Scenes from the second day

We aren't like most folks. Our Christmas preparations do not begin any time in November, not even the day after Thanksgiving. For as long as I can recall, December 1st has always been our first day of holiday cheer. What this means, though, is that rarely do we get our tree until the 2nd weekend of December. In fact, I can recall, on more than one occasion, not getting our tree even until the 3rd weekend in December.

For this reason, we are never in a huge hurry to "undecorate" after Christmas. Our decorations always stay up until after the first of the New Year.

So, guess what today was...
Aside from it being January 2nd, it was also the day to take down the tree:

I pulled on my special Valentine's Day knee socks ($2.49 special at Kohl's):

...and got to work. Ornaments were pulled down from the tree:

Our personalized license plates were put into their special box until next year:

Holiday mugs were wrapped carefully:

The Santa collection was carefully packed away:

as were the snowmen:

The Christmas penguins were unplugged and removed from their front porch position of prestige:

Then it was time to carry the tree out to the awaiting pasture crowd:

Kai was the quickest to come and investigate:

Chester was close behind:

Beau, last but not least, was a bit more cautious:

But he, too, warmed quickly to the big, edible treat:

Before the final holiday box was closed this afternoon, Roxy decided to give the Santa hat and beard one last try:

I think she's happy the holidays are over, don't you?:

New Year's Day

New Year's Day dawned bright and very cold here. My part of Oregon has been frozen solid for the last few days and that always changes life a bit on a farm that is normally extremely wet but relatively warm in the winter. So it was no surprise that I was thinking a lot about ice this morning as I went out to feed my critters.

The freezing temperatures have created works of art out of simple objects I've left lying around. An old screw on a wooden plank takes on a whole new look:

An old horseshoe found out in the pasture last year is transformed into an object of many textures:

Our clay fireplace now has icy moss adorning its sides:

Likewise, the shrubs and bushes all look like they were were decorated especially for this holiday morning:



The chickens received warm cheesy rice for breakfast with a few ripe banana pieces thrown in for variety:

Poor, sweet Cowgirl. While the rest of my hens have made it through their feather molt and have a full body of feathers to keep them warm again, Cowgirl just began dropping hers about a week and a half ago:

She's having to keep warm with only about half the amount of feathers she normally carries on her body, poor lass:

Beau and Chester wished me a sweet good morning. Actually, in this photo they are letting me know that I am late to breakfast:

Outside the barn, ice needed breaking on the stock tank:

And I scooped the pieces out with my tiny blue fish net:

Mr. stock-tank-goldfish is alive and well. He has no problem withstanding the water freezing solid over his head:

Chester's furry winter brow is a hearty one this year:

Even at meal times, my Kai llama is ever on guard. Here she is watching a dog with jingle bells attached to his collar (poor guy) run past on the road above. She was entirely unimpressed:

And here's Chester, telling me I've admired Kai llama for long enough and need to appreciate him again:

This is bad. This is telling me that despite all the precautions I took to prevent my barn water from freezing, not only did it freeze, but something has gone wrong and I have a burst pipe or something. Water marks and icicles next to closed spigots are bad, bad signs:

Have you ever wondered what frozen donkey poop looks like? Well, now you don't have to. I enjoy the ring these little icicle balls make when they hit my metal wheelbarrow:

Later on, my goat boys told me they wanted to go for a walk:

...so, of course, we did:

Kai llama, Pete and Reggie then "did lunch" together in the center pasture:

Back inside, Roxy politely told me that she was finished with the Christmas tree for this year (it will come down tomorrow):

...and then immediately offered me my choice of toys to throw for her:

So, here's a toast to the New Year:
Goodbye Two-Thousand-and-Ten,
I was really ready for you to end,
Anticipating the bright new year,
I've got plans and I'm full of good cheer!
:-)

p.s. Chester and Beau think they're really cute.

A winter solstice.... egg

Today, on the shortest day of the year, one of my girls laid me an egg. It's a pretty egg, very smooth and perfectly shaped.

It caused quite a stir when I set it out on the dining room table:

It was examined from all sides:

Soon, an individual portrait was requested:

Then another:

and another:

and, before I knew it, everyone was in line for one:

That's what happens when a chicken lays an egg on what is going to be the longest night of the year.

Oh, you pretty, little 1.9 ounce orb of perfection, your appearance never ceases to amaze me:

My absolute favorite so far

Holiday catalogs have been arriving for a while, but the cover of this one takes the prize, hands-down, as far as I'm concerned.

It made me laugh and laugh and laugh...

How did they know I've been looking for the perfect holiday head gear for my critters?...

Happy December 1st!
(Another favorite of mine is December 1st. You can find out why by clicking here.)