Light hanging and wreath making

So. It's still cold here. Our low this morning was 11.1 degrees and tonight is supposed to get colder yet. Did my sweet, little, temperate state of Oregon get moved back east when I wasn't looking?

As I mentioned the other day, December 1st marks the beginning of holiday decorating for us and this doesn't just mean unpacking my Santa collection and playing my favorite holiday tunes. Yes, despite the serious chill around here, and in between breaking ice on animal waterers, stoking the fire in the fireplace, and trying to keep fingers and toes warm, some signs of the holidays are starting to appear outside, too.

External holiday lights are a must. Normally, they would go on the outside of the human house, but this year it was decided (by me and the goats) that the goathouse should be lit up. As I climbed the ladder to the goathouse roof, two furry heads popped out to help me:

Reggie appointed himself look-out goat:

I got these cool little plastic clips that slide under the shingles to hold the lights in place:

At one point, Reggie rested his little head on my boot:

Even once the looking-out portion of his job was finished, Reggie stayed here for the longest time. I think he thought he was serving an important purpose, but who knows for sure:

Yup, just standin' here:

Ta daaaaa....who knew it would be so difficult to take decent pictures of holiday lights at night in the dark:

Next, it was time to make my wreath. Yesterday turned out to be the PERFECT day to gather my supplies for my first-time wreath-making adventure.

I decided that, instead of using the wire wreath frames I had purchased from Michael's, I would use some of my grape vines:

I cut vines up to 10 feet long:

The trick with grape vine cutting is to spare the little tendrils that grab onto everything. These look very pretty left on the vine:

I gathered some holly:

I had found Douglas Fir (state tree of Oregon - FYI) branches a few days earlier, so now I was set. I brought everything inside and laid it out on the table:

Here's one of my grape vine wreath frames:

And here's my finished product:

I liked the look of the grape vine, so I left a portion of it visible at the top. It gives the wreath an asymmetrical look that I like:

Ready for company:

Roxy was a bit bored by the whole inside crafty thing and much prefers hanging out up at the barn:

C-c-c-cold

It's been cold here. We have been experiencing what our local meteorologists are enjoying referring to as the "ARCTIC BLAST". Whatever anyone calls it, it is making it quite inconvenient for O.N.A.T.T.C.'s (Oregonians Not Accustomed To True Cold) to water their critters.

Ice is suddenly a cumbersome factor to deal with:

Water buckets and stock tanks freeze, ice must then be broken:

As you can see, I have all the appropriate tools for the job. The picture below is me cracking the ice with the handle of the toilet brush I use to scrub the inside of the buckets when they get dirty:

and then scooping out the ice shards with an aquarium net:

Bottom line, though, it gets the job done, which is what counts, right?:

This was before it got even colder, though, and last night the ice became thicker. Early this morning, we hit our lowest low to date this year: 14.7 degrees. This is very cold for Northwest Oregon. The ice on the stock tank was thick; I had to use a broom handle to break it today:

Here is my goats', Pete and Reggie's, water bucket after I cracked the surface. The little goat berries were frozen solid and couldn't be budged:

Workarounds are necessary when faucets and hoses freeze. Here is the bucket I use to tote warm water from the laundry room down to the chicken coop:

Here is my helper. Maybe someday he'll carry that bucket of water for me:

With the forecast predicting even colder temperatures to come, last night, I put up the heat lamp in the chicken coop just in case I suddenly decided it was needed:

Dottie, ever the curious, is always the first to scope the new stuff out:

Everyone was anxious to see everything in the new light:

Bippity was the first to move in for a closer look:

I have to believe she was seeing stars after this:

Pretty soon, everyone was roosting under the warmth of the light and it wasn't even dark yet! So, I unplugged the light.

Last year, I turned on the heat lamp for them when the temperatures dipped below 22. This year, my chickens have just seemed hardier to me and, since it was still 25 degrees when I went to sleep last night, I decided not to turn on the lamp. When I awoke, I was concerned to see the coop thermometer read only 18.7 degrees (yes, I have a digital thermometer in the coop that I can read from the house):

Fortunately, everyone was just fine this morning. I am so impressed with the hardiness of my birds. This called for a celebration of warm oatmeal and pasta:

And even despite the cold, I had two eggs waiting for me in the coop nest box:

Two gifts from my girls on a day where the temperature never made it above freezing:

And this is what awaited me when I stepped out of the coop:

A blooming Jade

My husband has a special way with houseplants. One of the many plants that thrive in our home under his care is the jade. Almost 25 years after receiving a jade plant from a friend, we now have numerous "baby" jade plants around the house. The biggest one recently decided it was time to bloom:

This plant is about six years old and has never bloomed before. We've been excited to watch these buds develop and open:

Every summer, Jim puts all his potted jades outside on the deck where they get a lot of sun. The jades love this and their leaf edges turn crimson from all the wonderful sunlight:

When the temperatures start to dip in fall, it's time for them all to come inside again:

Pretty, huh?:

An unexpected Chester

Do you have anyone in your life who always, jokingly or not, manages to jump into the frame of your shot just at the precise moment you take a picture? Even if the picture isn't in any way about them ?

I do.

His name is Chester.



And in case you were wondering, according to Chester, the picture is *always* about him.

One way to a llama's heart

I may have mentioned that the three rescue llamas I took in three weeks ago, Kai, Dolly and Toni, are a bit, er, standoffish. I've spent more time than I care to admit watching them stalk away:

Both Chester and I have been a bit surprised by the lack of warmth and friendliness these three have shown us. It's hard warming up to animals that flinch and run away when you come near:

Nevertheless, I am an optimist who, like Chester, tries to make friends with EVERYONE (while not always the best of ideas, this is a story for another time). Separately, he and I both seem to have decided that we are in this for the long haul and, despite their reticence, continue to try to befriend these pretty ladies every day:

So, imagine my surprised delight yesterday morning when I offered Kai, the most reserved of the three llamas, the opportunity to snuffle a bit of grain from my hand...and she TOOK it:

And Toni, who has been particularly nasty of late, pressed her way in for a taste, too:

Who can resist a face like this?!:

Not me. Here. Have some more grain:

Mama Dolly decided she needed to get in on the love, too:

This is an excellent start, I think. It's a relief to me to know that there is *something* that I can do that will bring them closer to me once they've been let out of their stall for the day. We'll work on this.

Now with Chester....

...this is the way to his heart:

December 1st

Not a day before do we begin.

No sooner than this do the boxes come out:

Here in our home, the first of December means...

Our favorite holiday music starts playing:

The Santa collection is unpacked and displayed:

And I start thinking -again- about teaching myself how to make a holiday wreath. It happens like this every year. Big plans, let me tell you. I've got all the stuff, I just need to get started:

After all, it's December 1st. Let the month begin...