The Hermits' Rest

Let’s Enjoy Late Autumn

My thoughts on deep subjects will have to wait until tomorrow. Work was quite interesting today but tired my brain out. I was also still a bit tired from being around people at the Master Naturalist holiday meeting. It was very pleasant, but I got peopled out.

Today was beautiful if you like fog. I certainly do. I run around taking pictures of spiderwebs and trees.

The weather forecast said it would be sunny and warmer, and it did get quite pleasant in the afternoon, but I could look directly at the sun.

It was very nice for doing animal chores and watching the birds. The light made autumn leaves especially bright to my eyes.

I even ate my evening meal out in the birding area. I was rewarded by visits from all the sparrows and two pairs of owls, Great Horned and Barred, trying to out-hoot each other. That shut the hawks and crows up! Sunset, a chill in the air, and an owl chorus make for an unforgettable late autumn respite!

No respite for Carlton, who really wanted to lick my bowl. That look didn’t work.

What? More Bird pictures?

I had a little time on this beautiful day practicing my bird photography skills. I wanted to see if I could get some action shots in addition to sparrows just sitting there looking cute.

While it’s true that I mostly captured various sparrows, I got blurry images of others.

I did get to enjoy the Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. I like that they stand still a lot.

And you can always count on Mockingbirds to pose. They are the best practice birds.

Okay, you’ve waited long enough! Here are House Sparrows, Harris’s Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and bonus Goldfinch, in non-breeding sparrow-like colors.

I tried to get a Downy Woodpecker, but it was a blob. Still, not too bad from my back yard! And Merlin heard a Short-eared Owl, too.

I have actual thoughts to share tomorrow. Today was just birds.

Holidays Handled

When I had a nuclear family and when I had my children, I was one of those women who bought into the cultural norm of making my family happy for Christmas, just like my mom had done for me. She worked so hard with little money but much creativity.

Pretend there are cigarette ashes on the floor and this will be mom-like.

I fretted over decorations, presents, food, and such. I spent a lot of money on things I hoped would make people happy. Shoot, the year after my divorce, I gave my ex presents to set up a household (which he never used, but that’s another story). The point is I felt that I was showing my love through material things. And rather too much of it. I think it’s because I felt loved at Christmas as a child when I got my gifts. Not everyone else is me, though.

This aspect of my personality has been hard to mollify. Even when I saw gifts I’d worked hard to select never used, even when my children didn’t give me anything for birthdays, Valentines, or Christmas. But I finally worked through my “love language problem,” and ended the excess. Much backsliding has occurred in recent years, but since my sister and older son cut ties with us, my motivation to create good holidays has plummeted.

Now I can enjoy the parts of midwinter, the solstice, and the dark nights how I want to, with introspection and gratitude for what I do have, which is much.

It’s made this time of year much less stressful to no longer decorate the heck out of the house, spend hours looking for gifts, etc. I now enjoy spending time around the holidays with people who care about me and am fine without a big gathering. I enjoy going camping or staying in a cabin and receiving the gift of time with Lee, my son, and his partner.

For Yule, I’ve made gifts for the family that come from my heart. They can keep them, toss them, or whatever. I got joy from making the gifts and putting good intentions into them. That feels great. I’ve reached a good place of genuine good spirits and caring. No more grumpy Suna in a frenzy of materialistic capitalism.

This is idealized me as a happy angel with a grumpy angel trying to tempt me. I’m not sure how well I like the work of the “image playground.”

My hope is that each of you get the opportunity to do something that pleases YOU during the winter holidays. If you enjoy decorating, decorate! Or make cookies! Or buy great gifts! Or ponder your nativity scene and its meaning in your tradition. Just don’t fall too far into my trap of trying to make others happy.

Handling the holidays works best when everyone has some traditions to enjoy and time to share them with those who love and appreciate them.

Hay Hay! The Horses Are Happy

Gratitude was in the eyes of all the pasture dwellers today. They had not been at all thrilled that a round bale of hay had been unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the entrance to their pens. They were equally irritated at the orange tractor sharing space with them.

Correct tractor and pens, but not the actual location.

Mysteriously, a front tire popped off its rim as Lee drove it into the horse area, intending to drop the hay bale in the pasture where the Powers That Be (horses) prefer it to be. So, they stayed there for two weeks awaiting rescue until today, when strong and clever men from DeWitt County arrived to perform tractor tire magic and get a new bale in the correct place.

I’m pretty sure the horses are also enjoying the pleasantly cool and sunny weather, too. They always charm me after they eat, checking empty dishes in case anyone left any tasty supplements. It’s one of those times when you just enjoy the moment.

