Darryl Jr and Connie Gobbler are going to be happier this chilly weekend, because they are getting their very own Turkey Hut! It’s a custom-crafted abode made of the finest leftovers from construction projects.
Today’s progress
The space is designed to be big enough for the turkeys to enter and exit but small enough to keep them warm. It will be placed against the henhouse wall once completed. The opening faces south, away from the cold north winds.
It seems pretty big.
Lee wants it to look good, so it will have siding, a metal roof (it slants to the rear so rain will drain, and spiffy paint matching the barns here. I enjoyed hanging out with my son on my lunch break, getting supplies and treats from the bakery. Having some family fun helps remind me of the good in the world.
Today’s rock
And this rock symbolizes how today felt to me. I’m deeply grateful to friends who have been incredibly supportive and kind for the past few days. I’m much more emotionally stable just knowing that I have real friends, including those from all over the political and spiritual spectrum, and from both inside and outside the US. And heck, my family have also been so good to me today—I feel a little more inclined to look forward to fun someday. I even had a great talk with a coworker about potential future plans after we finished writing some complex stuff.
Rainbow from earlier in the week, compliments of neighbor Vicki.
So yeah, it’s not the most peaceful time to be alive, but I’ve not been abandoned by all my communities, and I know I’ve led as good a life as I could. No one can take that away!
No, not for me; it’s too late for that. But Apache has retired from his horse training adventures a bit earlier than expected.
Good. More napping for me.
We will still work together and hang out. I’m very glad to have my equine companions to enjoy every day. I’m prepared to care for them as best as I can for as long as I can. They have good food, supplements, regular hoof trimmings, and yearly checkups. It’s a good life for horses and donkeys and they provide me with a reason to get up every morning. Good deal.
And food. Plenty of it!
Onward and upward. In today’s climate, you never know what changes are coming. But I’m never giving up on hope for a safe and peaceful future for us all.
Apache is always up for a post-meal yawning festMabel is prettier every day and her feet look so goodFiona grazes enthusiastically on leftovers Dusty takes his timeHe makes his own gravy!Feeding time fun
Of the blanket kind, though it’s rather warm to use one today (and yes, it’s January). And there’s good news in the temperature blanket department: 2025 is done. Yay!
Sitting on the couch in bad light.
I’m pleased with how it came out and I like the border. It looks too big I think because I need to wash and block the blanket to stretch the squares out. Or I could have been mistaken and the border yarn is not sport weight. Well, I thought I checked.
It actually looks like a calendar!
It will get used, since it’s the perfect lap blanket size for sitting and reading or watching television. Or birding.
I climbed on the brown box in the back of the birding station to get higher for the fill-size photo. Art.
I have all the rainfall data to add that in later once I figure out how I want to do it. I want to use beads but am not sure which ones. I may do something softer. Hmm. While I ponder, enjoy a couple of closer views of the squares.
A hot month! Many shades of red. End of the year. Only a few really cold days (blue is cold)
Oh, I should explain for anyone new that the inner part of flower is the low temperature for the day and the outer part is the high temperature. The border was just a color I thought would be fun. I made the pattern up using these flower squares I found online only I used half-double crochet (US) in the first round. It could be just as easily done in any granny square variant.
That’s not much of an explanation. I’m obviously not one of those craft bloggers with the real long introductions and stretched out instructions so more ads can be placed. But more power to them! It all takes time and skill! And I’m too tired to write up instructions. I’d rather be working on my 2026 one.
Do as I say, not as I do.
I was getting snarky for a bit. It’s just because I’m so unhappy with current events that I can’t stay chipper for long. But hey! I did register a Black Phoebe here multiple times on Merlin today. I’d never had one here. I’d love to also see it!
Cutie.
I just have to keep finding these happy things! I started crying today when talking about the news with my son. Not a good sign. Bring on the uplifting thoughts!
I listened to a lot of CNN News (what Lee likes) and NPR (my preference) today. Much of it was helpful in seeing multiple perspectives on current events, though by the time I was heading toward the year-end awards ceremony for Working Horse Central, I was feeling pretty glum.
Luckily the subject of On the Media switched to a discussion of whether the US is in its worst shape, has lost hope, etc., and while that sounds depressing, it helped me get a wider perspective. Brooke Gladstone talked to Bryan Stevenson, public interest lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, and he masterfully reminded her of how far the country backslid in race relations after the Civil War. He told a healing story about reconciliation, which reminded me and the rest of the audience that we still have many good people in this place and that we just need to keep going. (This was the January 2 episode, but the interview was in April 2025—look it up!)
