Strays R Us.

Christmas comes, and Christmas goes... and so do the stray animals in the hills here.

We had a couple of cold nights this weekend, and I felt so badly for the orange and white cat... he usually sleeps on a chair on our porch, on top of a soft blanket that I leave there for him. But when the wind blows, what good is being on top of a blanket, no matter how soft it is?

I decided to give the orange cat one of the cat beds..... one that I thought was so cute for the cats, but Sweet Pea didn't like it, Mickey wouldn't go near it, and Gatsby couldn't fit into it.  It's one of those square-shaped beds with a hole in the front... so the cat can go inside of it, curl up, and be toasty warm because it's lined with a soft lamb's wool fabric.  Out onto the porch chair it went, and for two nights, the orange cat slept in front of it but wouldn't go into it.  On the third night, it got windy... and finally, that orange/white cat decided that inside that cat bed was the place to be.  I woke up this morning and there he was, all curled up just as nice as could be. When I went out onto the porch to give him food, he was so comfy that he didn't even get out of that bed... he stuck his head out of it and meowed at me, then went back to sleep. (No, we really don't want another cat. I repeat... No, we really don't....)

Yesterday, one of the neighbor's dogs found her way to our driveway... for the hundredth time. This particular neighbor has two or three dogs at any given time. He takes good care of just one of them, his favorite dog which herds his goats and cows. The other dogs come and go, and when he doesn't want them anymore, he just stops feeding them, and the unwanted and hungry dogs go off to other properties.

So this one female dog, skinny as can be, with the body-type of a Greyhound and the face of a plain old hound, was sniffing around the driveway and the yard by the gazebo. When my husband noticed how skinny that dog was, he went out there with a bowl of Meow Mix. (We don't have a dog, so of course there's no dog food in the house.)  The dog gobbled up that cat food so quickly that my husband came in for a second bowl. The dog, however, got scared, and started walking off down the hill. Never the one to not feed a hungry animal, my husband got in the car and followed the dog, caught up with her, and gave her the second bowl of Meow Mix, along with a can of Fancy Feast that none of our cats would eat. That dog liked the Fancy Feast so much that it literally picked up the dish of canned food and walked off with it so it wouldn't be taken away from her.

After that dog had finished every last drop of cat food, my husband picked up both bowls and drove back up our hill. Within five minutes, the dog was in our driveway, sitting there on the concrete with one paw up as if she were begging for food. Out again went my husband, with still another bowl of Meow Mix. Lest you think we were over-feeding that dog, the bowls we were using were cat bowls, nowhere near the size of dish that big dog would require.

The stray dog ate very well yesterday, and being that it was raining today, we didn't see her in the driveway or the yard all day. I did, however, see dog paw-prints on our porch this afternoon, right next to the empty dish of cat food.... I had left food out there for the orange cat, but clearly the dog got to it first, and probably scared off the orange cat.

We tried to get this dog to follow us up to our porch yesterday, but the dog is so very scared, literally with her tail so far between her legs that she appears tail-less. This is not a dog we would keep... she's way too big, she doesn't seem to stay put and always wants to be traveling... definitely not our kind of dog. But we can't just leave a hungry dog out there without feeding her. So we'll keep trying... and hopefully we can get her to the local animal shelter. It's more than clear that the neighbor doesn't want her anymore. Some people should just never have pets of any kind.

Christmas Goats and Miscellaneous Wildlife.

The neighbor's goats jumped their fence yesterday morning and we had goats all over the road outside by our mailbox. Thankfully, the neighbor's dog started barking like mad, alerting his owner about the wayward goats..... the neighbor got into his truck and along with the dog, managed to herd the goats back to their own pasture.

The coyotes have been howling and screaming for countless nights now... always after midnight, around about the time when one's sleep is deepest and most comfortable. And then it starts... one coyote's howls will get the others started and soon you're listening to a symphony. Being that coyotes will howl their loudest after they've captured some poor little animal, it's hard to ignore the fact that a cute little bunny or baby deer might be breathing its last breath. Not exactly the thought you want floating around your mind as you put your head on your pillow.

