These Days

Today instead of a one themed post I offer you a kind of "what I have been thinking about" type of post. Downloading the pictures on my camera is the fodder for the words today. If it seems disjointed, you are right, it is.

Our little homestead is located in a large area of land called Eagle Hills. Our land is on the lower third of the elevation, although if you walk from the bottom to the top it is still quite an upward hike. Because there are hills to the south, (the way the front of our house faces) the sun is not visible these days until about 10:30 in the morning and it is gone, having set from our view at 3:45pm. It is kind of odd to me. Having lived on flat prairie most of my life this limited view of the sun seems strange and very "northern". Of course in the summer then the suns arc is wide and high the opposite happens. It seems to never get dark.

 

Homeschooling. So far so good. Just got the schedule for the home school skating. Friday afternoon for an hour, starting in January. Today I get the swimming lesson schedule. Same day. Along with downhill skiing, which we are not participating in. All Friday afternoons. I wonder why they do that? The school schedule has been, shall I say, a little loose these past two weeks. I ask myself if it really matters what time we do it as long as we get it done. I like schedule and routine and is surely has its place but this girl likes to "play in bed" as she calls it and often reads for over an hour before she even comes out in the morning.  Reading is good. Imaginative play is good. What seems to be the problem?

I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the dogs. I do. It is ridiculous. We have had an extremely cold December and they live outside full time. I was able to literally drag them in the other day when it was -44C with the windchill. They slept in the back entry for about 3 hours. Long enough to thaw and dry their coats. Jack, the big one, was so scared that I had to sit with him for at least the first hour. It was so silly. Anyway, I make them hot broth and oatmeal for lunch and they seem to like it. They like the deer carcass that Paul's colleague sent him from a recent hunt more. Much more. Our yard looks a little creepy right now what with deer legs, hoofs and bones strewn about. Good news for them, another carcass arrives on Friday. I actually like this method of feeding. If they were wild, and lets not forget that is where they came from, they would be eating fresh deer meat. It is so good for them.

Photography.  All the pictures you see here are how they come off the camera. I may crop them if the shot is too far away and my Instagram pictures have nice little features but truth be told, I am not a photographer. Check out this wonderful picture of the moon. It was so lovely. My picture is decidedly not. Help Tara, Dawn, Heather and Sarah. Now those women are photographers! One thing I plan to do in the upcoming year is actually read the manual from my camera. Novel idea. No?

It seems a little gal has used the little camera to snap some pictures of her own. Here are her dolls. Eden, Harper and Anya. She sleeps with Anya every night. I bought her this Waldorf doll last Christmas. I was hinting around about it and she said "every girl wants a doll except me." So I created a story about the doll and unveiled a new installment of it each night for two weeks until the day she opened it. By then she wanted this doll in the worst way. It was a clever save on my part, to be sure.

Although it has been wicked cold outside, we have been going out every day. Mostly for an hour or a little better and Athena usually stays out a longer still. Yesterday the snow pack was so hard she was able to do some snow carving. I am still working on the sledding path. I bought some extra crazy carpets so when all the granddaughters come at Christmas time they will each have one to use. I hope it isn't too cold on that day so they can try it out. Martha has been staying inside. I don't think she has been outdoors in over a month. I am getting reacquainted with changing cat litter. Very often. I will look forward to spring when she will stop using it until next winter. :)

There is a pair of robins hanging around who forgot to migrate. It happens. Good thing we have acres of berries for food for them. I wonder why they didn't go? Woodpeckers are loving the start of our garage. Don't know what they are thinking. They wont find food. I had to chase one out as it was stuck inside and couldn't escape.

Am I the only person who has to put patches on the knees of pyjamas? Really! She does wear them a lot. In fact, most days she just puts her snow suit on right over top. At bath time she puts them in the hamper and gets a fresh pair. Honestly I don't know why I even buy this kid street clothes.

Last but not least, that is if you made it this far and are still reading, I really don't know what I am going to make for dinner when the girls come home. I don't want to be in the kitchen the entire time. They are only here two days. Any breakfast ideas or make ahead dinner ideas would be appreciated. Time is of the essence.