Happy Happy Turkey-Bird Day

Its over the river & through the woods

To Da Urchin’s house I go

The mule knows the day to carry me away

Through the hills I love & know

Its over the river & through the woods

My heart is light & gay

Though my body is tired my mind is wired

It going to be a great T-bird Day.

One of the not so great things about my current job is its 365 day 24-7 nature.  Its been years since Da Urchin and I have been able to do a T-bird Day together.  Either I’m working or she’s else ware – else ware like college, or Japan, or some other out of state location.  So this year was a special treat – her 1st Thanksgiving in her own home & I was off work & able to share it with her.  WooHoo!

Behold the richly laden table!  With roast duck as the entrée with fresh baked bread, cranberry relish, wild rice, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy.  There was even some kind of fancy sauce for the duck.  (OK, so we forgot to cook the veggies.)  It was a spread to be sure and Da Urchin, JR & I was all stuffed by the time we finished eating. 

I had arrived Wednesday after getting up at 11am for an ophthalmologist appointment & then driving to Da Urchin’s place.  Once there I napped until Da Urchin was home from work whereupon a light dinner was had by all.  I was still kinda tired but some fresh coffee set everything right.  Da Urchin, ever thoughtful, had gotten me some Hazelnut Coffee which was wonderful. 

Thursday was spent playing with the cats, cooking food and of course feasting on the feast.  The duck was particularly good.  I headed home early in the evening as I was scheduled to work Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights.  I do need to sleep at home the night before I go into work so I can go in well rested.

Friday night was rough – I had woken up with a post nasal drip and things didn’t improve as the night went on.  Saturday I got up at 3pm with a fever of 102, a body that felt like it had been used as a tackling dummy, and a smashing headache.  It had happened – I was sick.  Sick for the 1st time since June of 2005.  Sunday I was no better, not that better was expected.  I finally dragged myself to the doctor to find I had bronchitis and bronchiolar pneumonia.  Wonderbar.  Antibiotics here I come.  Plus plenty of fluids and long soaks in very hot bathwater.

In retrospect, I hadn’t been at full capacity since the OVPR.  I tired easily, chilled easily and had needed more sleep than usual all month.  Well I’m on the mend but behind on my holiday preparations and present making.  Such is Life with its ups and downs.

Productivity

Friday afternoon & Saturday morning was errand time with all kinds of necessary but boring tasks accomplished.  OK, the farrier appointment wasn’t boring & it went very well, but the rest of the tasks were just plain boring.  Saturday was a beautiful day, so I treated myself to a ride to my favorite Greene County places after lunch. 

Visitors at the Beaver Pond

The Great Blue Herons and Common Egret seem to have gone on to warmer climes but there are plenty of hawks & Canada geese who have arrived to take their place. 

Beaver Pond inflow mid November

The Beaver Pond has a very good water level for this time of year & is looking very healthy.

Greene County Pasture

Of course the world at large has wrapped itself in the browns & grays of winter.  Sandy brought snow to the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge & Shenandoah Park but its all gone now.

Afternoon North Fork Rivanna River

Don’t let the sunshine fool you, its sharply chill here and a bit too cold for fishing.

But its not too cold for projects.  I fixed the broken kitchen door threshold & replaced the torn weather stripping , which of course took the 3 trips to Lowe’s for parts.  No matter how carefully I plan all home repairs require 3 trips to Lowe’s or a hardware store to accomplish.  Various leather gear also got cleaned.

Detail of Medallion Straps

The leather at the top of my medallion display strap also got replaced (it got damaged last year) & I finished it up.  The beaver is a fund raising medallion from Fort St. Joseph at Niles Michigan near my hometown.  The fleur de lys is my paternal family heritage & the 3 pieces of trade silver were a gift.  I also made a 2nd strap to start using with next year’s events.  The “2” is from my 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Civil War unit days. 

New & Old Medallion Straps

The straps are 48 inches long, this keeps them pleasantly above any mud when they’re hung from the ridge pole of the dining fly.  It took 16 years to fill the 1st strap - 16 years of shining times, good food, wonderful music & great friends.  Plus some questionable weather.

The Quiet of Winter

North Fork of the Rivanna River

The calendar says its still fall but the Quiet of Winter has arrived here in Greene County.  The bats have all moved on presumably to their hibernation roosts.  The evenings are silent but for the breezes, the chorus of song birds has been reduced to a few late afternoon soloists.  Twilight comes early and brings a stilling of the gentle daytime winds.  The crackle of leaves under my feet as I take my evening walks is loud now.  Sound carries far in the still cold air and the dogs bark or a car door slam I hear probably isn’t even from my neighborhood.  It is a wonderful season for walks.

Advance Mill Pond in late afternoon

I’ve been busy around the house mostly, working on cleaning up the yard before the truly cold weather sets in.  Most Virginia winters are big on cold wind driven rain, hardy the thing for outdoor work.  So while the sun shines I’ll be trimming bushes, cutting up downed wood and the like.  Plus taking short drives around the county to my favorite spots for pictures. 

Completed French Belly Box

Winter is also the time for in-house projects and historic apparel construction and repair.  So in the last2 days I sorted through 6 boxes of stuff, did routine cleaning, punched the closure hole in the French belly box I assembled earlier this year, cleaned various pieces of historic leather gear, and got several sewing repairs made on my clothes.  Plus read some as well as  snuggled and napped some with my cats Paws-in-Trouble and Pippen.  Winter is a grand season for napping with cats.

Paws-in-Trouble & Pippen

Now mind you, I love the Holiday Season – I love the lights, the live music concerts, the special church services and the getting together with friends and family.  But I also cherish the Quiet of Winter, the way the natural world has a resting that calls for a resting in one’s soul.  Welcome to my home Winter.

Winter Settles In

Last year I decided that this winter was going to be a season of quiet.  I can’t stop the crazy holiday absurdity but I don’t need to buy into it either.  So far things are quiet.  The election idiocy is over, 400 billion was spent so the government on Wednesday could look just like the government on Monday.  Neither party seems concerned or even aware of rural & small town America, so its hard for me to warm up to either of them.  I voted.  So did a large percentage of my very rural county.  Just a reminder to the Washington folks, you may ignore us but we’re very much not ignoring you.

November Yard

The weather here has held, so I’ve been getting outdoor tasks done.  The lawnmower has been put into storage with 2 of my project motorcycles to follow soon.  I’ve started to remove the dead pokeberry bushes (they’re annuals) and I’m waiting for the forsythia to loose their leaves so I can trim them.  The storm windows are all up.  Its rained here some lately, on those days I’ve worked on the large front bedroom.  I’ve got a piece of furniture to take to a new home and some more sorting to do, but I should have it cleaned out and ready to use as a spare bedroom by Christmas.  I also finished a belt for myself and dyed fabric for a skirt and a knapsack. (Not the same fabric, just the same dye.)

My New Belt

I also spent last weekend at the Urchin’s – she took me to Chateau O’Brian for Irish stew and live Irish music.   The stew was excellent, the band above average with an excellent traditional fiddler and the view of the Blue Ridge spectacular. 

Quiet times are usually the best times.  Here’s a wish for more quiet time for all.