Love/Hate

Did I say I loved fall? I do, for all of the reasons I mentioned before. But I was noticing today that the farm looks really scruffy. Trees have brown leaves, only about half of them. The other half is on the ground blowing around. It doesn't help that it's been raining. The sky provides a gloomy backdrop. It's depressing, because it looks like there is so much work to be done-- we were pleased with ourselves when the place was looking quite tidy over the summer.

I pressure washed the barn before the horses moved in, and it's full of cobwebs again. My logic tells me to wait until spring, but my fastidiousness is encouraging me to do it now, before winter. It would be much more sensible for me to focus my efforts on making the barn windproof and animal proof. But sense has never been my strong point.

The cats drive me nuts. I think we might be down to 2 kittens, I have not seen the 3rd in days. However, from previous experience (see below) I know that he/she may show up in a few days just to prove me wrong. I had winterproofed the barn, and then beat myself up because I thought one of the kittens may have been snacked on by a coyote when it couldn't run back into the secret passage for safety. However, they have succeeded in digging another hole under the barn wall, so they can all get in and out quite easily. It's not near the horses, so I am considering leaving it, but I keep wondering what other animals can get through a hole?

I saw a possum the other night. They look mean up close!! I was walking down to the barn -- it's pitch black at night because we don't have a farm light-- and the motion light went on. Smack in the middle of the driveway-- and straight in my path-- was a possum. He stared straight at me, and I couldn't do anything but stare back. He finally scurried away into the night. I do worry about EPM and was advised to kill any possum I saw. However, I had no "weapon" and the critter hurried away before I could even attempt to get to the barn and back for a pitchfork. Ugh...

I still wouldn't go back to the suburbs for nuthin'.