an udder thudder

 Some warm, sunny fall days!

A little bit of color...but not much yet.

It's nice hiking weather.

But our regular hikes are over for a while...with Pepita, anyway.  She was spayed on Thursday morning.  She was one sad pup...spay instructions are NO hiking, running, roughhousing, jumping, or climbing...for two weeks.  No walks, no fetch, no jumping up on the couch...nothing.

She had to wear a post-surgery suit to keep her away from her stitches.  The website we ordered the suit from said to prioritize body length over other dimensions, but because she's part dachshund, she has a really long body.  Because she's part pug, she has a stocky chest.  The suit wasn't a great fit.

I had a lot of trouble getting the velcro straps off and on, although Todd got really good at it.  We ended up ordering a blow-up donut.

It's been a rough few days!  She doesn't seem to be very tender, but her pain meds (a prescription NSAID) caused diarrhea.  Particularly at night.  Because I'm such a light sleeper (and a terrible one...if I get woken up, I can't get back to sleep), Todd volunteered to sleep on the couch and take Pepita outside every hour all...night...long.  He's on day #3 and is really feeling it!  Once I realized that there was a meds connection, I stopped giving her the pills.  We're cautiously optimistic that tonight will be a little bit easier!

Somehow, amid the chaos, I finished the Halloween decorating.  Same stuff every year!  I can't help it...I like what I like.

A little bit of activity on the trail cams!

On the last video...I read that fawns bang on their moms' udders to stimulate milk flow.  Interesting!  We also saw skunks, possums, and coyotes on the cams.  

Looking forward to more of the same...have a great week!  

the ice-ing on the cake (brrrr!)

 It's 3 degrees outside, down to -4 tonight!  Brrr!  We are having periods of flurries, and still have snow on the ground.  It's so pretty.

back pond

lots of sunny days...

...and beautiful sunrises.

I love them!

The initial snowfall was pretty powdery, and we've had a little bit of melt, so animal tracks have been  hard to identify.  There are four separate lines of tracks below.  At least one rabbit, not sure of the others!

at least this one's easy!

Even in the cold, bright sun makes icicles.

The tree branches are covered in a heavy frost.

The kittens have been glued to the windows, watching the birds.

Animals are still active outside.  Sometimes we see them...

...and other times we catch them on the trail cams (you can expand these videos to make them easier to see!).

bobcat

coyote going out on the back pond ice!  

We've got plenty of food out for the strays and the birds, including a heated water bowl.  We're hoping that it's cold enough to KILL ALL THE TICKS, but not so cold that the animals are injured!

Meanwhile, we're staying inside as much as possible.  We've just celebrated our 2nd "fun" holiday of the month, Nothing Day.  We had to watch a show about nothing (Seinfeld), learn about something that we knew nothing about (competitive dog grooming with dyed fur), and bake with an ingredient that I knew nothing about...in desserts, anyway.  I chose sauerkraut, and make an old Depression-era recipe:  sauerkraut chocolate cake.  Looks normal enough...

...until you look a little closer.  That white shred is a long, disgusting strand of sauerkraut.

The recipe recommended pulverizing the sauerkraut, which I didn't do because my food processor bowl was in the dishwasher.  I will admit that you could not TASTE the sauerkraut, but the long strands threw me off.  If I had pulverized it, I think it would've been an amazing cake.  Todd loved it!  Another successful holiday!

Until the cold breaks, we're staying inside.  Working inside, exercising inside...

I'm on the exercise bike, and Barnabas is waiting impatiently 

to be fed.  I'm getting the long stare...

...and enjoying the OUTSIDE views...from the inside.

Stay warm!!

fox stalks (a semi rhyme?)

 We've moved smoothly into colder weather.  We've had some snow flurries...

Ominously, bird and cat tracks crossing!

a rabbit on the sidewalk

tracks on the frozen pond

Birds are rapidly emptying the feeders...

...and generally trying to stay warm.

Both kittens have an observation perch.

(More concerned citizens...)

After the melt, Todd had to check a potential roof leak in the barn (it was only condensation from the HVAC with sudden increased usage).

Claudia has had a few moments of fresh air...

...but she's mostly been in the warm barn.  It's too cold outside for elderly ladies!

My birthday weather didn't top 26 degrees, but we still managed to be out and about for a few hours.  As usual, I made my own birthday cake...a healthy chocolate pumpkin brownie with cream cheese frosting.  I saved the calories for the tortilla chips with my tex-mex lunch!

We've had beautiful sunrises...

...and so much activity on the trail cams.

Bobcat!

Fox!

A coyote pair!

And so many rabbits, deer, and raccoons.  I'm glad to see them all looking pretty fat and active!

Meanwhile, when not working, I've been knitting, or frantically trying to get Christmas decorating/cards/gifts coordinated, or finishing puzzles in quiet moments.

I just started a 2,000 piece jungle scene that I absolutely love.  I'm looking forward to more of those quiet moments in the next couple of weeks...hopefully!

Have a great week!