I hope you had a couple of moments in your day when you could just pause to enjoy the moment.

Despite Unusual Weather, I Learned

This morning was just gorgeous. I went out to do my morning birding and discovered I was overdressed. It was sunny and comfortable the whole time I was out, and I was greatly entertained by Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around.

I went inside to eat and do some office stuff. When I went back to pick up my phone, the wind had completely shifted and it was cloudy and at least ten degrees cooler. I added my puffy vest and an overshirt, which enabled me to feed horses and groom Apache comfortably. He is so hairy this time of year. He was nice and warm.

We made it to Tarrin’s and while it was very brisk and breezy, we still had a good lesson. Both Apache and I are learning a lot, slowly but surely. I appreciate that he’s willing to put in the effort to learn with me. It’s been such a long road of figuring out how to make him comfortable and as healthy as possible while working with my confidence issues. If we are never going to be fancy and sophisticated, I’m okay, because we have developed such a comfortable horse/human relationship. That was my goal. The relationship. The rest is just fun and refinement. My horse is such a comfort end encouraging presence for me.

Clint and Connie would like to interject that they also provide joy and comfort.

I was talking to Lee and my horse friend Jo after I got Apache back to the trailer (he was unnerved by their giant, shiny trailer, but we coped). We said how chilly it has gotten, and I said it’s lots better on horseback. Lee chimed in that it was like having a living radiator. That’s fluffy ole Apache, for sure.

The Jeep has an ancient wreath on it. The scary trailer is in the background.

For sure, I’m glad I was able to stay indoors the rest of the day and out of the wind. At least I got enough exercise today and had the energy to cook some warm food.

This is baked sweet potatoes and onions. My weird idea of dinner.

And the dogs are calmer. Harvey hurts, though. Carlton has been overly friendly.

I’m another white and hairy animal providing warmth.

Good Day for Horsing, Less Good Day for Dogs

This is yesterday’s blog that I didn’t feel like writing last night. One reason may be that I’m so tired and lacking energy. I really have to push myself to get moving and do things that I was eager to do not that long ago, like walks, long horse rides, chores, etc. I’m guessing it’s my brain, not my body that’s the problem. I got lots of tests done recently, so I know it’s not my thyroid. I just may be in a slow cycle.

But I did drag myself out of the house to attend the most recent horse show for my discipline. I’m just not up for participating (Not Apache’s problem, it’s mine). I helped Tarrin out as the scribe while she was judging the show. I’d never done that before.

It was lots of fun to help out. I’m glad I got a chance to write down Tarrin’s comments on each horse and rider pair. It helps me understand the comments I get. Plus it was interesting to see how each pair had strengths and weaknesses.

One horse was a bit nerved out and spooky, but his rider did a wonderful job coping and getting him back on track. These skills take work!

And the little kids were both fun to walk. The tiny one just bounced around on an older horse celebrating his last show. But her mom did a great job keeping her focused, mostly. One time her mom told her to look up, and she obeyed literally, looking to the sky.

All she wanted were her ribbons and her prize (that she chose). She declared that it is for her breakfast. Aww.

The other young one I’ve been enjoying for a few years, and she’s really developing as a rider on her upgraded horse. I also enjoyed how well both she and the horse coped when George the teen kitten jumped up to try to share her snack.

I’m glad I got to go. That was good horse time.

I have no clue why this didn’t format right.

The dog stuff last night was hard on us. Harvey just isn’t the dog he used to be, but he remains grumpy when messed with. Apparently Penney messed with him (under my chair in tight quarters) and when he snapped at her face, she chomped on his front leg. Poor Carlton just fled as fast as he could.

Her right eye has a cut right next to it. Eek.

In the end, while Penney has a cut near her eye, Harvey has a sad looking leg and is still limping today. Lee has some antibiotics for him, thankfully.

You can see one cut of three on his left leg, which he is favoring.

I just hate to see them hurting each other even if I know it happens occasionally with dogs. Harvey just always starts it and ends up injured. Sigh.

I Did Something Social

I’m proud of myself that I left the house to be social, not for a horse or Master Naturalist event. I used to do that more often, but I got convinced that the whole town didn’t like me, so I stayed home except for lunch each week and when Anita and I used to have coffee. I’ve been down to just lunch, Master Naturalist, and riding lessons this year, even though I’m no longer concerned about anyone’s opinions. I’m just not feeling social.

But I did join the group of more social folks tonight to listen to a friend’s band play. It was nice of Pamela to invite me along! I enjoyed the music and the folks we sat with, too.

