In Boulder, I never paid much attention to the phases of the moon. Here, it’s much more obvious. When I turned out the light last night, I had to double check to make sure that all the lights were off, as it was still so bright in the bedroom. All the lights were off, but the moon is full today, for the second time this month. Happy Blue Moon Day, and Happy New Year’s Eve.Phil, incredibly, felt ill again yesterday. So much for moving to the country for better health. He had managed to place 15 cattle panels in three days, which made me despair of ever actually getting our place fenced in. Five panels a day would finish the job in about 50 days, but he’s working on the easiest section right now: the level, cleared area near the road. I need to not stress about it. But I do!
I decided to attempt the ram lamb post-mortem. I managed to cut the animal open and see the guts, but then I didn’t know how to proceed, or how to keep extracting without making a big mess. And I didn’t think the really pertinent parts (reproductive organs) were large enough for my untrained eyes to observe what they needed to see.
But for someone who fainted after losing a tooth, and who passed out when having a blood sample drawn, cutting open a dead mammal is a pretty big step in toughness. Good for me!
Today Phil did more fencing. I kept an eye on Acorn, who I think has dropped (since last Saturday or Sunday). Is she acting oddly? I actually touched her and she didn’t bolt, which means she’s more friendly. Is her udder filling, or is it just my imagination? Is labor imminent? At some point in the next month, yes.
The older boys and I had a great time reading Ella Enchanted until after 10pm this evening. We did that most of the afternoon, too. I was glad they liked the story so much—it’s a good one.
A few photos of our farm on this, the last day of 2009.
Our view across the creek
Our incredibly slow growing pigs
Our 80 augered holes, with no trees
Our driveway and dwelling, partly obscured by the brush pile
Abigail
Most of our flock, with Chrystal the goat lying in front of the lambing jug in the background
Greedy goat Annabelle
The blue moon was amazing here too, even in town.
ReplyDeleteAnd ours was clouded over, so we didn't see it. But it was still good to know it was there.
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