitchen trash, and there behind the horse trailer was the big male bobcat. He ducked and moved away, but not as you might expect to see a wild animal run away when seen by a human. He walked very deliberately. In fact, I tried to dig out my phone and get a picture to share with you, but he had put the trailer between us. When I moved far enough to see him, he was just ducking around the corner of the house.
The Sycamores are going to hold their leaves until Spring, I've decided. They are not going to share them with the rest of the world, but keep them to themselves. Maybe they know it's going to be a very cold winter, and want to hang onto their leafy coat.
I glanced up at them Friday afternoon as I went out, knowing this rain was coming in, and would probably have an appreciable amount of wind. Though there is still a modicum of green in many leaves, there is also a great deal of yellow as the chlorophyl has re-entered the tree. So, I assumed when I came home last night around 9:00 p.m. I'd find a carpet of Sycamore leaves along the river bottom portion of Globe Drive.
Exactly as last time, the road was wet and there was not one doggone leaf on the whole road. Well, maybe one or two, but very few. Certainly not what I had expected. I guess the Sycamores are simply being stingy.
No comments:
Post a Comment