Time out for a Snow Day

Have been going through some struggles (but who isn't these days?) so today was a day for taking it easy, a little prayer, a little search for some peace. It helped that it finally snowed, a lovely 10 inch snowfall that lasted until dark. After sleeping late and getting my Chef on, I went outside to care for the animals.
    Mama and Galaxy the goats have finally decided the snow did not bother them but both were cautious about the sound of the snow plows. I had let them into the back yard and garden with me while I fed and hayed the rabbits. The bunny chore took longer because of course I have to pop out the ice in each waterer and give them something fresh to drink.
   Hay is not a daily part of their menu but on cold days they enjoy burrowing in it and moving it around and of course eating it. I had expected Mama and her son to happily romp about in the larger space of the back yard and garden. Instead, spooked by the plow scraping the snow in a huge mound in our front yard (2 dead end roads meet in front of our house so we get the huge snow pile as the plows do their thing) the goats insisted on following me about like little furry shadows.
   Naturally they insist on helping and so they kept poking their heads into cages as I opened doors and insisted on sampling the hay, the rabbit feed, and even the ice in the waterers. This is not really as cute as it sounds when there are 60 bunnies to feed.
   Galaxy does look very comical right now however so I will have to post a picture. He is nearly full grown and his fuzzy baby coat has been replaced by a thick and luxurious pelt covered in perfect chamois  goat markings. He is muscle-y and strong and truly a handsome fellow. However his beard is not yet all the way in and he looks like an adolescent trying to be a man with a goatee. The beard is whispy and uneven and grows in every direction from beneath his chin. It truly is adorable.
   Evening supper was from the crockpot and it is still odd when the numbers at the supper table are reduced. Tonight for instance there were only 4 of us: Don, myself, and Joe and Nikki. After supper we decided to go out and play in the snow.
    Well I decided I wanted to play in the snow and the kids, catching my mood, decided to indulge me. Don shoveled the neighbor's driveway and we all worked on our own driveway for a while.  Nikki got the chance to practice driving the two dead end roads to get in some slippery driving conditions practice. Still hard to believe that my baby girl has her permit!
    Joe was worried about bringing Bambam out in the cold because  Bambam has a little shake sometimes, just beginning to show his age I guess. At the end of last summer he blew out his knee (the dog not the child) and we felt guilty in not going with a 3000 dollar vet bill for a nearly 11 year old dog. It has taken 5 months but the knee appears completely healed and since he loves the snow and being with us we decided he should join in the fun. Joe put a purple doggy coat on him which the dog was embarrassed about but it kept him warm.
    Yon's dog Cookie joined us and it was a pleasure watching them cavort in the snow. It did however make me miss my Lily who so loved snowstorms and bouncing about in the drifts.
    Joe showed us his trick of sledding off the roof of the goat barn. Mama made little nervous noises (the goat not me) but Galaxy looked like he would have given anything to be with Joe. Nikki eventually made her way up on the roof, after a great deal of laughter and general silliness, but she chickend out (or was VERY wise) and did not try to sled off it.
   At some point Joe and Nikki tried attaching a sled to a bike and towing each other around out on the road. It was not very successful, but one of those silly things you just have to try. We all chatted and joked and had that easy time together you get when outside in the dark.
   We eventually  ended up lying on the big snow mound that the plow pushes up in the front corner of our yard.  Flat on our backs, out of the wind, we stared up passed the bowed pine tree limbs and up to the night sky.
    After 27 years of having children it does seem strange that this may be the last year I can convince my big kids to come out and play. I treasured it, hugged it to myself, and sought to memorize everything about that moment lying out in the snow bank, the two kids chuckling, Don next to me, both of us watching the kids and enjoying the night.
   By the time we made it back into the house we were dripping with cold wetness and although we all met again in the living room for a snack the spell was broken. We tried to watch a show together but who could agree on what show? Video games and computers and text messages beckoned and that is certainly okay.
   There are challenges ahead to be faced but it was nice to pause and have a snow day.

