THE KILLING FROST
Real cold is coming. Well, cold for this time of year anyway. In a month it will not be considered cold at all. Tonight we go down to 27F that is -2C. A killing frost. 
So today I will focus on getting straw in to the pigs beds. 
I went to Walmart yesterday to buy more goats milk yesterday and decided to try and collect smiles. So I had my head up the whole time to make the eye contact needed to share a smile.
Only one smile. And that with a man who looked so scared by having his eyes caught that his smile was more of a grimace.
I must be losing my touch. Everyone had their eyes focused totally on the supermarket shelves.
But still that one mans smile was enough. Eye contact heals you know. Heals us both. I go so long without it down here on my farm that when someone does lift their head and see me it is like the jolt of recognition.
The combine harvesters were in the, soon to be organic, field yesterday. I called Harold the new tenant of that 160 acres across the ditch that I have taken out of GM corn and beans and designated organic, and he was pleased to finally take it under his wing, we should be able to get the cover crop in soon and ok.
Though he will not be planting today. We will skip tonight’s cold I think!
He will sow rye or wheat depending on his seed stores as ours is the last fields to be put to bed for the winter.
Speaking of beds.
Piglet found where the heating outlet is. He tried to curl up in one of John’s hats that was down there – like a heat seeking missile. So I brought him his blankie. It is a wooly waistcoat- folded over. He creeps inside it and then pokes his head out the armhole so he can be warm but still watching what is going on.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Celi
WEATHER: Sunny so far.
66 Comments on “THE KILLING FROST”
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Someone is looking healthy, happy, bright-eyed and alert. Someone has a gorgeous bright pink shiny, wiffly nose and a glossy coat. Someone isn’t going to be turned out into -2°C tonight, but will but tucked up warm and cosy, with a tummy full of milk….
I don’t suppose the animals are afraid to make eye-contact with you, but it’s not quite the same fellow-feeling, is it?
Piglet is a lot more settled these last few days -drinking more and sleeping more.
its always good to smile…its good for facial muscles, good for eyes and good for the heart…..Fancy ..a smile to a man..you old flirt you! he probably thought his luck had changed!. But I like to smile at those I dont know..it brightens someones day and makes mine a helluva lot nicer The frost has been here too..its not nice when the warmth disappears and you wake up to cold frosty mornings..but i see that all the animals are getting straw rto keep them warm but Boo’s kennel looks a bit bare….Poo Piglet has the best idea…that must be one intelligent pig
Oh Patrecia – I hope you are wrong. Surely smiling and saying good morning is not flirting. That would keep my smile locked right down if I thought that.
No, no, keep doing it. It’s not flirting. Not in a grocery or hardware store. I love it when woman looks at me and says hello with a bit of a smile. (A man too, but that doesn’t happen much, except for the beer stocker and the guy at the checkout counter who’s dying to talk to anybody.) It makes me feel more alive. Of course I’m careful not to be too enthusiastic when I smile, lest I be accused of space invasion–the great fear of our time. But women can toss out smiles like flowers, and everyone is the better for it.
Well said Albert: )
Oh and neither of the dogs has a kennel – they both sleep inside.
Piglet is growing!!
I think so too. I feel like he has doubled in size!
I bet you would have got plenty if you had Piglet with you. I tend not to catch total strangers eyes. Here is my smile for you, 😁 Laura
Just imagine a piglet walking through Walmart !
Now that would catch a LOT of smiles: )
The cold is creeping in here too, though no frost yet.
Piglet looks so happy!
I think he is happy –
I think he loves his new home in Pig Paradise!
He has a new basket and it is pretty amusing seeing his wee bum and scrabbling feet disappear over the side.
Ha ha – bless him.
That’s it. I’m officially in love with Piglet. Smart, cute, creative, and winsome. I smiled at him, and I swear he smiled back.
He is getting into a cuddly stage –
I love that you went with the intention of kindness and friendliness to connect. That brings an energy shift too even if just one person was able to respond. It is amazing to me how quickly you went to cold and frost. And how diverse the climate in the US is. We are having dry hot Santa Ana winds and weather out of the east here in LA. 90 degrees the last few days. Things should shift by Monday and we should move into the high 70s, low 80s. I’m ready for cooler weather, flannel and fleece. Hope those 160 acres get planted so that the land begins to heal!