Orange Kitty is still here... sleeping now in the chair by the Santa Sign (Naughty/Nice List) on the back porch. Silly me... I should have painted the name "Orange Kitty" on that sign and put him right smack at the top of the Naughty List.  That blasted cat... just when you think he has abandoned his habit of grabbing at you with his claws, he swipes at your leg with lightning speed and then looks up at you with such innocence. I do believe, however, that the orange cat has now learned the meaning of a loud "NO!"  The problem is that I have to say the word No! seconds before he gets those claws out. One of these days, I'm either going to fall down the porch steps or walk right smack into one of the columns.

Because of the pouring rain a couple of weeks ago, our pond is filled to the brim and looking quite beautiful, especially after M trimmed up all the tall grasses around the perimeter.  A small flock of ducks have taken up residence in the pond, along with a smattering of turtles which can be seen sunning their shelled selves on the rocks in the middle of the pond. My husband suggested that we stock the pond with fish, but then his next thought was that we'd have raccoons all around the pond, trying to catch their dinner. So... no fish.

We've had dogs walking back and forth around the property this past week....... Herbie (belonging to a neighbor who has decided his dog needs to be 'free' and not 'fenced' in his old age); and Trixie (belonging to another neighbor who walks up and down the hill from time to time); and a stray dog who looks like a greyhound and has made friends with Trixie. The neighbor who owns Trixie doesn't want to keep that stray so he doesn't feed him, which gets the stray to 'shop' around the properties on trash pick-up day. We would gladly feed that dog if he'd come near us, or better still, we'd take him to the shelter... but the dog is very scared and won't go near anyone except Trixie.  As a result of the stray's 'shopping,' our trash was torn apart on the day before Christmas Eve.......... we had trash blowing all over the side yard that day, and it was very windy here, so of course I was out there running after pieces of waxed paper and paper towels.... and the stray was eating heaven-knows-what that came out of the trash bags.

Life in the country.... sometimes peaceful and serene and beautiful.... sometimes ridiculous and ornery and crude.

How does that song from the old TV show go?    "Green Acres is the place to be......"

Finally, the sun.

Yes, Virginia, there really is a sun.

After three cloudy days, the sun has finally decided to shine over this part of the Hill Country. It is a most welcomed sight indeed.

And, after five days of not feeling well, I think my cold germs have gone elsewhere. This is the first morning that I've gotten out of bed and not felt like I got hit by a truck in the middle of the night.

Life has been going on and on, no matter how many germs were surrounding me. The orange cat continues to make his presence known on our porch, and he seems quite content these days. He sits there in the chair by the back door seemingly waiting to welcome anyone who comes up on our porch. However, as soon as he sees a car pulling into our driveway, he high-tails it under the back steps, failing to welcome anyone at all. He will come out of hiding when the coast is clear.

Our live-in handyman M has been telling his friends about his 'new' apartment on the second floor of our barn. One of his friends is now asking if any of our neighbors would like to offer similar living arrangements... S would like to be a live-in handyman on one of the other properties here. We told M that we would like to meet his friend first, before asking our neighbors if such a situation would suit them. The apartment over our barn has two bedrooms... my husband is now wondering if he would have enough work for two live-in handymen.  However, I am not sure if M wants to share his new-found wealth of a large apartment with one of his friends.

While I was resting up and trying to ignore my cold, I discovered how to take a photo with my cell phone. I also set up a Pinterest page for myself and found the entire process very addicting. (Who knew there were zillions of ideas out there?! It's sort of like 'Pin The Tail On The Donkey' for adults.)
And I've been trying to keep up with all of my Blogs as best as I can, but there were a few days when the sneezing and coughing just got the best of me. And my books... I feel like I've abandoned my books... but I just couldn't concentrate enough on reading. So I consoled myself with just browsing through beautiful books about Christmas decorations and ideas.

