The Ice Storm Cometh

Woke up this morning to a quarter inch of ice on everything. Luckily the ground is still warm enough to keep the roads safe and we happen to be in the corridor with the least accumulation. Expect more of it the next 48 hours so probably looking at a day or two off for the kiddies.
That's it for the weather report, now back to the news...

Feral Carols

The debate rages on: what is the worst Christmas carol? My pal Beth would cast her vote for the 1950s ditty "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas," which, according to Wikipedia, was performed by a little OKC girl as a fundraiser to buy a hippo for the zoo. Go figure!

Personally, I would pick "Christmas Shoes," which is the sappy tale of a little boy who wants to buy a pair of shoes for his sick mama so she'll look nice if she "meets Jesus tonight." That's nice, but ... shoes? It's just too melodramatic and weird for a Christmas carol, in the country song "I lost my car-dog-house-wife" tradition. And the children in the chorus who sound like aliens .. bizarre.

Any nominations?

Winter Evening

Horses scrounging for bits of green. Soon it will be down to seeds & stems. Thank goodness for a barn full of hay!

Mt.Manure

Centrally located in the confines of the WildOrbanRanch, Mt. Manure is ever changing. From meager beginnings it grows day by day ,wheel barrow by wheelbarrow. As it grows it compresses under it's own weight untill it must be turned over. After it has been turned several times and has a chance to 'stew in it's own juices' the manure becomes a nice organic fertilizer. This black gold is mined by local and not so local gardeners but no matter how much is taken away the mountain continues to grow.
You might think someone with access to this bottomless supply of fertilizer would have the best garden in the county, but unfortunately this is not the case...I do grow a nice bed of weeds! We get our share of peppers and tomatoes, cucumbers and such but can't seem to keep up with the ever encroaching weeds and grass. I guess maybe I'm still rebelling against my childhood which seemed to be filled with weed pulling, bug picking and cultivating. More respect to Jim Orban who still gets the job done and does have one of the best gardens in the county!

Heavy Horses

The Girls are very excited about leaving their Cloverbuddies behind and becoming "big" 4-H members - they got to vote in the officer elections for 2008 held last weekend. But, while still happy little cloverbuds, we went to visit the Clydesdale's who live west of Claremore in October. The kids got to ride in the cart, drive the 1-horse hitch and to ride a Clyde too. Very gentle giants but could squish your toes if they step on your foot.

Down on the Farm

Here's a classic scene from the old homestead. Every morning five stalls, about 25 pounds each. In foul weather when the horsies are impounded it's necessary to clean the stalls twice. Needless to say, we endup with quite a large pile-o-crap...not all bad.
Next up: manure mountain.

In a one-horse open sleigh

Here is an ever-so majestic example of the beasts on display at today's Christmas parade in Lawrence. I like this parade because it forgoes all the overhyped, plasticky, gimmicky, wasteful nonsense of this "religious" holiday (who are we kidding?) and instead what you have is a parade that is very quiet and almost... boring. About 80 sleigh teams from around the central Midwest come to town, put bells on their horses, and trot four blocks downtown. This year the attraction was the "Express Personnel" Clydesdales, who were so wussy (or high profile? are there clydesdale assassins?) they actually drove the team down the street in a semi truck.

Coming back to the George Costanza post, it would be nice to regress to a time when I could enjoy the holidays without feeling guilty about how much I have compared to other people, how much energy is consumed by little old me. What is to be done? Maybe this is just a "new adult" feeling that will subside with time, cynical as that sounds. I can't change the world by fretting and frowning, but I can do a little here and there and otherwise try to make those around me feel happy. Just like these wee donkeys pulling that cart, real progress is slow going.

So instead of being a grinch, I think I'll count a finch. (Audubon Christmas Bird Count)