An Afternoon

Matt's car needed some shop time this week and the van needed new brake pads, so he ended up taking Wednesday off to get that taken care of.  I say took off, but he got up at 5 and worked from home and ran all his reports and made calls and all of the usual job stuff, but instead of the usual running out for an early lunch then back for a few of hours of damage control, we had a late breakfast in town and after the vehicles were back in running order, we headed back home and took the dogs for a long walk.

The pasture has not been mowed since late summer of last year and he left everything laying where it fell, so over the year privet and blackberry have crept all the way across it in places, there's a blackberry thicket the size of the house in the middle.  And everywhere-every few feet-there are sweet gum trees anywhere from waist to shoulder height.  A few escaped the slash mowing and are well over our heads already.  5 more years and it will be a forest instead of a pasture.  A small tractor with a bush hog costs the same as a new roof, so keeping it cleared has not reached single digit priority on our list yet.

In the meantime, the dogs are really enjoying the cover to play wolveses, their very favorite game.

Matt shook a goldenrod to make the seeds fly.  There were zillions of tiny winged seeds flying around.

The view from the above spot used to look like the shot below.  We trimmed back the crabapple tree last winter, it had some kind of fungus and had stopped blooming at all.

I  miss the long rolling hill of the pasture...

These are perfect wolf dens for the dogs to hide in, they are like 5 year olds on a field trip when we take them out to walk!

The pasture this year is PACKED with sorrel.  We picked 5 pounds of it and dried it for tea.
I like it better fresh, it tastes like lemon and looks like arrowhead or goldfish crackers.

It takes a lot out of Jess to walk any distance.  I bully her into going to the far curve in the road and back a couple times a day, but that's about her limit now.  Last winter was so mild, she did not have any real trouble moving around.  I worry for her this winter.  The vet has already mentioned a couple options to try prolonging her life, I am not sure that's fair to her.  She's done her work and she hurts much of the time despite medication and supplements and diet change and trying to get her to exercise more.  When does love of a pet drop in priority to need for dignity and the chance for a peaceful end?

Kuma is the best dog ever.  Before him, I never understood why people would clone an animal.  Now, I am thinking I'd like 2 more of him before he goes.  Look how grey his muzzle is getting, my sweet boy.  I love that dog, I feel so safe with him out on the porch.  Ever since he got me home during that heavy snow a few years ago, he circles back to give me a golden-eyed glance now and then-no matter how far ahead he roams.  All I have to say is, "I am tired!" and he gets RIGHT in front of me and pushes down the grass or pushes my legs until I move to an easier path.  I'd like to think he feels the need to get me home because he loves me, too.  But I know it's because I am livestock that has proven I am not very bright at getting back to the barn.  He's all business, our Kuma.

Back home, I climbed a ladder to take a photo of the kids in the fallen leaves.

They said the sun was hurting their eyes...

So after a 1-2-3-click in which they were supposed to keep their eyes shut and then open them at 3 and shut them again...

And after I made Ben do a re-do...

I swapped places with them and put them on the ladder.  It was still too bright.  And Ben failed to open his eyeballs again.  hahaha

I sent my darkness-loving children back inside to skulk around in the darkness again.
I am sticking with the animals from now on...

Nia is a year old!  According to the best guess of the people at the pound.

Matt SAID he was going to flip off the ladder.  I was very disappointed that he merely jumped.  He was very disappointed that his 40 year old knees did not enjoy the impact.

And, as usual, Kat watches over everything her 'kittens' do while in the yard.