The weather has been warm and comfortable, although these past cloudy days were very damp. It's so nice not to need either the air-conditioning or the heating, especially as we're so close to the end of December.

And Christmas is just a few days away..... this happens all the time... no matter how prepared you are, and no matter how much of a head-start you get on the preparations and decorations, The Powers That Be can sometimes toss in a handful of cold germs to make sure you're paying attention.

"Y'all come back now...."

This is what's great about Christmas... it's not just one day, it's a lot of days, and most of those days bring super-nice surprises.

A friend of mine brought a wrapped gift to me this morning that was so very thoughtful inside and out. The wrapping paper was nostalgic and innocent, with a 1950s-Christmas flair to it. Such pretty paper that I saved it. Inside the wrapping was a gift that she had hand-painted for me.... a smiling, whimsical black and white cat that's saying "Y'all come back now, ya hear..."

Cute as a button that cat is, and you can just hear him purring Y'all come back... as you look into his green eyes.  It's amazing to me that artists can have such talent that their work comes to life as you look at it, whether it's a classical painting in a European museum or a whimsical and loving cat with green eyes sitting by your door in the Hill Country.

That cat painting is now in my breakfast room, arranged with Christmas boxes right near my chair by the table so I can see it every day. After the holidays are over and the Christmas Santa sign comes off the porch, I will put the green-eyed cat by the back door so he can tell everyone to come on back.

Another morning surprise from friend C was a Downton Abbey tea mug that I will use every day for hot tea.... another thoughtful gift, to be sure.  Christmas is as Christmas does, and nothing says Christmas more than hand-made gifts. The Downton mug will hold my tea, but the green-eyed cat will hold my heart.

Speaking of cats, I can just hear the orange cat now......
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you going to tell me who that green-eyed cat is?

10 Days Till Christmas...

So sayeth the blackboard in my kitchen, where I've been writing the chalk-white numbers every morning.

I went into town today for a few errands, and contrary to our friends' reports back in Clear Lake, I didn't run into traffic jams or city grid-lock. Everyone here is just going along with day-to-day chores and errands, as if Christmas were just a blip on their country calendars.

While I was in town, I looked around a couple of stores for grab-bag gifts for next year's Christmas party. The grab-bag gift exchange was so much fun on Saturday night's party that I'm determined to do that again next year. Neighbors said they would also bring wrapped gifts for the exchange, but it's always good to have extra wrapped gifts on hand, just in case.

I'm also keeping up with my own method of Christmas shopping.... being that this year's gifts have all been mailed out to family and friends miles away, it's time to start looking around for gifts for next year's Christmas. And birthdays--- with a big family, there's always someone having a birthday during any given month.

The weather has been glorious..... in the mid 70s today, with lots of sun..... it has felt like Spring. About the only thing that has spoiled this week were the cries from the baby goats on the property over on the hill across the road. That particular neighbor raises goats.... not to sell, but to eat. He also butchers the goats, particularly the babies... he says the meat is more tender, more delicious. Give me a blessed break. I never ate much meat before moving out here to the Hill Country, but after hearing the baby goats crying over there, if I never touch a piece of meat again, I'd be perfectly content.

Life in the Barn...

After five years of living here, and not seeing lights on in the barn apartment unless we had friends staying there, I can honestly say that it's nice to see life over there now. Not only life, but Christmas lights as well.

My husband bought three boxes of Christmas lights and gave them to M, thinking that he may want to decorate his front porch and balcony with the tiny white lights. M did just that, and when I went outside a little while ago to plug in our own Christmas lights, I saw that the front of the barn apartment is looking very festive. When my husband comes home from work, he'll be pleased to see all the little white lights over there. Actually, now that both the house and the barn are decorated with lights, the guest cottage is looking quite dark and lonely. We need more tiny white lights!