National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery. These pillars are memorials to people who were lynched, county by county. Stevenson directs it.
The point is that uplifting and encouraging stories like the one I heard don’t downplay real-life challenges, but don’t ignore progress and positive actions. And NPR and other news outlets do feature them (and book reviews, science stories, etc.) if you happen to be listening at the right time.
I asked the AI to make me with “pleasant news only,” but it sucks.
So what I wish existed was a service that pings you or sends you a schedule for when non-depressing news and information is coming up. Or one that switched to soothing music each time certain officials are quoted, discussed at length, etc. I can take about five minutes of the latest depths to which this country’s leadership has fallen to. After that, let me learn about something else. Please, someone invent that or point me to it.
ChatGPT can at least spell.
Sorry for the rant. 2026 already feels 12 months long. But I did enjoy time with the nice horses and riders this morning, I enjoyed my own horses, especially Apache, and I enjoyed dinner with friends.
Mimosas made me happyTarrin teaching her baby stallionMy favorite mare of Tarrin’s getting warmed up. She’s still learning. Jackie is a great role model for groundwork. Smooth and responsive.
I feel better realizing that there has been injustice throughout our history, but there are always people fighting it.
I looked up from my phone this morning in the birding station and realized I was surrounded by meadowlarks. Here are just a few.
Meadowlark territory
I cut my nails way short (for me) but they still look festive with snowflakes on them.
I had a good, calm lesson on Apache. Neither Tarrin nor I were feeling well, but we made progress, and, as always, it was a joy to spend time with my horse buddy. When we got home, he shook himself as I was unlocking the gate, and a big cloud of dust flew out from him. He only looked sparkly clean.
Apache and I both wish we looked this good. At least I look kind of like me and he looks kind of like him.
I made some progress on my crocheting. The blanket is getting a cluster border. It’s probably going to be at least three town. It will be good thing to have it slightly larger. Certainly it will be cheerful.
Temperature blanket 2025
I made a delicious frittata for dinner using Connie’s eggs, leftover broccoli, cheese, garlic and a little milk. Both Lee and I loved it.
What an adventure I had today with my fellow Master Naturalist! We escaped to the wilderness known as her property outside of Cameron and searched for a rumored beaver dam on the spring-fed creek that runs through the land. It was a beautiful warm day for exploring.
Blue skies
At first we looked in the wrong place and got attacked by much greenbrier and dewberry vines that tried very hard to trip us. I did determine that the water was not out of its banks and was very clean.
Creek not floodedMany sticky vines in hereMy friend not falling down
My friend called the folks who’d been on the property monitoring their deer lease or something, and they redirected us upstream. There we found what appeared to be weird flat areas with brown vegetation.
Looks like brown vegetation.
That was actually duckweed on a big ole beaver pond! To say I was excited would be an understatement. The dog was also excited and immediately went swimming.
Best view of the dam and pond behind it
I enjoyed investigating the dam construction and listening to the water trickling through the spillways. It’s hard to believe animals can do this, even though I read that book all about beavers recently.
Also they dig big tunnels. Here’s an entrance.
We found trees that had been gnawed by beavers (some from the previous dam a few years back). There were also trees whose bark had been gnawed.
Sniffing out big rodents
We moved upstream some more and found a second dam, which has created a magical pond full of fish, butterflies, and plants. It was hard to pull myself away from the tranquility.
Buckeye enjoying duckweedThe colors are so niceRandom upper pond photos
But, I wanted to see if there was a third dam below the first one we found. Sure enough, following the cool beaver trails led to another one that my friend thinks is a reconstruction of the original dam.
The old dam has trees growing on it. Hard to see, but it’s in therePond
Here I located the tunnels they dig for entrances and exits, which is fascinating. I even found some beaver tracks in ant beds, but my pictures weren’t great. That’s okay, just seeing evidence that the amazing mammalian construction workers was a bucket list item for me.
Gnawed woodPathI think this is a beaver tracksOld chewed treeThis shows holes but they are hard to spot.
Since we had time and a truck, we went off exploring other parts of the property, which are mostly hay fields. We stopped and got to see a spectacular Northern Harrier fly right in front of us when we both had our binoculars. They’re beautiful hawks with a white patch just above their tail.
Harrier, from Pexels.
We then explored a ravine that lead to the big creek and observed how it is slowly moving northward. I did not fall down when I clambered down the embankment. I held onto trees.
Ravine areaRavine Happy houndThis creek is bigger than some rivers
We ended our exciting afternoon doing some more birding back by my friend’s house and enjoying each other’s photos. I’m so pleased to cross another mammal off my list of Milam County sightings, even if I didn’t see an actual beaver. All my beaver knowledge really helped me see the signs of them. I’m sure they’re glad the prowling humans and dogs are gone!
