Animals in the cold, FBI, family coming

Mama and I got to sit this morning for a few minutes and watch the squirrels play in one of the trees in the front yard -actually, in the circle at the entrance to the property. I have counted as many as four but even to arrive at that count is normally a challenge. This morning I think there were four but we never got a good count. They play a complicated and almost dangerous game of either tag or follow the leader. (I am a little rusty on my squeak-squeaker-squeakum or I would ask.) They run through the branches at breakneck speeds, reversing, jumping from limb to limb, narrowly keeping themselves from falling to the ground. They do fall from time to time, just not all the way to the ground. Now that the leaves have fallen and the branches are bare it is more fun to watch – as long as you don’t try to follow every movement. That can give you a case of vertigo.

The frost this morning only seemed to energize the animals on the farm – squirrels included. Our Pyrenees seem especially happy when the temperature is between 30 and 50 degrees. They tolerate all the other days of the year but this is their time. Mama worries about the chickens when the temperature gets uncomfortable for her but they do not seem to mind too much. I fear getting the coop too warm and not allowing them to adapt to the ambient temperatures. My goal is to keep the coop above freezing and not much more, but I think she has other ambitions. Time will tell.  At any rate, the rain over the weekend will test the temporary power I have run to the coop. It should be fine. (I hope.) If it is we will figure out how to run a couple of heaters for our pampered birds. My challenge is to devise a way to keep the poop off the heaters. (Can you imagine what that would smell like?) I believe Mama’s goal is to get them to lay more. Maybe it will work, maybe not. Next I will be installing a swing for each side of the coop. She read about it on some chicken social network – run by humans who love chickens.

Mama, Victoria and I are in the final stretch of this semester with FBI. Our last test is Monday evening. Right now, we are studying for that exam. It should not be too difficult but it still merits a fair amount of study. Like I used to tell my children when it was time to test, numbers closer to 100 are preferred. We have not gotten the grades from our last test so we are not exactly sure how that turned out but the expectation is that we did well enough to not be embarrassed by the score. It will be nice to have some time off on Monday nights for a month. It will give Mama and I just a little extra time to get a few more little things done as Christmas approaches.

Nate, Cori and the kids may be here at the end of next week so Mama is starting to stress out about getting the house ready – or readier – for them. I told Mama, if they showed up tonight we would make due. 

Sadly, that did not ease her concerns.