“Oh please don’t go. 
We’ll eat you up …
We love you so.”
And Max said
“NO.”
from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak one of my favourite children’s books of all time. I never saw the movie, I loved the book that much. I have read it to children so many times I can read the entire book with my eyes closed, head on the pillow and still turn the pages at the right time.
Snow:
Lots of snow. Boo Loves the snow. 
He eats it up. Not so much TonTon.
Ton deals with the snow carefully and with a total lack of trust. He prefers a firm surface.
TonTon would rather be Some Where Else. In front of the fire for instance.
Christmas Owl guarded my snow shoes until the afternoon.. getting to the chook house is proving to be a knee high trial unless one is wearing the snow shoes.
Sheila would like to show you her bed, again.
In the night the snow trickled in through the cracks in the barn walls and dusted down onto her bed creating a 3D effect in a 1Dimensional digital world, so you can see how deep she makes her bed. Deep. Proud girl. I have been speaking with a man in Springfield, Illinois, who has the most beautiful Hereford boar. He knows more about AI and reluctant heats than I do. (though frankly that is not hard to do) He has a plan to bring Sheila into heat using chemical hormones and he will send me the semen on a courier. It is worth a crack. He said that at two years old (and no breeding) she will have stopped cycling. The man did not hold his punches, I do appreciate that.
How much faster can I learn? And how far behind the 8ball can I be. But as Linda says “You are alive. You are learning.”
Good morning. It is almost dawn. The sky is clear. It is -6F (-21C). No wind. Silent. When I awoke about an hour ago it was 4F. I still don’t know exactly why the temperature drops so fast towards dawn, trying to out run it and then will drop even further as the sun peeks through. Then skidding to a halt, lasooed by the suns weak early rays. . Some study needs to be done.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
97 responses to “No shortage of Wild Things on the Farmy”
The cat and dog are great together! I like that dog too! I need a non-working farm 😀
How big is your backyard? Laugh! I am thinking of buying Boo a pack so he can carry all my farm bits and pieces this summer! Including a spare bottle opener! c
That is a brilliant idea. My Maverick is a pointer/hound mix of indeterminate type, and I got a pack for him to carry his own water as well as mine on hikes. He positively struts in it, I think he likes being a working dog. I believe the brand is Outward Hound. Check them out online.
Rowdy children in the back seat of the car can usually be calmed with the words “On the night Max wore his wolf suit…” They join in at “His mother called him ‘Wild Thing!’” and we go from there…
Good Snowy Morning, Miss C! I have a half-inch of ice on top of 5 inches of snow… 😦
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Ice on snow. Sigh. I can just hear that delightful chorus of wild things! c
That book is also a particular favourite of mine as well. And I think Maurice Sendak would have heartily approved of your illustrations – what a pair they are 🙂
My dog (Miss Sophie) adores the snow as well. Just as well really when we live at the same latitude as Anchorage – hee, hee…) She rolls in the snow, rubs herself in it, buries her head in it and just enjoys herself with full abandon in that special way only dogs can do.
I’m fascinated to read about Sheila (the old virgin at age 2. Imagine being considered “on the shelf” already!) What an incredibly steep learning curve it has been for you, but the thing is that you are learning and each new bit of information can be filed away and used in the future. A big part of me though would love to see Sheila strutting her stuff with her babies. Can you imagine a whole barn full of Sheilas? That would keep you on your toes.
I have a number of families wanting to grow their own pork out here. Like me they do not trust the bought stuff. It would be a lot cheaper for them if we can raise it here. However if we were to get Sheila pregnant and if she were to throw a few gilts for us, then I think I might keep one or two more. The Hereford really is a beautiful breed. c
I suppose the saying “Darkest before dawn” seems to apply to cold as well. From seeing a pink glow way down low on the horizon, until I can see a full round sun, the temps just drop. I am pet sitting two cats up the top of a mountain this week – and the temperature changes as I climb are quite impressive. Two lovely ginger Toms. Sad thing is their owner has just gone a real nasty divorce and he is now heading back to live in the UK. We are trying to find a home for his two cats, and having little luck. They are more outside then indoor cats, so re-locating them could prove a problem. I really can’t take them, I am at my limit now with four. Plus I know the first time I let them out they would do a runner! Also they are not used to dogs, so although my two Border Collies would never harm them, they don’t know that! Sigh, I will keep trying.
Hugs
Lyn
Oh NO. What a shame you are not closer, I would take the ginger tom boys, esp if they are outside cats.. they could hide from the dogs in the loft of the barn.. c
I’m going back to my warm spot under the covers because I am frightened by the Wild Things.
