Friday, January 02, 2009, 20:29
A Brand New Year
Well. It's 2009. A brand new year.
I'm going to have to find my 2009 calendars. And remember to write "2009" on my checks. By February I ought to be writing 2009 consistently on my checks. I hope.
New Year's Day was sunny and not too cold here at Rural Route 2 with a high in the mid 20s. A strong wind blew out of the east/southeast all day. I thought maybe the damp east/southeast wind would bring a snowstorm with it. Some snow did fall in evening, but not much. Maybe an inch or so of very fluffy snow. And then Friday morning it was below zero again.
Pixie had a fun New Year's Day. There was about a third of a box of stale Cherrios in the pantry, so I told Randy to put them outside in the bird feeder for the Blue Jays. The wind was so strong that it blew the cereal out of the bird feeder and onto the ground. Every time Pixie went outside, she was hunting for Cherrios to eat. Her quest for Cherrios continued on into Friday. I'm not sure how many Cherrios are in a third of a box. But they are providing plenty of entertainment for our little Shetland Sheepdog.
Our little tabby cat, BobbyCat, who spends most of the summer outside and most of the winter inside and is a fierce mouser, has done her best to make sure there are not many mice left in the area right around the house. But it would appear that Bobby's hunting has not taken her very far into the hayfield. Because of all the ice around, I have made a walking path down the hayfield. There's enough snow that I can see all kinds of little mouse tracks on top of the snow. If the mice are smart, they will stay in the hayfield and away from the barn and the house. . .
A Rural Route 2 subscriber from Canada sent me a URL for a traction device that fits on the bottom of your shoes or boots called YakTrax . I ordered a pair on New Year's Day. I can hardly wait for them to arrive. She says they work quite well and that she has worn out a couple pair. I know they will come in handy with all of the ice around here now. And I would imagine that by the time spring arrives, the ice is going to be just that much worse.
Happy New Year!
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 20:42
With Mincing Steps
I have come to the realization that it is not the short days -- or the extreme cold -- or the snow -- that makes winter seem so long and endless.
It is the ice.
I never knew how much I took walking around without thinking about it for granted. I don't take it for granted anymore, though.
During the night it started to snow so that by Tuesday morning, there was a covering of about an inch of fresh, white fluffy stuff. Then, as the morning progressed, more snow started to fall.
The snow covered up the ice that is everywhere so now, I can't see the ice. It takes me twice as long to do anything outside because I have to look where I'm stepping, take a step, look where I'm stepping, take another step. Not that it really does too much good when I can't see where the ice is anymore. (sigh)
With ice underneath the snow, January, February and March are going to be very, very, very long months.
I am happy to say that I made it through feeding the horses Tuesday morning without going down. I did almost a couple of times. But I did not actually slip and fall. Thank goodness.
Although I always look forward to spring, I will be especially looking forward to it this year so that I can once again just walk around without thinking about it.
I'm sorry to say, too, that my husband, Randy, joined the ranks of those who have become victims of the ice. Monday morning I reminded him to be careful going out to his truck. I didn't think to remind him to be careful GETTING OUT of his truck once he got to work.
Randy made it almost to the door of the building where he works and WHAM! Down he went and landed on his left elbow. Monday evening he said it hurt to bend his arm and that during the day, he hadn't realized how much a person bumps his elbow in the normal course of events -- like resting your arm on the armrest of your chair.
I suppose that the clinics in this area of Wisconsin are now going to be seeing a tremendous number of injuries from people falling on the ice.
Isabelle
My little black mare Isabelle loves the idea that it takes me a very long time in her pasture to get the horse manure picked up. What with the rain, the severe cold weather, more rain and now snow, the piles of horse manure are not only frozen solid, they are frozen DOWN. I have to take a shovel out with me to chip up the frozen piles.
And because I can't see the ice, I have to walk slowly and carefully.
Isabelle is delighted that it takes me a long time out in her pasture because it means that she has more opportunities to back up to me with her rear end pointed in my direction and then stand there and wait.
And what is she waiting for you ask?
She is waiting to get her back scratched with the plastic manure fork. I swear that little mare would stand there all day if I would scratch her back and her rear end all day.
Isabelle has it down to a routine, too. She starts to eat her hay, lets me pick up some of the manure, then she goes into her slow backing up method. I scratch her back for a few minutes. She heaves a big sigh and goes back to her hay. A few minutes later, she will decide she needs another scratch. More slow backing to stand there and wait. I scratch. She sighs. Goes back to her hay. Decides she needs more scratches. Backs up again . . .
Sometimes Isabelle is so anxious to make her point that she wants her back scratched that she almost knocks me down in the process. There's nothing hasty about it. Just a slow relentless backing up. I have tried to explain to her that I won't be able to scratch her back if she backs OVER me and knocks me down, but so far, she hasn't paid any attention.
I had to scratch Isabelle's back three times while I was out there Tuesday morning. I think the snow accumulating on her hair makes her back itchy.
I'm not sure how she figured it out that if she backs up to me and waits, I will scratch her back. She has done this from the time we brought her home three years ago. Maybe someone else used to scratch her back for her. I don't know anything about her early life. I do know, however, that the first few times she did it, I was quite disconcerted. I had no idea if she was sizing me up for a kick or what. But no. Isabelle just wanted her back scratched. She has never, ever offered to kick. And that deep sigh of contentment before she goes back to her hay says it all.
No, I'm more in danger of getting kicked when Isabelle leaps around with youthful exuberance. She will start tearing around, squeal, and then will kick up her heels in my direction. I think it's an invitation to play with her, as if she is saying "come and run with me and we can chase each other around." It's just that I get a little nervous when she kicks up her back fee so close to me. She hasn't done that in a while. I think she's smart enough to know that it is very slippery in her pasture and that she needs to be careful on the ice.
LeAnn R. Ralph
AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS -- For yourself or someone else!
Click here to order the Rural Route 2 Cookbook
My new book, The Coldest Day of the Year, is now available.
Click here to order LeAnn's books