I feel very proud to bring good farming practices over this side.
Smiles abound where we are, but it’s still warm and sunny where we live…only a bit of frosty weather mid night …maybe 30 F…..
wee little piglet eyes look quite sparkly and isn’t he the smarty pants to find the heat register! Such a survivor! Hugs to you and lots
of smiles coming your way from all of us!
Thank you – !!
That piglet is looking bright eyed and bushy tailed! Well done you. What’s Ton Ton done he looks guilty. 😀
He thought I might be bringing in the dairy cows – so he is waiting – trying to be good.
Piggy Poo!! What a nut!! He’s part piggy, part puppy, part kitty!! Loved to play and curl up!!! And Boo looks like he’s waiting for his straw!!!
Have a good day!!!
P.S. — wonder when Jake is going to open the restaurant?? – or did he change his mind?
It is coming together as he makes the money. Creating a restaurant is an expensive business. He is closer though!
Oh good!!! Yes restaurants are expens
Yes restaurants are expensive to start!!! I’m just hoping n praying that all will go well.
Yes! we got a peek at piglet. Can’t get enough you know. Plus TonTon. It’s been a long time since we’ seen him and Wei too. And yesterday Sheila! And the handsome herd.
I must say Walmart ain’t the place if you’re looking for smiles. That’s got to be the grimmest most depressing place I know.
It is grim – but my local store does not stock goats milk OR organic anything and Walmart is the next closest. They have self check out now too which means I get in and out FAST!
A field of wheat or rye will make a pretty field. I love to watch the wind in those fields. It’s soothing.
Yes it will be gorgeous – I hope it gets going before the real cold hits.
Sadly it will not be outside my own windows but I will have a great view of it from the creek that is really a ditch.
So nice to see little Piglet looking warm and perky.
Collecting smiles is a lovely idea. I’m a supply teacher and every morning when I enter a new school … I smile. At students. At fellow teachers. At janitorial staff. Usually I get a smile back. Sometimes it’s a wider one. Sometimes just a small movement of the lips. I try to start my day on as positive note as I can.
That is wonderful! I bet you are very welcome.
Thank you. I hope so. 🙂
Piglet offers the most lovely eye contact. I am touched by this story…I am planning on taking note of eye contact with what’s left of today and tomorrow. Thank you for that.
Being seen . It makes us real- er.
Good morning! The grocery line – that’s where I make a lot of eye contact, carry on conversations with people I don’t know, and talk with the clerk, giving her a smile before I go. Being short, I have many opportunities to ask strangers for help, and it’s amazing how many offer without being asked, and I’ve never been turned down when I ask.. I noticed little Piglet’s eyes – they are sparkly, intelligent and are more like a child’s eyes – full of wonder and excitement! Gorgeous pictures today! Which one of your camera kids are you using? Have a wonderful rest of the day and a happy start on tomorrow, Miss C.!
For the last few weeks I have been using my phone. Then I create the blog on my phone. It makes everything so much easier.
any recent photos of Wei?
That is Wai – in the barn shot
What a beautiful pink Poo Piglet nose! I never thought I’d be enchanted by a pig.
We see you 🙂
I like the reaction I get when I’m looking at someone thinking I love their dress or hair or whatever and then see their cross face and realise they think I was staring…well I was, but in a nice way…..so I smile nicely and apologise for staring and tell them I was just admiring their whatever. Suddenly a big smile will transform their face and they become quite chatty. Then I think it’s sad we’re suspicious of strangers looking at us, and worry it’s all negative.
Oh Nanette! That is exactly it! And it is SO sensible to be suspicious- but I am so bored with that – I know a smile or an eye contact and a raised eyebrow can make all the difference to an otherwise silent day.
Winking and raising an eyebrow at you 🙂
Straight back at ya!
I’m becoming less and less enamoured of going to town, shops etc but one of its redeeming features it that enough people make eye contact and say howyagoin’ on the street. As for the big stores, like you, I’m in and out. Saves me a fortune.