Particularly that wild thing! c
Marmalade will grow up to be a dog – he’s looking big now 😉
He is getting big, you should see him when he gets at the dog meat, growls like a pup.. c
That is funny – you’ll have to teach him to fetch 🙂
I’ve noticed that children love certain books with a passion. It stops being about the story and starts to be about the ritual surrounding the story. Different voices for different parts, always reading it the same way, learning it by heart. I remember having books where I could quote whole pages of text. Even now, 50 or so years on, I can still remember bits. So I know what you mean about saying it aloud with your eyes closed!
Morning Kate, I loved to read Dr Seuss for those rhythms, i still pick up one of his books and read it in exactly the same way as I did twenty years ago, or forty years ago..
My grandson “read” The Owl and the Pussycat”and “Hairy McClary from Donaldson’s Dairy” in full when he was two.
I used to sing “The Owl and the Pussycat” to my kids when they were younger. I still know all the words decades later!
Two, Viv.. terrifying! What a clever chappie.. c
It’s a great book, isn’t it? Glad to see that you can still get out and about—-even if it is slow going. I figured you were right in the path of the latest round of bad weather. We somehow escaped the snow but it is minus 11 this morning. Brrrrr.
yes we got a LOT of snow, but John cleared paths with the tractor, ugly but useful.. i was thinking I could do with one of those little snow blowers and I could carve one foot paths through the snow banks but i am sure it is not as easy as that!!. c
I do have a small snowblower, one I can pick up and relocate if I need to. I use it mostly in the donkey/goat/chicken/duck soon to be kune kune yard to make paths for all my short legged buddies. It works wonderfully, you just have to duck if it encounters a donkey apple-ette!
Love the idea of a little snow blower, purchasing one would make sure we never get snow again anyway!! I have not heard from our man again, as to whether I can have one of this litter, though my inbox is a mess. I hate to bother him again… c
i love it, sheila being so proud of her bed.
there ain’t nothing like a comfy bed for which a girl can take her delight….
[please send alaska’s weather back to her….i miss fresh snow….i love to snowshoe….and i’ve had nothing but this dang hard ice for walking upon. in return, alaska will send the warm temps back to the midwest….]
x + o
You need to give me some tips on the snow shoeing! I think there is a lot to attaching the shoe. Do they come in different sizes for different sized feet.. ?c
boo and the marmalade kitty are so cute together. sheila looks like she is smiling!
One of the reasons why i love the Hereford breed is that smile.. c
Wonderful ‘creature’ shots and good news too about Sheila! We do need a picture of you in the snow-shoes however. we’ve seen the clown suit, or parts thereof, and we’ve seen the hattie so come on, where’s john when we need him?!
Christine
John is usually at his workshop on the big farm.. in fact he hates to use the camera, sigh.. c
I would like to see the hattie on you.
I’ve pinched a picture, which may lead to another haiga poem – they are all splendid today, but that one of Boo at speed is fabulous.
Everything is crossed for the AI. Pigopause comes early.
Love,ViV.
I had no idea a pig would stop cycling. How interesting! There is always something new to learn.
My girls have an extensive library here at home and “Where the Wild Things Are” is part of that library, but it’s the Spanish version (LIli was born in Guatemala and her aunt bought it for her a few years ago because she wanted her to have books in Spanish to celebrate her culture). As such, they have never heard the English version of the book. Guess we should pick that up sometime and read it 🙂 And when we do, I’ll be thinking of this blog post and your wonderful photos.
How wonderful of Lili’s aunt. She is very right too about children and their dual heritages, we are all so wonderfully global now.. c
Don’t give up on the piggy front, I had a lovey big girl that was to go to butcher, and I just couldn’t, so she was wonderful and so sweet, took me another six months to find the right boar, took him another six months of growing to get big enough to breed her, lovely litter of eight wee babies was the end result.
What a great story, I won’t give up.. c
You know sometimes, just sometimes, what is the norm is not the norm. Shelia just may respond well to the hormones…no reason she shouldn’t. Then you have the AI and then the little piglets! We have brought other animals into heat with hormones why not Shelia!
Fingers crosses for the perfect result!!!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
*♥´¨) ¸.-´¸.-♥´¨) Happy Valentine’s Day¸.-♥¨) (¸.-` ♥♥´¨
Celi, your photo work is always wonderful, however today it is superb!
Have a great day!
Lynda thank you. That all white back drop is great. And so much light when you have a white sky and white ground, light just bounces around all over the place.. c
If Sheila is past her ‘ child bearing’ years could you not adopt some babies for her to mother , there speaks the voice of ignorance in all matters to do with farming. I only see animals being there to be loved……but even so you wouldn, t send Sheila to the a……….oir would you?.
Loved the pics of Boo in the snow, really enjoys himself.. I am a Ton-ton keep warm by the fire and wait until snow has gone..
I know what you are saying. I am working hard on finding other jobs for her to do, so she is useful on the farm, But we are only starting the breeding with her, no need to worry. c