I hope I am sorry enough

  Today as I was walking in the school hallway I noticed one of my former kindergarten kids sitting outside the school office on a bench. He had his coat on and he was simply sitting quietly swinging his legs as they still do not quite reach the floor. I looked carefully into his face before speaking to him.
   Now that last sentence might have seemed an odd choice of words. But this was a child I had gotten to know EXTREMELY well my first months working because he and I had daily contact. Some people just have a real hard time in the world and he has had more troubles than most.
Somedays he would have an expression I thought of as his   'shark look' and it boded trouble for anyone and anything in his path. Those days neccessitatated close supervision and intervention and sometimes restraint.
   Since that time, with a great deal of help and support, he has managed to gain some nice coping skills. But apparently life can still be a challenge for him,  ergo discovering him outside the vice principal's office.
   Back when he was my daily concern I could tell by looking into his face whether or not it was a good time to talk to him or if things were better left unspoken.
    Today his demeanour and facial expression indicated the chance to chat. "Hey buddy what are you doing out here? Waiting for a bus?"
   Looking up at me with clear eyes he said, "Oh hi Mrs. Blauss. Nope I gotta go in there." With a hand he pointed towards the v. p. door. Giving him a sympathetic shake of my head I said, "Oh sorry, guy, poor you. I know how hard you have been trying. Hopefully it will turn out okay."
   " Ya well," he responded, "I just hope I am sorry enough so I don't miss recess." ...How great is that. Not "I hope they accept my apology," or "I hope the punishment is not so bad I miss recess." But a simple and to the point "I just hope I am sorry enough so I don't miss recess."
  Adults forget how hard it can be to be 5 or 6 or 7. We look back on those years with nostalgia. But my little friend knows true pain and sufferering ,and what can help make his day a little brighter. I too hope he was sorry enough to get recess...

A New Year Dawning

  A day can be considered well nigh perfect if it begins with being able to sleep in until noon. If said day also includes a yummy dinner and time to play outside with the animals, well then who could ask for anything more?
   I am of course back on full weight watcher portion controlled healthy eating. I do not even want to step on the scale on Tuesday but "sufficient unto the day..."
    I took some time to carefully inspect all the outdoor animals today since we had a couple of bunny losses while we were gone. This can happen of course any time but during the winter the animals are at in increased risk for the simple fact that less time is spent with them. Today for instance as I was feeding and waterering I heard the sound of dripping water behind me. Sure enough Big Bertha, who likes to flip her bowls around, had managed to get a small hole in the bottom of her water dish.
   Had I been in a rush I might not have noticed. That little detail can become a question of life and death. If I fed and watered early afternoon and she was already a bit thirsty because her bowl had leaked out its water yesterday, and then it leaked out again too quickly for her to rehydrate, what do you think would happen to her if the temp dropped tonight and perhaps tomorrow's afternoon feeding got postponed until the evening? A bunny that looks totally healthy and frisky one minute can be gone the next night.
   I also got around to separating the last litter of the fall season. The 3 brothers enjoyed each others company but that was not going to continue much longer, picture 3 siblings sharing a bedroom!
   Next, I spent some time with the chickens. They are not being very kind to the 3 kitchen chicks that we hatched out in October. I have in effect 5 different groups and they do resist new members. We have the few remaining 6 year old hens, we have the Valentine mail order chicks, we have the kindergarten hens, the July grain store hens, and now the kitchen chicks. Many are very beautiful and it is interesting to see them form friendships and figure out the pecking order. I am going to have to make sure they all get in the henhouse tonight as some have taken to roosting on the back steps and they poop where they sleep. There is a reason they call it chicken shit... and it sticks like glue to your shoes!
   The goats of course insisted on my company first. I picked some twigs off the apple trees for them as a treat and they munched like it was homemade cookie time! I wonder what is it about apple wood that make the animals swoon? Our little house parrot and the rabbits also love to nibble the bark and wood from the apple trees.
   I will need to make sure I send in my licence for the animals since it is due the first of the year, as well as the dog licences. The fees are small, a dollar a goat and a dollar for every 6 chickens or bunnies. Still I am a rule follower so I need to make sure that gets done.
    Hopefully the weather will remain mild and the goats and I can take a long walk.... I know what you are thinking...where is the drama? where is the moving or important blog story? None today really. Today was just a simple day of touching base with the kids, playing with the animals, and cooking a nice dinner. 2012 does not look to be this relaxed and easy. But for today, just for today it was fun to be out in the garden and day dream while looking over the animals and simply being. Happy New year Everyone.