The Christmas Calf

My worst fears were not realized when we got plowed out and drove over to the pasture yesterday to see what had befallen the new calf. There was no sad frozen lump in the field, and the two visible cows (the new bull and Crooked Horn) were behind the barn, which must have meant that Maggie and her calf are in the barn. There was freezing rain and the road back to the field wasn't even plowed.

Significant Other is a saint for humoring me. Except for ice everywhere and wind from the arctic circle, the weather isn't too bad. Sun is out. How soon we adjust to winter. I gave the farmer's wife the calf pictures we had taken off and on. I do hope this little critter makes it. The calves are beyond sweet and so independent once they grow a bit.

Thisbe is asleep in front of my screen and Annie is on the rocking chair a few feet away. Every morning Thisbe goes into the (now) cold garage and sits on a mat in front of where the chipmunks broke into the bird seed this fall. Once she started chasing chipmunks, she seemed to realize that she was a cat, and now she obviously expects to find a chipmunk hiding out in the garage, a real live cat toy. There may be one for all I know, except the bird seed is secured in metal pails with tight lids, so no one is noshing on that except the birds.

The new suet feeder was raided a few nights ago, along with the old. Raccoons are not hibernating yet. A clever set of paws opened the latch and removed the suet. It's cold and icy and the birds will have to make do with yet the third feeder which no critter has figured out how to raid (yet).

I'm sending some pages of Festival Madness to an editor today, and the entire MS to another editor tomorrow. I've essentially given up on agents, sad to say. The Gather Contest was an unmitigated disaster, and I don't know what to do with Promiscuous Mode, my noir cosy.

Ah well, no work gets done in the next two weeks. More baking today, another new recipe, with meatloaf and baked potatoes tonight, comfort food for the arriving traveler. We agreed that the pot roast was wonderful comfort food. The winter solstice time brings with it a need for hearty warm fare, beefy fare truth be told, althought a piping hot chicken pie wouldn't be bad at all.

Warm thoughts to all the creatures who must survive in the cold this season.

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