Firearms deer season opened today. Yesterday, I was driving out and had my camera with me, when I saw a magnificent buck. It turned out, he was flirting with a doe, which I did not notice at first. I felt very lucky to see them, and though there are certainly too many deer, I hope those two manage to escape the hunters.
Thursday, we went over to Illinois on the Golden Eagle ferry, which was a treat. Harry went to give a speech to Calhoun High School in Hardin, Illinois, and the dogs and I went along for the ride. We love road trips!
Calhoun County, Illinois is known for peaches and for arrowheads, which are still found frequently in farm fields. Harry spoke to the entire high school, which was 167 students. He was very impressed. They were much more engaged, and knew more history than some other students he has encountered. I waited in the car with the dogs and took a nap, since I was driving. I watched as school was dismissed, and a total of two school buses carried all the students home. The student artwork on the walls of the school was very impressive. In general, we were uplifted by these young people, and it was a good day.
Thursday evening, Eddy went out into the pastures behind the house and we heard a huge ruckus. We rushed out with flashlights, expecting the worst. It appeared Eddy had a rumble with some coyotes. We saw at least three sets of eyes. He was glad, I think, that our appearance chased them off, and he was unhurt. He did spend some time licking the base of his tail, leading us to imagine he might have been nipped in the butt, like Weedy was a few years ago. That encounter was in broad daylight with two coyotes, and I saw them tag teaming poor Weedy in the back hay field, biting him in the butt. We think that Eddy shared his tale of excitement with Weedy on the bed afterwards.
Nathaniel came to the rescue yesterday, cutting down the large tree that had fallen across the fence. I was running errands, and was home a little late, so missed it, since Nathan is very efficient at his job. He also took down three dead trees near the barn, and I did get a picture there.
It was a beautiful, warm afternoon, and Harry and Weedy basked in the November sun on the afternoon of the Full Beaver Moon, so named because beavers go into hibernation at this time of year. It certainly doesn’t feel like hibernation weather yet. We even have roses still blooming in mid November!
Luckily, the mild weather made it possible to fix the fence today, and we let the horses back into their favored south pasture. Harry was a big help with a difficult job.
And so it goes. The year is winding down, the work continues, and we are grateful for each day and all the beauty around us.
Be safe, be well, be kind. Be grateful and steady. Slava Ukraini! Peace.