more Irish pennants
In early May, I posted about various items of interest about the farm, calling
them Irish pennants of the mind. “Irish pennants” is a phrase I picked up in
the Marines, originally meant to describe pieces of green string hanging off
one’s utility uniform. Please commit the phrase to memory, as I’ll likely use
it again when I don’t have any major scoop but still want to check in with you.
And so it is today. Jude and I were outside a lot last weekend, buttoning up
outdoor projects for the winter. It’s been cold lately. Not prairie-province
cold, but enough to congeal my senior citizen muscles. The days have a
dreamy, transitory feel as autumn hobbles away and we brace for winter
proper. Only ten more days to the solstice and the return of the light.
I draw much solace from knowing that the days will be longer soon. I seek
succor as I count down to the college football bowl games, especially the
LSU-Alabama rematch for the national championship January 9th. The
exceptional season the Bayou Bengals has put together has me jonesin’ for
that game.
Anyway, Irish pennants. Faithful dog Slinkee has never been shy about
barking when she wants to go out or wants me to go out with her. But today,
I swear, she said “bored” in her Wookie moan, which has roots in her wolf
howling ancestry.
She might be wanting to check the duck census on the pond. I told you re-
cently that Biff the male bufflehead was back with four females. He adds one
every year. More recently I’ve seen him with another male, and I’m not sure
how I feel about it. Is it healthy male bonding, or is he out of control? He even
swims around with a pair of hooded merganzers.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I fear Biff may be in over his
head. You’ve got to expect that to some extent with a diving bird, though. If
he is in fact in trouble, how would we do an intervention? By kayak?
Our four chickens are doing well and still producing an egg a day each. We
thought they might be slacking off by now, but apparently our efforts to let
them range free is keeping them happy. We have plenty of room in the coop
to add more, but we considered it prudent to wait until spring as we continue
to learn poultry stewardship.
Here’s what I woke up to today:
I hope your day and week started this well.
Comments are closed.
Anchor Struck 
what a beautiful way to wake up! I finally got my christmas tree last night. I said no more live trees but every where I have gone to are out of them so my bf went into the woods and cut a cedar down. It would have broke my heart but the tree needed to go so the other three could grow.
anyway it is mostly ugly whith gaps here and there nd prickly but i did not care. I strung lights and hung ornaments wits classics fairly loud and enjoyed the morning.
and now I am off to shower and get ready for my day.h my stereo blasting some 70
how weird that my posts got all chopped up. it is supposed to say that i was listening to the classics this morning. not sure what happend ther but maybe you can make sense of it.
Your tree sounds like the one in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. I’m sure your care for it perked it right up. It always helps to decorate with fairly loud classics playing. I hope you have your best Christmas yet, Beth.
Sounds like you’re well on your way to “settling in” for winter; lovely photos, by the way! I’m busily creating wonderful presents for family and friends – I do love this time of year, and do HATE commercialism, so this is yet another excuse to exercise my creative bent! I’m also going to make several types of Christmas goodies to eat – will be having Christmas in the mountains with my oldest son Dallas and his family – Cody and his little family are coming, too, so it will be a crowded and joyous occasion!! Hope you and Jude have a lovely Christmas, and a lovely winter as well!
We will have a lovely Christmas and winter, Charlotte, thank you. Christmas evening, we’re going to a free dinner that our local inn puts on. We’ll have plenty of friends around, but regrettably, no family. Is your holiday get-together in the Boston mountains?