More Snow And Surprise Baby S

Because the last snow was so wet and heavy, it stuck to everything.

It then started to weigh down my arborvitaes. 

It made them look like something from Dr. Seuss.

But I do love taking pictures of the snow. 

And then today we have a surprise guest.  V told me last night at 9:30 that her daycare would be closed the next day because it was cold.  Last I checked, most daycares were inside with heat and air.  I guess 11 degrees was too cold to make it from the car to the door.  Anyway, I of course volunteered to keep Baby S.  (We even get to keep her overnight and M and V will come pick her up tomorrow)

V sent her with this precious snow suit.  And since we had a fresh skiff of snow I put it to use. 

Then Baby S tried to crawl and got her hand in the snow.  Oh no!

I don't think she liked it too much.

OK, I will go look for some gloves next time.

Wiggies

Well, I learned something new today.  I knew people showed horses with fake tails, but I didn't know they showed dogs with fake top knots.  

This poodle came in today for vaccinations.  The owner said it is a retired show dog.  I commented on it's unique mohawk hair style, that I had not seen that before.  She explained that she was growing wigs for her other show dogs.  Apparently, this is a thing, a bit against the rules but the rules are not very well enforced at AKC shows.  I looked it up and they are actually called "Wiggies"  The owner said when they get long enough, she will cut them off and dye them to match the dog she will use it on.  It is to fluff up and make the top knot fuller.  Who knew? 
 

Covid Sniffing Dogs

There was an interesting article in the local paper about someone in the neighboring county that is training dogs to detect Covid.  If you are interested you can check out the article HERE.

 I don't think I have done any work for him but we do treat the State Prison and State Police dogs.  It is very interesting to talk with the handlers about their training and different rewards the dogs get.  The prison dogs are all bloodhounds used in tracking escapees or sniffing out contraband.  The state police have a variety of different dogs based on what they are doing.  Sometimes it might be a phone sniffing beagle or a drug sniffing Labrador Retriever.  Or it could be an attack Belgian Malinois.  Those are a bit more intimidating than the beagles. 

But back to the article, I might rather my hand be sniffed by a dog than that swab stuck up my nose to my brain if I have to be tested. 

Murder Of Crows

Back when the weather was nice (days ago) and I was riding Otoelene, there were hundreds of crows flying around in the hay field.  It will be nearly impossible for you to see them but take my word for it, they are there flying around. 

A fun fact about crows, a group of crows is called a murder. 

I was listening to NPR earlier that same day and Wait, Wait came on with a game called "Only Murders Of Crows in the Building."  Click on the link HERE and go to minute 27 for a few more crow fun facts including grudges, families and celebrities. 
 

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

As Mark Twain said, "if you don't like the weather...just wait 5 minutes."  Well, that has been true here.  Someone joked, Sweating and wearing shorts taking down the Christmas tree, leaves blowing around outside at 100 mph, and now a winter storm warning. 

What a difference a day makes. 

I believe I will skip riding today.  

The snow always makes for a nice picture though.  

It was a very wet snow, only about 4 inches since it melted underneath and compressed a lot.  

Good times are over for J and the feeding.  It had been nice and dry.  Now it will be nasty and muddy. 

At least the goats were happy to have their meal delivered. 
 

Thankful Sunday #1

I am starting a new feature, Thankful Sunday.  I will try to come up with something I am thankful for each week.  Hopefully, I can keep up with this one. 

I was thankful for J getting our Christmas tree.  And for E's kayaking gloves (gloves she had cut the tips of the fingers off of allowing for dexterity along with protection) that I used to keep my hands from getting pricked to death when putting on the lights.  

I am thankful for all the friends and family that joined us at the table in front of the tree this Christmas season.

I tried taking a picture of the lights through Holiday Specs that make the lights look like little gingerbread men.  Pretty cute. 

But I am especially thankful that E was here and willing to help take the ornaments off the tree.   Because I got it too early, it was very dry and brittle by Christmas.  Decorations were falling off left and right.  A few broke, but that happens every year.  It is my excuse to be able to buy more.  Thank you E for going above and beyond, or at least down and under. 

Because it was so brittle, I ended up using the loppers to cut it up in pieces to get it back out of the door. 

I'm not sure the goats will even touch this one. 
 

First Ride Of The New Year

What a beautiful day for a ride.  A little breezy but in the 70's!  January 1st and I am riding with just a sweatshirt, so I'm not going to complain about a little wind. 

After riding in the barn for a little bit I pronounced Otoelene sound and decided to head down the driveway to the gravel road.

Lots of things to keep your ears up about on a windy day.  You never know when you might see some plastic. (Otoelene's biggest fear) 

Or a squirrel. (no fear at all) (he is running 2/3 over from the left and 2/3 up from the bottom of the picture for those that need help finding it) 

But time to relax when we made it to the cows.  I think being with the cows is Otoelene's Happy Place. 

They were enjoying the weather too. 

And who doesn't like a good shadow picture. 

Even better when you can see the horse making the shadow.  A great start to 2022. 

Happy New Year.