The natural world greeted me as soon as I woke up on New Year’s morning. I looked out the side window and saw a large bird walking along the pond shore, of which there is a lot, thanks to inadequate rain. What was it?
The white blob to the right of the tree is the bird.
Luckily one of my many pairs of binoculars is stored on the windowsill for just this kind of occasion (along with the tools Lee used on his most recent home improvement attempt). Now I could see it, and I was happy.
It’s a Greater Yellowlegs
Why was I so happy to see a bird that’s around here all the time? Because I so rarely see them on the ground, doing their shorebird thing. Usually I hear their very distinctive call, and occasionally see them flying with their legs tucked under like landing gear.
I tend to see the underside. Photos are from Merlin Bird ID. My only photos are blobs.
I like these birds lots, mainly because they were the first bird to visit our front pond after it filled with water. I had to ID it, gasp, from a book! They were also one of the first shorebirds whose call I learned. Here’s more from Merlin on Greater Yellowlegs:
Fairly large shorebird with bright yellow legs. Plumage is essentially identical to Lesser Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Greater is larger overall with longer, thicker, more upturned bill, longer neck, blockier head, and bigger chest. Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Lesser Yellowlegs. Somewhat more likely to be found in larger, more open habitats than Lesser, but much overlap. Listen for strong, ringing “tew tew tew!” calls, louder than Lesser, and usually three or four notes instead of one or two (though Greater can also give single notes). (from Merlin Bird ID)
The highlight of yesterday’s sighting was that it stayed, along with some Killdeer, long enough for me to watch it with the good binoculars as it ran through shallow water sticking its slightly curved bill just under the surface, sorta like how a skimmer does when flying. I now know they don’t poke into the dirt, but rather skim the water. Yay for citizen science!
Once I settled into the birding station, I also got to watch a cute Eastern Phoebe get all plumped up for an extended grooming session. I like how the ones here are more yellow than others I’ve seen.
Blob to the right of the pole is the Phoebe. I still hate this phone camera.
This morning I had a Loggerhead Shrike land on the birding station roof. I know that because it then sat on the fence right in front of me. Such striking birds. Wish I’d had the good camera.
That blob is the shrike.
I’m off to an adventure this afternoon, so maybe I’ll get more blurry photos (too much walking to carry the big lens camera).
There have been two new avian visitors to the Hermits’ Rest in the last few days. I exaggerated when I called it an invasion, but these two aren’t usually seen this far east. I don’t recall ever seeing one, and my bird book confirms I had no previous longspur sightings, here or elsewhere. Perhaps that extra-windy cold front blew this week some this way.
Most recent new lifers. I rarely get them at home anymore.
The first one is the Thick-billed. I was very confused because it wasn’t in my guidebook, which is only a few years old.
This one really tried to hide
It turns out the McCown’s Longspur has been renamed in the process of removing human names from species names. If I’d looked at the Latin name I’d have figured it out sooner. As it is, I needed Merlin to find it, because non-breeding males and females look like all the sparrows from a distance.
It’s brown. Yep.
The second one showed up today, which makes me feel more confident that some are a little out of their usual range. The Chestnut-sided Longspur would be just as hard to spot in winter, though it is striking in breeding plumage.
Both birds winter in prairies and fields with short grass, which we have plenty of here. I’ll be very interested to see if any more are detected in the next few weeks. I’m not sure where the spurs are. None of the pictures show the feet well enough, if that’s where they are.
Their ranges are similar. Images borrowed from Merlin Bird ID.
In addition to interesting birds, today was also very pleasant, with clear skies and pleasantly cool temperatures.
No leaves are left on the willows.
I was able to go for a walk, play with the fowl and horses, and enjoy the patio rather than cowering to avoid wind. Of course it warmed up—I finally have blankets for three of the horses. Dusty’s is covered in jelly beans. I wonder if they will need them again?
Thanks for feeding and petting us.
I even managed to complete December in my temperature blanket on the last day of the month! I’d managed to make the last row of black ahead of time. Ahh, I’ll never have to make solid black squares again!
Last week was way warmer than usual for December.
Now all I have left is to join all the blocks and to the border, which is going to be rainbow colors! Why not? That should give me something to do while my peas and collards are cooking tomorrow.
Congratulations to all of you who made it to another year. I have more thoughts on that for tomorrow!
If you live in the part of the world where I do, your head is probably still spinning from the rapid weather change from yesterday to today (hoping you didn’t spin out on any ice). You know it got cold fast when the day’s high temperature was yesterday’s low, all occurring just before and after midnight.
