Busier Than A Cat Covering Up on a Tile Floor

Whew. An all day trip to Rapid with Pat yesterday filled her Suburban to the roof with all of our "stuff". Menard's had more Christmas, and I found "MuttLuks" - shoes for the ice and snow - for the dogs, and got more sweaters. I even got some fleece sheets for the guest bedroom upstairs! The big new freezer came yesterday, too; it is down in the basement awaiting its filling with the 1/4 grassfed Angus steer.

Today the hay is supposed to be delivered; 10 large bales of alfalfa. We also have to go repair the fences to make them tight and secure. All to be made ready for the arrival of the three cows and horse on Wednesday. I need to get down to Lancaster's Feed store and look at saddles. Muffin has been ridden bareback and doesn't mind it, but I'll feel better with a proper saddle. "Muffin" will probably be renamed; but that will take some time to get to know her for a proper naming.

My old-fashioned blowmolds of all of the Christmas stuff, especially the Christmas Nativity, was old and broken long before we left the South; I found the cutest new one with little children's faces. I got two new soldiers too; they'll go out at the arbor and be wired down. Everyone's going for the inflatables lately, but they are impractical when winds get up to 60 mph. The blowmolds are fairly light, too, but at least you can anchor them. I finally found something to go on that wide bare blank expanse on the West side of the house; a huge flat, lit Santa in a sleigh, as long as I am tall, that will snug in close to the wall.

We sold our first dozen and a half eggs yesterday. I am soo excited.

Folks all want to come and see our "little cows"; they think they will be amazingly cute. I know the ranchers around here think I am a leetle bit crazy, and want to see for themselves the structure and solidity of this unusual breed. Yes the cows ARE cute, but they are also a tough little breed that have no problem with coyotes or snow; they are bred for rough conditions and to fend for themselves. I know we are going to take a lot of ribbing; I am used to folks thinking I'm crazy, after all! But I hope to turn that ribbing into everyone knowing just what and why we are doing this; it's like free advertising! They are not going to be pets, but real working animals. I know some folks thought it wasn't wise to get a bull when Artificial Insemination is the inexpensive way to go; but I wanted a bull just in case. In case of what? In case the cows need to be bred right away, in case we don't have the accessibility to the semen right away, in case things all fall down and we can't get what we need to breed them right when we need to. Natural is better. He may be officially PoinDexter on the papers, but he might have a name change, too. What else do you call a friendly bull but Ferdinand? The elementary school wants to schedule a field trip! These cows have never been milked before and have to be trained to stand in stanchions and tolerate having their udders stroked long before they calve.

There is so much to think about and do to get things up and running! That may be my last shopping trip for a long while and I wanted to make it count. Soon it will be time to hunker down for the long winter and get ready for the wild blizzards and long nights of black and starlit cold. Having a horse to ride out and check the cattle and fences on cold afternoons, getting ready for the new babies and milk to come in March, Deciding to steer or to sell the little bulls that may come, or to breed the heifers that may come, to keep an eye on the chickens so that they do not set up until it is warm enough to do so, to get the garden plowed under and ready for the snow to collect the moisture....

Yes, this is what I wanted my whole life - to stop wasting time on frivolities and mindless movement, and to concentrate on the things that matter to me.