Snow, beautiful snow!

The five inches of snow that we currently have is supposed to be doubled overnight.  Everything looks so cozy and nice under this lovely white blanket!

My office view shows the path we've trampled as we go to and from the barn every day.

On warmer day, huge otherworldly cracks appear in the back pond.

Even though the ice is thin, it's criss-crossed with tracks.

What made them?  Coyotes?  I've been seeing a big one in our barnyard recently.

Another mysterious snow track:  this low tunnel that snakes out of the wood and into our white barn!  Argh, we've got to get those trail cams installed!

At least I recognize this one...a little field mouse scampering over and then diving beneath the snow.

We're putting out extra food this week for the wild animals and, of course, the birds.  We've got an influx of blue jays...the trees are full of them!

The snow is great for pup frolicking, of course.  We've used cattle panels to seal off one of the back pasture areas that's only partially fenced.  Borga approves!

There's been a little less frolicking around here this week because on Monday, we lost our dear Bosewichte.

He was always by my side.  Climbing into my lap...

"Helping" me with sewing...

...or actively involved in intrepid exploring.

Mostly, though, his job was keeping an eye on me...from a distance...

...but he usually preferred a closer proximity.

We had a special relationship and it's been a very, very tough week.  

"I have sometimes thought of the final cause of [pets] having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a [pet] after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?  The misery of keeping a [pet] is his dying so soon.  But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?" - Sir Walter Scott

Bosewichte was my faithful companion for almost seventeen years and he'll never be forgotten.  Hug your little guys a little closer this week!

ice, ice...maybe?

We're in the deepest part of an Indiana winter, but it hasn't been very...deep.  Last week's bit of snow, and this week, a one-day ice drizzle.  Todd and I cast mocking eyes on the frozen branches and reminisced about the powerful and much-superior ice storms of our childhoods, but we were careful to watch our steps as we traversed the path to the barn.

I have to admit, even wimpy and short ice storms leave beauty behind.

The birds were happy for the filled feeders!

I stayed in and organized my office/craft room area.  I'm pleased with how it has evolved since we bought this house.  The IKEA cubbies keep fabric and craft supplies organized...

...and other organizational odds and ends work for the other side.  The space is definitely maximized.

In my office, the built-in cabinet nicely stores my overabundance of puzzles...

...and I've got a nice computer space, when the cats allow.  Bosewichte sleeps on my desk...

...and Tabitha controls the area to the left from her ottoman perch.

It's undergone quite a transformation!  Old carpet ripped out, new flooring and paint, and a whole lot of additions.

I'm happy to be completely unpacked and relatively settled!

Have a great week!

my best friend's ghoul-friend

 Woo hoo!  Another Halloween is successfully in the books!  Halloween socks were donned.  Halloween decorations were hung.  Halloween cards were mailed.  Thirty-one scary movies were watched.  

And then there was the baking.

One mini pie pan + store-bought cherry pie filling + leftover pie dough (thanks, half birthday!) = perfect mini ghoul pies.

Once baked, the red cherry filling added a delightful affect.

Leftover filling was stirred into oatmeal to make a "Hearts of Newts" breakfast.

I used a zombie cookie cutter and my handy mini pancake maker to make a zombie pancake chasing after 'brains.'

I made 'brain' cupcakes, too!

The cupcakes and the ghoul hand pies were made last week, for our Small Group meeting, but I had some leftover frosting...so on Halloween, I utilized my "perfect vanilla cupcakes for two!" recipe to make two tasty Halloween-themed cupcakes.

After a multi-week frenzy of scares (and sugar), I'm ready to look forward to a more peaceful November. The weather has been cool, and I've still been seeing bees napping on the few remaining flowers.

There's even the odd weevil still kicking around in my front porch plants.

I've continued to spot a turkey or two from my office window - just a glimpse as they head across the field and into the trees.

There's a huge double telephone post right in the middle of our barnyard - annoyingly - but it does draw birds!  It seems to be a favorite of turkey vultures.

They are massive!

With the weather getting colder, I hurried to plant my bulbs last week...fifty grape muscari and twenty large ruffled parrot tulips.  After I'd planted everything, I noticed about twenty "bulbettes" - tiny tulip bulbs about the size of a Chapstick lid - in the bottom of the bag.  Viable?

I decided to plant them in a leftover pot, which I placed under the front juniper bush.  

We'll see what happens in the spring!  

We've been getting some seriously hard frosts lately...

...and the fall color is nearly finished.  We had one last glimpse of it as we drove through Morgan-Monroe State Forest this week.

The annual flower garden is completely done.  Only a few persistent perennials remain in front.  Since that seed supply is gone, we're faithfully filling the feeders.

The cats are letting us know that they know about the cooling temperatures.  We've got cats in windows, seeking the sun...

Cats in laps...

...and cats on heat mats.

Claudia is soaking up every last bit of sun, too.

We've got at least another couple of weeks of blue skies and cool temperatures before the real bite of winter has the potential to arrive.

Perfect for cleaning up the garden beds and a few brisk walks. 

Have a great week!