Yesterday was colder than ever and the wind was blowing fiercely scoring the skin off my face and the water out of my own eyes. So cold that if you are doing the dishes and your hands are a little wet, and you pop outside for a piece of wood for the stove and then on your way back in you grab the metal handle on the kitchen door and.. shiver with horror… that hated feeling as your skin sticks to the metal, dragging it back off, leaving layers behind, epidermis breeched, teeth flinching, skin quivering .. that cold.
But look what greeted me in the barn yesterday afternoon.
Mama was finally up, all day we had been working on getting up, I would push her and pull her and force her to stand and walk about, giving her drinks of her tonic in between and here she was up by herself and whats more, she came over and ate out of a bucket – all by herself. So the force feeding period has ended. Now that she can move about I cannot sit down on the ground beside her to feed her those fluids anyway. She does not have to endure my mad tonic anymore, now that she can feed herself. Magic. Was that you? Because this old girl was staring right at deaths door. Dawn meant nothing to her for a while. Something brought her back. Big old sheep.
Sheila looking into the barn, looking for a scratch. The hoses are frozen so all the animal’s water is carried by hand in buckets. Two cows, four sheep, three pigs, a myriad of chickens and fowl and a ram. Our numbers are becoming more manageable for the winter but that is still a lot of water to be carried. This is water out of the tap, steaming in the frigid air. 
We are still way below freezing, many of the animals and birds have heated bowls but there is no electricity in the fields, so I fill those bowls only as much as the animal will drink, three or four times a day. Mainly Hairy MacLairy and Sheila and the plonkers. Of course they all have barn access, but no heated waters.
This is Queenie’s: ‘I am sure you forgot to feed me’ look. She was galloping about in the yards yesterday, terrifying me. It is all ice in there.
Cold. Cold.
Today I am undertaking a special challenge. I am going to write 10,000 words of my book. Everyone has a book – in fact everyone should be writing a book. They say everyone has one good book in them but not everyone can open the gate. Actually for me the main problem is WHICH bloodybook. So today I am going to give it a good boot and woosh the words right out there.
My bigger problem is that I type slower than I think. Much slower. And like you I think in words and conversations so there is a lot that can be written in a day. This was not my idea. It is the brainchild of Milli who I found through Charlotte Rains Dixon. I have not done this before, preferring the solitary bashing at the keys. I think am to pop into the site during the day and make a report, which will hold my cold pale feet to the fire! But we will see what happens. It might be fun!
Our John said, so can I take you out to dinner for your birthday then? Sure, I said,from the barn loft. Close your eyes!. Throwing a bale of hay down to him. (Dust you see.) It bounced about a bit on the floor. He pulled out his knife to cut the stings, the bale singing apart like a leafy accordion. Daisy unhinged her concertina neck and reached over the gate for an appetiser. But aren’t you writing ten thousand words? He said. Daisy stop that! Well, I said, gently moving Tui and Pania aside so I could reach past the hay to the straw for Mama’s clean bed.
Let’s just do both. I will get up early. The promise of dressing up and dinner OUT, should facilitate 10,000 words. Though I need to allow some time to do something about my Phyllis Diller hair. Silence from below. Wise man.
What about your .. um.. bottom? He ventured, throwing hay into the cow’s manger, the sheep squawking for their share. Wait Minty. Oh, I will be fine, I said. Climbing carefully back down the ladder; I will just perch. Maybe I can ask them for an old wooden chair with a broken seat. It works for me so far.
Have a lovely day.
your friend, celi.
The Kitchen's Garden 
82 responses to “Writing and farming below freezing”
You know C that when you are on good speaking terms with Him up there..requests usually do get answers..glad Mama is improving..now for Kupa….I have mentioned to Him about Kupa and his cough, so just wait for results.. love P
What a brilliant photo of Sheila looking through the gate. (who says animals can’t smile).
Good luck with the writing/typing. Just remember not to sit too long for any length of time so you don’t get too stiff.
(I can’t imagine writing/typing 10,000 words in one day. I can type fast, but my fingers won’t necessarily type the letters my brain dictates). Hope it goes well anyway and hope your enjoy the dinner out.
Had to laugh at the ‘perching’ – that is what I had to do last year when my pelvis slipped out of place! Couldn’t sit,could only perch! Found bar stools the best, as my bum could just perch on the edge whilst my legs could still take the weight.
I am hating this cold and it isn’t even winter yet – roll on spring! Happy Birthday (whenever that is) and hope you enjoy your meal out, nice to have someone else cook for a change isn’t it?
Hugs
PS got a great book I am devouring at the moment – Nourishing Traditions, The Cookbook that challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats!
aha! a bar stool.. good tip Lyn, maybe I will try out a bar stool tonight!! c
MORNING!! Yes, I’m shouting because there are chainsaws going across the street, and I can’t hear myself type. When is the birthday dinner, and where are you heading, and what will you eat?
Tonight and I will be eating something vegetarian! CAN YOU HEAR ME?… Hope you have a LOVELY DAY!!.. c
A very happy birthday to you, darling. All my best wishes and love.
Happy, Happy Birthday Celi. Actually a propitious date today – 11/12/13 and if you make your birthday wish at 9:10 mins past 8 it will be sure to come true 🙂 8/9/10/11/12/13. 🙂 🙂
Wishing yu all good things for next year …. and glad to see Mama up and about again. Laura
PS; type 5000 words today and 15000 tomorrow! Numbers are good like that – they are interchangeable 🙂
Is it your birthday today Celi? Happy Birthday!!!!! hope you enjoy many more! Glad to hear Mama is up and about! All the animals look good. Cold and windy here too in SE MN. Enjoy your dinner out with Our John.
I love that shot of Sheila, it reminds me of that great picture you took of Charlottes seedy paramour, something about the eyes, not suggesting that our Sheila looks in anyway seedy but I can see the likeness. Good to see the big dog up and about and coping with the cold.
What very correct posture in that shot of Celi at her keyboard… I hope your bottom enjoys its outing, you have been rather confined recently. I’m so happy Mama’s on her feet again.
I always sit and stand very straight, my mother used to make us walk up and down the kitchen with books on our heads! We loved that game and i was always the best.. c
Lovely post, lovely photos …thank you.
Happy birthday! So glad Mama is on the mend!
Yea! I had faith in Mama. Lovely shot of Queenie. And many happy returns of the day if it is indeed your birth day.
And mama had faith in you.. thank you for your healing thoughts.. c
Oy! Isn’t it early to be having this much cold? So happy you found Mama on her feet. Amazingly resilient, that one. Ooo! A birthday dinner! Aren’t you a lucky gal? Even if you have to perch, a large glass of wine or other beverage will dull the pain surely, and I think the Phyllis Diller hair suits you. Have fun!
Happy Birthday Celi!!! Do go out and kick up your heels (gently though) and have a wonderful birthday dinner!!! May this be your best year yet!!! xoxoxo
It looks very cold there. It makes Bagni di Lucca look positively toasty at zero!
Hooray for Mama. My tip for the dinner: take broken chair and/or cushions with you. – that’s what I have to do wherever we go these days. We’re known as “les fous anglais” round here.
Giving the english even more of a reputation!! c