It’s fun being in the social hub of Cameron and watching everyone greet each other and mingle. It all seems so darned friendly, especially when you’re blissfully ignorant of any local drama. Heck, I even got greeted and hugged—made me feel like part of the community! All in all, a good evening.

Ooh! I almost forgot to share that right after I turned onto our county road, our local Big Cat sauntered across the road, disappearing into the woods. That was exciting to me, and gave me a good story to tell Pamela. And now Alfred has something more interesting to bark at tonight.

They have such long tails! Photo from Pexels.

Still Crafty

What’s nice about having a needlework project that lasts all year is that you don’t have to figure out what to make next or buy a lot of yarn (I have bought a little, but mostly from friends). And what’s nice about my Temperature Blanket projects is that every week and month is different, so I get to see new patterns emerge. But it’s relaxing at the same time—I can do it and watch television, etc.

As you can see, I finished November tonight. At the end of each month you have to make a lot of black squares and do the border. Then you have to join blocks together.

You can see October had some hot days, but cooled down towards the end, while November had much cooler days, as indicated by greens and even blues in the center. That last day, with the green outside didn’t get out of the 40s, which is cold for here.

It’s still chilly and damp, as evidenced by how the mama and baby cattle were huddled up by the trees this morning.

I keep thinking I’ll be tired of temperature blankets. This is my third using the same colors for the temperatures. I like the size of this year’s. It actually makes a good lap blanket already. I guess we will see what I come up with.

And I can see what I’m working on with my newly functional quirky old lady glasses

Maybe tomorrow will be fascinating! Or sunny. Until then, knit on through your individual crises!

A Bit of a Lull

I didn’t blog yesterday because it was just a normal day doing normal things. Today was similar. It’s been cooler, like normal December weather, but I have appropriate clothing.

And the ridiculously early sunsets are pretty.

I did have a brief walk this morning because I wanted to see what was going on next door. Our former ranch property is now unmistakably not ours. That’s a darned nice entry!

So, other than that I’ve worked, painted some rocks, crocheted the rest of November on my temperature blanket, picked up my new glasses that are now the correct prescription, and wow! I shortened my nails!

No rock photos. Some are gifts. All are rather amateurish. Instead, you can have a cute photo of Carlton being a circle dog. Lee’s lap is never empty when it’s chilly and rainy outside!

I’ll try to come up with something philosophical or some deep thoughts tomorrow. Heck, I can’t cut my nails and get new glasses every day to make for fascinating blogging, right? Maybe we should view it as good that I feel well enough and the world hasn’t upset me enough to make for more interesting blogging.

A dull day is like a flower in winter: welcome

Yes, good attitude, Suna! Lulls are just fine.

It’s Cold So It Must Be December

I realize we had an earlier cold snap, but the front that came through last night (all the way to Rockport/Fulton) looks like it wants to stick around. I can’t complain, because we got at least a little rain at the ranch (I will know more tomorrow). It looks like maybe more rain is coming to replenish the water table.

It rained last night, but wasn’t as windy at Goose Island. I was able to take one fairly pleasant walk that was only moderately cold. Since the wind was less, I could use Merlin, and identified two more life list birds! One I saw pretty well, a White-tailed Kite. The other was a Short-Billed Dowitcher, which I can’t tell from a Dunlin or Long-billed Curlew. I need to go back to the sanctuary in Port Aransas where they are all together so I can compare.

All sorts of fun birds were out, even a Palm Warbler and a very persistent Yellowthroat, so while I waited on IT to fix something at work, I went back to the pier. It was getting colder, but I enjoyed seeing some cannonball jellies, oystercatchers, very loud Caspian Terns, and so many loons. The highlight, though, was when I realized the slapping noises I heard were dozens of fish jumping out of the water! I’ve always enjoyed it since I was a kid watching mullets jump in the canals in South Florida.

After I got some work done, we drove home with no major issues (hurray) in light rain. Ooh, on our way out of the park, a gorgeous fox crossed the road in front of us, turned to look for a few seconds, then quietly disappeared into the brush. What a great farewell!

I had time once we got home to do my beginning-of-the-month tasks, like tallying the birds at the ranch for November. We had 110 species, which I find pretty darned impressive. I’ve slowed down with new species, which was only one. Of course, my mind is a blank…but you can see the list right here.

I still have to tally up the bird sanctuary list, which I hope to do tomorrow or at least later this week. I did bring the porch plants inside, just in case it freezes. Ah. It’s December!