Oh that pig is cute…
Sending you a BIG smile that reaches right to my eyes and is sending you a big warm hug!
Much better! Thank you!
Love that you made it your mission, to make eye contact. A smile is pure medicine- for the “smiler” and recipient! I love the surprise on people’s faces when they realize they are being smiled at, me included! As worry weighs a person down, an encouraging, smile cheers a person up. Smiles are contagious-Don’t all your animals smile?
Piglet is more than happy, he’s in Hog Heaven! Not quite a hog, I know.
It is such a special exchange when someone makes eye contact and you get a genuine big gorgeous smile back from them! Thank you for the cuteness to start my day. xoxo 👀😊
hehehe… I have visions of you with a very large piglet still in the house come February and March, given that the cold is fast approaching and putting him out mid-winter will be very tough on him. Your “smile campaign” is interesting. A couple of friends and I are on a “hello campaign”; whenever we pass someone on the street we smile AND say ‘hello’. You don’t have to live in a rural location to find yourself never in contact with real people and it has occurred to us we’re all in this lifetime together and should make efforts to make it a little more pleasant for those who perhaps have no one. On the whole I seem to receive a pretty good response… not too many ‘hellos’ because I think it catches most off guard, but certainly get lots of smiles in return. Keep it up, as it keeps getting better. Hope you have a lovely day too! — Mame 🙂
You and your friends sound like my kind if people!
Love your morning mission. Seeing the joyful look on someones face to accept the invitation to smile back is great. -me included!-smiles are contagious. Medicine for the “smiler-er”and recipient. As worry weighs a person down, an encouraging smile cheers a person up. Smiles are contagious. Aren’t all of your animals smiling?!
Piglet is in hog heaven. Not quite a hog yet… to be sure.
Have a good evening.
You have the best smile!
I too, make it a point to always say hello to someone I pass by or at least smile at them…It’s the least human thing we can do right? Have you ever seen the video of the young man in Italy holding up a free hugs sign? It’s the best! Darling little Poo Bum Piglet is just too darn cute for his own good! 🙂 Just about big will get when he’s full grown and since he is named, will he stay a member of the Farmy’s family?
I have seen that vid – an interesting experiment.
I always try to elicit a smile when I’m out and about. Like you a lot of my time is pretty solitary. I even like to think people move off with a little lighter step after an exchange of smiles. My sister’s little dog, Spud, discovered their in floor heat register, he lays on top of it so he’s the only one getting warm air, no dummy, him. How I would love to cuddle that little pig! We’re in for our third night of killing frost tonight, Percy pig was almost completely buried in his straw.
Percy is such a Star. Tima lies on top of the straw but Wai works very hard to bury himself. Their bed has lots of old blankets and rags in there this year ( straw being so expensive) and Wai ends up looking like the rag man!
I’m with you, Celi, with regard to smiling at passersby. Great photos as usual.
These temps look wonderful to me; I just turned the AC back on here.
We have suddenly gone from temperatures last week of -2, to daytime temperatures in the twenties. Just in time for Labour Day tomorrow! Yesterday was glorious, today not too bad, I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow, although the weatherman says cloudy. My favourite time of the year, warming up in the day, but not too hot, still cool enough at night to sleep. And everything starting to grow and flower like billy-o.
Coming from a small town, smiling and saying Hello to people is a way of life. You can tell the out-of-towners because they don’t! It does give the spirit a lift, even if you don’t feel like smiling, when you smile at someone and get a smile back, it makes you feel better.
I smiled for two reasons looking at Piglet peeking through the armhole. Obviously because he’s just so darned cute, but also because seeing the word “waistcoat” I suddenly realised where my GranMa’s term for “weskit” came from… Thanks for the smiles and the memory, Celi
I can spend an entire week alone and not see a soul to pass on a smile toward. It does make a difference to be seen as that’s what we are made to do. Connect. No matter what is going on in life, I try my best to give my crooked smile to anyone that needs one. You are doing a good service there. We are not so cold here yet. Tomorrow, 70 degrees. Then autumn comes. No freeze yet though.
Love that little piglet .. had to show hubby the photo! I love smiling at strangers .. and when they smile back it’s magic 😃