Mooving

Just a few more days before Joe leaves out with Emily and Keiran for their epic hike.  The Long Trail got changed to the Shenandoah portion of the AT trail.  Much shorter, easier hiking and closer to home.  All good choices for Joe's first outing.  Meanwhile, I have been shadowing him more since I will have to take care of things while he is gone.  

We moved the cattle at Julian's to a field with more grass.  

I always think moving cattle is very picturesque.  

Then we moved the replacement heifers to a different field and moved the cow/calf pairs back here from across the creek.  

Then we got ready for hay to be moved.   That is Joe up there in the tractor bucket with a chainsaw.  Isn't that how you are suppose to trim limbs?  Tree limbs that is.  None of Joe's limbs got trimmed in the process.  

We buy all of our hay and it is hauled in on a big flatbed truck.  Trimming the branches and covering root and rocks helps out the hauler.  

And the goats enjoyed the trimmings. 

Trees And Birds

No, the birds are not in the trees.  The trees are on the fence again.  Maybe you remember this tree from last year (HERE)

Well, another part of the tree fell over the same spot in the fence.  

This is on rented land but we have to keep up the fence.  A neighbor drove by and said he would take the wood but he didn't offer to help get it off the fence.  There was a lot of cutting and eventually a tractor was involved. 

But Joe got it done as usual.  

Now there are just 2 trunks left to fall.  

On the bird front, my bird box that had the camera has birds but  no camera.  Ants had gotten into it and I gave the replacement bird house away at Christmas.  But I can open the side and hold my phone over the nest for a picture.  Not sure how many are there.  They are tree swallows.  

And a surprise find inside one of my grapevine balls.  

A mockingbird nest with 3 eggs!  So, if a bird in the hand beats 2 in the bush, what does 3 in a ball get?

If A Tree Falls

Joe went to clean out the cattle guard yesterday. It was full of leaves, gravel and dirt from the winter. But since it has been so dry, it was like concrete. That is until our 4 inches of rain. That softened it up enough to work with. 

Joe had gone down in the truck. I came a little later with the 4 wheeler.  You may be wondering what all of this has to do with trees.  Well, Joe took the 4 wheeler back to check the cows and I went out with the truck to turn around and come back. 

That is when I found this dead oak tree blocking the driveway.  So I had to back back up the driveway, find Joe and tell him he now needed to get the chainsaw. 

It was steep and dangerous. 

But Joe has a lot of experience with fallen trees. 

At least there wasn’t a fence to fix afterwards. 
 

Big Mistake?

I either made a mistake planting them or cutting them down. 

The two river birches in front of the house had gotten too big.  We just had a new roof put on and I was afraid they might damage it at some point.  Plus, they shed limbs constantly and plug up the gutters with catkins in the spring and leaves in the fall. 

The Leland cypress trees were also getting pretty tall. 

So we hired someone to come top them and cut down the river birches. 

It was an all day job  

I don’t think it will miss the tops of the cypress trees. 

But the river birch that was on the right might leave a hole. It will take some getting used to. 

But I will have a big pile of mulch for next year. 

 

Walkabout

The weather has taken a turn for the better.  It has been much nicer than the sub freezing temperatures around Christmas.  And what is better to do during nice winter weather than a bit of a walkabout.  

The evening sun highlights everything. 

And just a quick update, our cattle made it to the feedlot in good shape. 

Walking around in the fresh air is a nice break from de-decorating.  I have taken down all the decorations and have them packed away in the closet for next Christmas.  Any guesses on how many ornaments were on the tree this year? 

If you had guessed 1115, you would be correct!  That is a new record for me.  I feel like I cheated a little bit though.  I did use several boxes of shatterproof ornaments. (mostly on the back side)  The glass ones are getting pretty expensive.  

 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 24

I have spent all month getting everything ready. I think it’s time.  

Looks like we are ready for Santa. 

Or, maybe he has already been here. 

 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 9

The little bit of snow that we got on Friday was mostly gone on Saturday.  I took the opportunity to work some more on my outdoor decorations. 

I had been eyeing this little grove of white pines along the driveway.   It looked like they needed some thinning. 

My big pots were looking pretty bare.  

But not anymore, instant trees.  

Since I didn't replace the fence in the border garden I thought I would add some height to it too.  

Now I have a temporary forest.  

And I added one to the arrangement at the side door.  

I finished it off with a few shatterproof ornaments.  

And I added some bows to the potted trees.  Everything looked great until...

Monday, when we got 4-5 inches of heavy, wet snow.  

I help Joe shovel out the feed troughs and forgot about the farrier coming.  I had not caught Otoelene and she was up on the steep hill in front of the house.  She apparently did not like me slipping, falling and flailing my arms around trying not to slide down the hill.  It was the first time that I can remember that she was difficult to catch.  The farrier said he had canceled all of his other appointments so he didn't mind the little extra wait.  

After I turned her back out I checked on Clyde and Hugo.  I have turned them together now and they are getting along fine.  You may notice that Clyde's tail is still braided.  I probably need to take that out sometime.  

Even though the snow was cold, wet and slick, it was still pretty.  

 

Black Friday Shopping

 The most important thing on my shopping list this Black Friday was a live Christmas tree.  As you remember, last year, with my injury I was unable to decorate much and used my Aluminum tree instead of a real tree.   The tree farm I have been going to for several years is only open this weekend with a limited number of 5-7 foot trees.  Two years ago, I got there just before opening and people were already dragging trees out.  This year Keiran and Emily went with me and we got there at 8:15.  At 8:30 we trespassed and went looking for a tree.  When the owners showed up at 8:45 I ran to apologize for being early but explained that I was just too excited and really wanted the biggest tree they had.  

I also forgot to take a picture of the tree standing.  Emily and Keiran had done a great job finding the best one.  The lot owner cut the tree for us and we were headed out before 9:00.  Others had started streaming in at 8:45.  

Keiran got it loaded and secured for the 10 minute ride home.  

And guess what!  It was 10 1/2 feet tall!  I ended up having to cut some from the bottom and the top to make my 9 1/2 feet. 

  I didn't even need to set it up on cinderblocks.   Did I mention that they don't spray the trees and they only charge $30.  What a deal.  

Emily and Keiran started decorating after I put the lights on.  Then Sadie and Allie arrived.  Emily was an excellent ornament instructor.  

She has had years of practice.  

And Keiran was an excellent ladder.  Allie wanted to be lifted up to hang the ornaments up high.  

Then she requested "higher" and Keiran obliged.  We were no where near finished but I think everyone wanted a change so we started on Emily's Barbie tree.   

This was a huge hit with Sadie and Allie.  Sadie thought they were all so beautiful and couldn't get them out of the boxes fast enough.  It was so nice to have such good decorating help.   I think I had a very successful Black Friday.