Yesterday I could not get going. It was so freezing cold outside – hovering around 20F (-6C) – not that cold compared to what is coming but the wind was screaming and it felt so much colder – I was driven back inside, straight after doing the most basic of the chores, but I could not get busy in the house. I kept looking in the kitchen and rearranging the washing then drifting back to the chair by the fireplace to have a think. I wanted to be outside with my animals. I wanted to think.
Do you think there are days when we really should listen to our inertia and just sit and think?
While I was inside forcing myself to get the house work done Sheila was out in her sleeping room rearranging the straw, she shifted her entire bed to the other end of the pen, then scooped it all up very high. The wind had changed to a howling Westerly and I think she felt a draft. Plus the floor of this barn is concrete and sometimes I think she is like the princess and the pea and she is trying to get as far off that cold floor as possible.
Last night I stood leaning on the pig gate and said “Go to bed Sheila, Go to bed, darling.” I say this gently, quietly, repeating the same words and tone over and over. Poppy was being an idiot, as usual, leaping about but Sheila turned and lumbered up into her bed, pushed things around for a minute, then lay down and grunted softly as I forked all the extra straw on top of her. She ended up looking like an untidy pile. Then I made a wee bed for Poppy next to her but Poppy scorned it and ran out into the night to chase dogs. “Let her go,” said Sheila. yawning (and pigs do yawn as you know) “maybe I can get a moments peace before she comes to bed.”
It was forecast to be 10F last night (that is – 12C) so I am sure she was glad to have Poppy to eventually cuddle up to.
This is why I like the Hereford pigs, their faces are so smiley and cheerful.
Elsie is still doing very well. I stand very still and wait and eventually she comes over to sniff and say hullo. She will be fine. (Yesterday I got a call from a Dutch Belted breeder, who is also a reader, to tell me that the new numbers for the breed say there are almost 1,000 on the US. So I stand corrected.)
Last night I shut all the barn doors to cut down on the drafts. 10 degrees is Cold. 10 degrees with howling gales all night is FacePeeling Cold and Nasty.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your thoughtful friend on the farm,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
65 responses to “Getting Going”
You of all people deserve a sit now and then! It was cold here yesterday and I just did not want to drag myself out of bed to write at 5 AM. But eventually I made it. I hope you had a lovely day by the fire!
Dear sweet Celi… your photographs made it apparent to me that the answer to your question can be found in your “animal” instinct. Every one of your photos of the farmy critters reflected moments of quiet, thought, or simply being in the moment. Of course that is what we are supposed to do a LOT of days. The animals seem to understand this… it’s we humans who tend to keep so busy and always focus on accomplishments and multitasking that we do not rest nor detach from the stress of it all – be it good or not so good stress. I have had many days of dawdling and being unfocused about work and chores the last couple of months. I think I like this place… it’s just a little weird, but I feel deep down that it could be good for my inner spirit! Keep warm… I’m surely not going to complain about the cold down south after hearing the numbers in your neck of the woods! BRR!!
I understand your loathe to get going. I think fighting that brutal cold saps our resources. Our overnights have been plus or minus 20 degrees. Today we won’t break freezing. Forcing myself to do laundry, clean my studio, and try to feel energized.
Agreed, we hav e not been above freezing for days now, which is not unusual in winter but it has come WAY too early.. however I am forcing myself out to the supermarket and ,god help us all, to the hairdresser- my hair needs a good chop!..c
Too cold for good spelling? Corrected it should have read: loath
I’m in hiding from that same weather here on top of a mountain in Virginia. I should be out in about eight layers of Carhartt stacking rocks, but I’m heeding my inertia today. Low of 10, high of 25 with 20 mph winds. Not nice on an unsheltered ridge! Love the new cow, by the way! Welcome, welcome, and three cheers for rare breeds.
I WISH I had rocks for you to stack here, i am endlessly entranced by your skills.. c
Thanks, C! I’m not feeling so entranced with myself at the moment, but I blame the weather! That, and that I haven’t got a big fat pet pig to cheer me on.
blaming the weather seems reasonable, it kind of feels like we were not given a chance to Hunker Down and get ready for it.. c
FacePeeling Cold and Nasty here in Minnesota, too.
10 degrees, that is wicked. We go down to 21 tonight and our high is freezing today…pretty cold for the deep, sunny south, but 10…yikes! You and the animals stay warm.
I keep going back to October 6th pictures Bye Bye, Miss C. Each one a portrait and so touching. Cold here in Chicago too. Good day to get hair cut. I hope you sit down, Miss C., when you get a haircut! : )
Yes I do sit down, but while the colour was working I wandered about the salon, tidying the counters, then organised the ‘Letters” books they are selling in there, making sure the shampoo displays were balanced.. no-one minds.. c
The call to inertia and thinking is wonderful and when it hits we all should soak it up like a sunny day at the beach. It’s a sanity thing I think!
Your yesterday is our today. 17 and only going into the low 20’s with fierce winds. Stay warm, drink your tea by the fire and recharge.
I want a sit-and-think day, too. I think it’s a biological urge. If cave-people were inspired to bolt out of the cave in such temperatures, they’d have died. I want to follow the example of the ancestors!
Wish autumn didn’t go by so quickly. We woke up to 32F/0C and that was the high, it’s been getting colder as the day goes by. Can’t blame Sheila for making a high bed!
It’s nasty January weather here also…makes me wonder what January is going to bring….shudder!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
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What has me worried is that all of my outside critters, 2 horses, 2 goats, 1 mini donk and 1 kune kune have grown an amazing amount of hair! I’m hoping it’s not a harbinger of things to come. I dread another looooong winter like last year.
Maybe we should be growing out hair as well.. c
Haha, like a dummy I just got mine chopped!
same.. TODAY actually!
And now I’ll have to wash my stocking cap to shrink it a bit or it will be sliding down over my eyes!
Rememer the Russian trick to screw up your face, keep your mouth closed and stretch it every which way when you are out in the cold. Yes inertia issomething to be honored. Sometimes we get overwhelmed.
My husband has alzheimers and other brain things, and is a mess, and we just have to get through the grit! total wow being a grownup!
This little bit of cold is nothing really, an observation at best. I hope your husband is having one of his good days!.. much love.. c
Extremes of cold or heat tend me to inertia, when I can’t think at all. It’s when I’m on the move I think best, and the little wheels in my brain turn in time with my feet and hands. It seems too cold too soon, I hope it isn’t a sign of a severe winter, just early that will steady up as it goes along.
Oh Celi, I hope the thing I have sent you hurries up and comes… This cold sounds brutal, particularly with the extremely hot weather we’re having. The poor Husband was standing in full Hi Vis safety gear, helmet and gloves in the midday 42C sun yesterday for half an hour. I worry about heat stroke… I love your Big Fat PIg, she has the most charming smile and delicate trotters.
She is a darling girl.. and so polite.. your poor hubs, tell him john is working all day out in this sub freezing temps maybe that will make him feel a little cooler.. c