Sunday Morning Musings

Very cold in the barn. 12 F. outside but feels colder. Moisture in the air due to the big storm east of here I think. Hands hurt much worse after a little while out there. Hope Santa brings me some gloves. I wore through the mittens Gretchen knitted me last winter, but still wear them as "fingerless." No lambs this morning. I was ready, as I am home for the day to work on cleaning the apartment, but the sheep are not cooperating. We were out last night for the NYSWDA Weatherization Christmas dinner at a fancy restaurant in Utica, "Acquo Vino." Fabulous company and food, glittering lights and decorations. I got to meet the people Matt tells me about all the time. What a lovely and interesting bunch of people. I tried not to think of what might be happening back on the farm and enjoyed myself tremendously, but when we pulled in I ran inside to listen for new mother and lamb sounds. I have to walk through the sheep to get in my apartment, but I wanted to put on work clothes before I made a thorough inspection of the barn. Nothing going on, just sheep lying around with huge beach balls bulging out from their bellies on either side. I know there are some twins out there. I filled the water buckets but the only creatures who came running for water were the chickens and cats. Luna was eager to get her bottle, but I still have to bring Lilly her water and corn. I'll let them go soon, but when in the flock I can't give Lilly her corn supplement without , and she's a little thin. Good thing I have such terrific hay now. Now that my hands are thawed I'll go back out to do Lilly and the bunnies. I have my Sunday morning operatic chorale music playing in the barn. It seems to fit the scenario of sheep, shepherd and old barn. So much of the Christmas music has to do with shepherds keeping watch, that sort of thing. Thought I would make a report first. Martha, my basketmaker friend from NJ, told me that every night she sits down to read one of Maggie's "farm stories." She picks a random post from the past four years. There are 2,000 to pick from now. I told her I am afraid to read those old posts as some of them are scary, as if I am reading about a crazy ancestor with an incredible angst she had to work out on the wild frontier, with her hair freezing to the wall of the trailer in the winter, and no running water, trying to warm frozen lambs and slinging bales, if she has them. Yep, that's me.