It's 4:49 PM and the sun has just set in a gap between the clouds - dark red and huge on the horizon. We have had 9 hours and 6 minutes of daylight today - some of it clear and bright and this afternoon increasingly cloudy and drear - singularly appropriate for the shortest day of the year. It will be dark in about half an hour the cloud cover hiding an almost full moon. What does it say about weather to come when the solstice and full moon land so closely together? Drear at the least, stormy at the worst.
We've had our first Christmas celebration with two more family gatherings to go. So far, an altogether pleasant experience. I still have gifts to finish and everything to wrap, but it is all good.
We lost a cow this week to toxic mastitis. Stan was a bit bummed, but he said it gave him a stall for one of the outside heifers, so now they are two. It is a fact that there will be a certain number of losses. On the up side, we've had so many heifer calves lately that we had to sell a couple and it came down to deciding between two cows that are both high producers (one had a 23,000 pound year as a first calf heifer) and high end in the component side (butterfat and protein). The one he kept is a big beautiful baby, mostly white and looking like a stuffed toy with her fuzzy winter coat. Sorry, no pic.
I wish for you all a pleasant holiday week filled with warmth and fun and family. I'll be stitching and wrapping and baking and praying for peace.
blessings to you all
Kathleen
The evergreens whisper
their songs in the storm
echoes of angels
calling us to the tide
of Birth and rebirth
bidding us heed the plea of
Peace on Earth.
May their songs whisper in your heart
all the year long
