Mild November – Galloping Through

The November trees have dropped their leaves, but it feels like September, with warm temperatures and brilliant blue skies. Tomorrow is forecast to be seasonably cool, with teens (-8.3 C) Saturday night. I’m ready for less favorable weather, as I will be on a two week enforced rest after a stem cell treatment forecast for Monday. Harry, Marianne, and Jane will be doing all the work, and contending with cold nights.

This week there are more goldfinches. Blue jays, alas, are scarce.

*Goldfinches avail themselves of a spill*

Tuesday, Harry reported the skies were cloudy at 4 AM, so no chance to see the lunar eclipse here. Luckily, as we left around 5:45 to vote, there was a break in the clouds and we saw the retreating eclipse. It was beautiful, but only a brief view, and I had no camera. The voting turnout was high, but our line was not too long, and it was a good way to start the day. Harlan followed up that fun, emptying the dumpster right on schedule.

Yesterday, I brought Jane’s horses in while she was on a mission. Her new stalls are delightful, and everyone, even Sandy, the donkey, who hates me, behaved perfectly. I even got to say hello to Tim Morris, who usually runs like a scalded cat when he sees me.

Today, I rode Oisin with Jane and Derry. I tried to get a picture of the two Irish horses, but Oisin makes horrible faces at Derry. The only shot in which his ears are not flat back runs off the top, but I like the shadow, so here it is…

Jane and Derry…

Marmalade has been attacked. This morning, he was limping badly, had a bloody ear, and had lots of tufts of hair pulled out. I was worried, and Harry went to get some antibiotics in case of an abscess, but this evening, he seemed much better. If he needs care, I will have to lock him up, which will not make him happy, to say the least. I hope he recovers without treatment. I wonder if the trouble happened shortly before breakfast, because he was quite shaken up and miserable and slow to come to the shed. I don’t think it was another cat. All of the cats are tolerant and Tom Morris is his best friend. They slept together in the sun at the top of the stairs outside our bedroom most of the day, which I am sure was therapeutic.

Marianne is still smiling. I hope she is able to keep that up with all the work she will be doing for the next two weeks.

*Plenty of bedding to get through November*

The horses have enjoyed these warm days as much as we have.

Apart from Marmalade, all the cats are well. Skittle is quite deaf, but exceedingly sweet.

Harry has enjoyed a couple of golf games with the warm weather. He is fully recovered from hernia surgery and shoulder injections have improved his swing.

Sadly, the bluebirds laid eggs that were not to hatch. I consulted Diane at Wild Birds Unlimited, a wonderful resource in Chesterfield. She told me to check the box, and after three weeks, clean it out, leaving the eggs in the woods for critters that need calcium. Interestingly, according to Diane, nesting bluebirds migrate south to the bootheel, and the bluebirds we see in the winter are not the same birds. They have come south themselves and will return north to nest.

The waning full Beaver Moon casts moon shadows and lights my way to the barn for night check.

Today will be the end of the pineapple sage’s late autumn bonus. Many plants succumbed to a hard frost, but somehow the sage endured. Rebecca brought us this much loved plant, which has delighted us for months.