This picture depicts sleet on our windshield, which looks like rain.
And of course, the blustery wind also returned, merrily tossing things around. We just missed snow, which visited Waco. All animals seem unperturbed—the horses went into their nice shelter until the wind settled a bit, and the fowl went into their nice and out of their coop, which has a heat lamp. I rushed out to toss food at them all. Brr.
This is from yesterday. I was trying to capture the green sheen on the Cochins.
Since I can’t work again this week, I luxuriated in activities I usually don’t have time for. I put together my bullet journal so it will be ready for Thursday (I saved the fun of adding washi stickers for tomorrow. I came up with color themes for each month’s journal entries and color/pattern themes for my nails, which I may or may not adhere to, since I won’t berate myself for changing my mind. (Dang, I come across as Susie Housewife here, but I’m just artsy, that’s all.)
I even went to the Big City with Lee and did some in-person book shopping at Barnes & Noble. I bought myself my own dang Christmas gifts, a fiction book, a feminism book, and three fun bird items. Also on-sale coloring books. I felt like a kid with new toys when I got home and could play with my new things.
A very funny bird guide that makes a good gift for a birder with a sense of humorThis deck had 50 sweet illustrations and “messages” from the birds. I may draw a card a day. We’ll see. This is a rather scatalogical bird-a-day calendar. Each weekend is a mad libs kind of dealThis is the reverse side. My two books.
I got all the New Year’s meal ingredients at the grocery store (fresh collards) and stuff to cook for dinner. I don’t mind cooking so much when I am not tired from working. Susie Housewife is not Super-woman.
But I do glow (photo from Saturday, when it was warm yet breezy)
By the way, I cooked our belated Christmas dinner last night for Anita and “the kids,” and was very happy with a turkey breast cooked in my Pampered Chef clay pot thing. I gave everyone their painted rocks, which seemed to go over ok. My son made me lovely candle stands for the wall. I’ll share a photo tomorrow. I do love handmade gifts.
This is Lee’s stoic rock.
Tomorrow should be fun. Closet clean-out day with my son’s partner for help.
I fell asleep last night before I could blog anything. That’s fine, because yesterday I mostly recuperated from the camping trip. The highlight of that day was discovering that the trim on my birding station was completed! I was so relieved to see all the naked wood painted red AND the pile of leftover wood gone! I think they are going to paint the hardie plank too, but it looks fine as it is.
That’s a cute little hut, and I use it every day!
I also got a gift from Connie. I guess Darryl got her into reproductive mode. It’s weird to me that all the lady birds decided to resume laying around the solstice. They are supposed to start around the equinox. Perhaps the extra warm weather has fooled them. (ETA: I said this yesterday, too. I guess it excited me.)
It finally gets more wintry tomorrow.
This morning, before I took my walk, I helped Lee replenish the horses’ hay. The horses didn’t make it any easier. Drew was running around trying to bite everyone until Dusty finally kicked him with both rear hooves. Way to go, old man! And Spice politely stayed out of the way right until she really needed to move, so Lee ended up bonking her with the hay ring. She lived.
We’re all keyed up after Drew was biting everyone Let’s follow the tractorLet’s get in the way!We wanna eat NOW! Who cares if the netting is still there?Staying out of the way We are starving.
So that’s life around here. I did want to note the passing of a woman who had a huge influence on my development as a human, a feminist, and a fiber artist: Barbara G. Walker. During my most confused period of life, my twenties, I discovered her collections of knitting stitches and poured myself into designing garments as an escape. She was an incredibly meticulous researcher (she also wrote about crystals and other topics).
Then one day I went to the bookstore in the University of Illinois campus to get another volume of her knitting. While there, I wandered over to the spirituality section, because I’d been wondering what a feminist religion would look like. I found The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, the result of her research into goddesses and other female-centered concepts. However, I didn’t realize she was the author until I got back to the student break room in the linguistics department and looked at the covers. I ran to find Georgia, my advisor and fellow knitting feminist to show her. I was so happy.
I read that entire book (probably when I should have been reading about pragmatics) every night before falling asleep, slowly but surely healing some of the wounds I felt from patriarchal religion. Walker sent me on my way to discovering Starhawk and other authors and helping me learn I wasn’t alone.
I’ll always be grateful to Barbara G. Walker. I still treasure her books, especially The Skeptical Feminist, which is out of print. Read more about it in this blog from a few years ago.
I’ve been reading tributes to her. I wasn’t the only one who had an epiphany when they realized she wrote both feminism and knitting. She lives on in our memories.
The Hermits' Rest 