M completed a major chore yesterday... he mowed the tall grass by the pond, and he picked up all the dead branches that had dropped from the big pecan tree down there. The result is astounding.... the pond looks all dressed up and decked out for Christmas, and even M himself seemed to be very pleased with what he accomplished yesterday. After he was done working, I saw him just standing in the pasture looking from one end of the pond to the other, raising his arms just a bit before he turned back towards the house, as if he was saying "So there! Look at how great this looks!"

I can already see that M is taking pride in the work he's doing here, and being that my husband is such a perfectionist with this property, I know he's pleased also.

Gorgeous 'winter' days.

The weather lately has been glorious... with a little morning fog tossed in to make sure we're paying attention. Our days are in the 60s and low 70s, and the night-time temperature drops into the 50s. We may even get down into the 40s later on this week, but still... so much better than watching the weather station to make sure those numbers don't get down to the freezing point. Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

I raked up some of the pecan leaves this morning and tossed them behind the bushes near the back porch. Wonderful mulch, those leaves, and because of the position of that part of the porch, the wind isn't going to blow the leaves out onto the grass. In a couple of months, all those leaves will have become part of the ground again, as if I'd never raked them there in the first place.  There are still more leaves to be raked up, but I will ask M to do those... he can pile them up into the flowerbeds around the house.

Sunday has become 'outside chore day' around here, being that M is not working at his job in town, and that's the day when he does work around the property here. My husband had him weed-whacking the tall grass around the pond yesterday, and then M put up the Christmas lights around the railing of our porch. When my husband bought some new boxes of outdoor lights last month, he bought extra boxes for M, thinking that he may want to use them to decorate his staircase and porch of the barn apartment.

This weekend is our Christmas party.... the weather is supposed to be very nice, sunny and warm for the rest of the week and not too cool at night... perfect party weather, in my opinion. I had planned to make hot wassail for the party, as I've done for every Christmas party we've had over the years. Seems that even in the warmer weather, everyone enjoys the wassail.... it just goes with Christmas, no matter what the temperature happens to be.

Just 17 more days till Christmas....

Doing the landlord thing...

Even though we're not charging M for renting the apartment over the barn, we're still the 'landlords' and he's the tenant. M has been a tenant before, but we have never been landlords. "It's a learning experience," my husband said.

Today, we had an appliance repairman here to look at the washer/dryer in the laundry room of the barn. Neither one had been working, but now the dryer is just fine. The washer, however, is a "goner," as the repairman told us. "Not worth the money or the time to fix her," said he.  (Why is a broken appliance always put into the female category?)

We were all set to go to Home Depot to buy a new one, and then M told us that the thrift store where he works always gets donated appliances. He called the store, they had just received a nearly-new washing machine, and they said he could have it for $25 plus a small delivery charge. "Sold!" --- they put M's name on it, and they will deliver it tomorrow and hook it up for him.  M wanted to pay for it.... no way... we are the landlords and we're responsible for the appliances. M was thrilled because he was saving us some money.

We decorated the big tree today, and M helped my husband with the lights before going out into the yard to get some trimming done on the trees around the house.  We all had lunch together, and I could quickly tell that M and my husband had a lot of guy stuff to talk about. Which is fine with me... I'm not too good with the guy stuff, except for being able to listen and not have my eyes glaze over within the first twenty seconds.

Around eight o'clock tonight, my husband's phone rang and it was M.... the apartment was completely dark. One of the circuit breakers had blown, and he didn't know where the breaker box was. "I will be there in thirty seconds," said my very precise and mathematical husband, and off he went. He showed M where the box was, showed him what to do if it happened again, and then came back to the house to tell me where the breaker box was located.

Details.... lots of details when you become a landlord and have a tenant living on the second floor of the barn. We have to install a mailbox for M.... we've already replaced overhead lighting in the barn.... we've provided a trash can so M can put out his trash on the pick-up days.  And, most important, we have introduced our new tenant to the cats, both Mickey and Gatsby outside, and Sweet Pea inside. "And then there's an orange and white cat who is here for a few days and then gone for a few days. We call him Pumpkin, or Orange Kitty."  M is a cat-person, so they should all get along just fine.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you going to get that person out of my barn?