november's billet-doux

It's one of those November days I love, gray and misty and chilly but not quite cold. Most of the trees are bare, but those that still have leaves have them in the beautiful burnished colors of autumn: tobacco brown and burgundy offset by evergreen.

I went out to get the mail and had to come right back in for the camera, which was mercifully on my desk and charged.

As I stood collecting mail, a kettle of black vultures suddenly settled into a tree overlooking our driveway, forming a venue, or committee. They made quiet little chirping sounds and stayed there while I took photographs. One decided to leave, stirred by the horses galloping up the hill, and singly, as if on cue, the vultures flew away.



The two handsomes set their burnished coats against the landscape, in the season I think fits them best:



Each month of the year has its own special gifts, but today is November's little love note to me.

giving thanks

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

-Melody Beattie




(with gratitude to matthew for his lovely photograph)

quite the crazy day

When I glanced out the window this a.m., Cody's blanket was hanging the wrong way on him - think sideways instead of front to back. I have NO idea how that happened!

By breakfast time what felt like the entire world of November Hill was a whirl of sound and movement.

On one side, a huge cement mixer was spinning red, white, and blue. Workmen were bustling all over the place, in white coveralls and hats.

On the other side, a strange tree limb trimmer was crawling along, extending its long white arm high up to the tops of trees, whacking away.

The horses and donkeys were not quite sure what to make of all this. Breakfast was served in the "safety" zone of the front field and grass paddock, where the herd clustered together, on either side of the inner fence line, trying to eat and monitor all this action at the same time.

How all this came to pass the day before Thanksgiving, I don't know, but I DO know there will be one big thankful herd come tomorrow morning when the world is quiet again.

we three

For some reason it caught my eye this morning that these three were sharing a hay pile, even though there were plenty more to eat from.

I started snapping, and then got caught up in Rafer Johnson's handsome self.



Notice that young Redford never looks up, but takes the opportunity to move in on the hay pile!



I love this one, when Salina realized I was taking photos and decided she wanted a nice head shot too.

most fun of the day

was watching two little donkeys play musical mats in the barnyard!

Rafer would get on one, then Redford would follow. Rafer would move to the next one a few feet away, then Redford would get on THAT one. Hilarious!

This was after they walked up to meet the shavings man, who wanted to hear the entire story of the broken leg and how they interact with Salina, and how they got their names. They stood side by side for pats, ears high, noses soft and gentle. Ambassadors in training!

We managed to get shavings in before the rain, and Keil Bay timed his return from the field perfectly. He went at his manger and when I asked if he liked the new shavings, he lifted his head, looked at me over his stall wall, and nodded about four times.

These are an especially NICE batch, very fine and soft.

The putrid stall is drying out nicely. It needs another day and once those mats are back in I'll have a blast filling it with totally new, clean shavings, banked high and deep. At least the final part of the stall debacle is fun.

On another note entirely, head over to mystic-lit and follow the link to a blog supporting authors.