January Walkabout
Although I am at the farm quite often, I only do a real walkabout once every month or two. I check the outbuildings for damage, do a quick inventory of the chores that need doing, watch for trees than need felled before they come down where I don’t want them, and get a feel for the land in every season. That way I am more aware when things look out of the ordinary and I can fix them right away. I’ve noticed the old tool shed has tipped more toward the barn so this summer I’m going to have to get down under the back corner with a hydraulic jack to even it up. The yard is yet again full of mole hills. I need to spread something to kill the cutworms they feed on and that will send them on to greener pastures. I need to get ahead of the poison ivy in the spring. It’s easy to spot the vines when the leaves are off. The vines are “hairy” and often grow up the sides of buildings and other trees.
Yesterday, Boy Cat accompanied me as I meandered about the lower land around the farmhouse. His soft mewing and purring let me know he was glad to see me, even though he rarely comes close to me. I am nothing more than his Food God…”The One Who Opens the Can”. He is very sweet and I’m always grateful nothing has gotten him in the surrounding woods where he hunts. I still mourn for Old Mama Kitty. The sad thing about losing farm cats…there is seldom “closure”. Kitty Boy, the youngster, has grown into a sturdy, sleek, shorthaired version of Boy Cat. He is as aloof as ever and will not be on the porch at the same time as me. He will sit still and look at me if I stand in the kitchen and look out the back door. Nothing I have ever done has won him over…he is truly a wild boy.
The hydrangea is heavy with dried flower clusters…some as big as luncheon plates. The tubs that caught rain at the corners of the house got caught in the freeze and unfortunately have burst their seams. I want to get a couple plastic fifty-five gallon drums to catch the rainwater. Here in West Virginia, you can have cisterns to filter and store rainwater for washing, cooking, and drinking if you boil it. In Colorado, it is against the law to catch rain because we do not own that water. It has been sold to drier climates downstream. They are dead serious about it, too. I noticed several honeybees in my bird feeder yesterday. The weather is warming up and they are browsing for something to eat. I’ll look up what to put out for them and do that the next time I’m at the farm.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can spend the weekend out there. Mr. Fixit built a dam in the stairwell going to the basement to keep the water from flooding in like it did week before last. We are due for some heavy rains in the next few days and we need to make sure that protects the basement before we leave for any length of time. Ahhh, the downside of country living…there is always something needing built, rebuilt, repaired or torn down.
Oh….and an update on the snowy owl. The rescue folks got his weight up and his wing healed nicely. They took him north to the south shore of Lake Erie over the weekend and released him back into the wild. They posted a slow motion video of him taking flight and heading off into the distance. It was a beautiful thing. He was a magnificent creature and there is every hope he will thrive as they released him in the southernmost region of his winter territory. Several other snowy owls were reported in the region so he should do well.
That’s all from West Virginia today. I hope you all are well and maybe enjoying a little “spring-like weather” before the next cold snap. It was in the mid-60’s yesterday. I’ll take that any day of the week over the frigid temps we faced at the first of the year. ❤️
“Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”” Genesis 13:17 NIV