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.
The Kitchen's Garden 
66 responses to “THE KILLING FROST”
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.