Winter Begins

November 6, 2022

Hello folks,

Well, a couple of weeks have passed since our big excursion to the south and it's time to get caught back up again. Fall is in full effect and over the last two weeks we've seen everything from it being 65F and nice & sunny and we've also seen it as cold as 25F first thing in the morning. The wind continues to remind us that it is a force out here and it's been howling away...not every day, but way more than it does over the summer. The kittens are growing up fast and becoming holy terrors. Chelly had them in a box downstairs, which Erin eventually moved upstairs to a more quiet spot. Chelly didn't like this and moved them right back downstairs herself. Eventually, she relented and seemed to accept the better digs upstairs. That being said, they're now in that 4-6 week-old range and they're really starting to feel their oats, so to speak. We've already had one nearly fall off the second floor loft and tumble down onto the concrete floor below, but thankfully it was just nearly averted. They are the cutest, little things, though, and Willow & Ela spend much of their time trying to get upstairs to check them out. Rui is curious, too, but still won't go up and down the narrow, spiral, open set of stairs. In other news, we got a load of hay from the hay dealer in Las Vegas(Mallette Feed: a throwback to my entire life spent in feed mills, and like many I've seen, still owned by octogenarians with their grown children waiting in the wings!). Originally, the boss wanted about 200 bales of mixed alfalfa/grass hay, but upon delivery was not satisfied with the quality. So, they came back and picked it up and then I had to go into town to pick something else out in its place...and, boy, did they have lots of options! We settled on 150 bales of nice, fluffy, meadow grass from Gunnison, Colorado and another 150 bales of straight alfalfa from around here. So, I had to move about 75 bales of our remaining, old, mixed bales out of the way(twice!) and made room for the much bigger order. Now that we've gotten a delivery from theses guys a few times, I knew what to expect and how much room their forklift(spider) needed to get in and out of the barn. Russ very deftly placed all of the grass hay into the barn and nearly all of the alfalfa, too, leaving me only another 75 or so that needed to be moved by hand. Now, we have 692 bales of three different kinds of hay and one kind of fermented forage which will get us by about another six months(maybe 9-10 for the forage). The boss wanted a full barn and we complied and filled her right up! The boss also wants a whole colony of outdoor cats and we've obliged, too, with five kittens scurrying around our casita from Chelly and another batch on the way when Zia has her litter very soon. The next step will be to get them downstairs on the first-floor, then in and out during warm afternoons, etc., until we can get them to spring and being out full-time.

I'm still working in town once in a while, although most of my time is spent out here trying to get the boss's house finished up. Lately, I finished doing all of the plugs for the wooden floor and promptly moved outside to try and clean all of the windows before it gets too cold. Also, I've been helping the foreman install catch basins for the rainfall runoff from the roof and then digging trenches to install plastic tubing to carry the water away from the house in underground channels. That has involved digging with both the backhoe and the little tractor, as well as lots and lots of shovel work and raking. We also had to pour concrete in multiple spots to anchor the basins and, as always, that proved an interesting project on the mornings when it was below freezing. Then, there is the scaffolding that I've had to set up and tear down...lots and lots of scaffolding! In town, I had to run a jumping jack for a few days once we got all of the dirt levels where we wanted them in and around the concrete walls that we put up. Once the tamping down was done, a fabric barrier will go in for argon, then gravel and finally bricks on top...all the better to catch and retain the heat generated each day by the sun. I got an invitation to go with my friend, Valentin, and his Dad to go and meet one of their buddies in San Jose who has lived there forever and has spent a lifetime hunting, hiking, raising animals and gardening. After running to the tiny, little bar in San Jose to get a case of Modelo and some ice, we went over and hung out with their friend, Martin, in his greenhouse and I was given a green light to pick any tomatoes that were still left on the vine before he tore everything out and made room for his winter plantings. I made Erin's day and brought home two big tubs of green tomatoes for her to play with, as well as some huge zucchini and a few massive pears to boot! Our house is literally stuffed full of vegetables now waitng for Erin to turn them into preserves!

And, finally, it is time for another batch of pictures for everyone's enjoyment. First up, five shots of the latest batch of kittens: first, a piece that I toyed with on the computer; then, two shots from them in their crate; and, then, two separate closeups of them as they got a little bigger and started getting out of the crate regularly. Next, two shots from work the other day when it was nice and toasty in the sun after a chilly night and I had a big praying mantis keeping an eye on me while he sunbathed. Then, a picture of Willow up on top of the highest stack of hay...looking for kitties! Next, two shots of my haul from going to hang out with Valentin and his friends...it was hard work, but I had to drink quite a few beers to get all those tomatoes picked! Then, two shots of the horses playing in the big drainage pond right behind the new house...we thought one of them was going to sink right up to her head in the mud, but she didn't. Next, a shot of the jumping jack that I was using for a few days in Santa Fe. Then, a shot of the hay steps that I made to get all the bales up to the top. And, finally, two shots from my last time commuting in and out of Santa Fe: pretty snowcaps on the way in; and, then, a nice shot of the mesa that towers over us as seen coming from Santa Fe...you can see why Valentin and I hike it, it's nowhere near as steep when you look at it from the side!

Take care and see you soon.