necessities

Not all my chores are strictly necessary.

Unless one considers providing a high quality of life "necessary."

Here, the goats would like to thank their friend Chris for an unexpected and bountiful supply of carrot pennies. What a kind thought :)

Agatha and Eloise would be fine with their organic pelleted food, but they probably come running to me because I also bring them special treats - like a warm breakfast on very cold mornings.

About the sweater: I found this Irish cardigan on Christmas Eve during a quick stroll though a thrift shop, between an eye appointment and visit to the local florist for a little hostess gift. It was such a crazy morning I actually forgot about buying the sweater until a couple of days ago, when I washed and blocked it. It's been slowly drying atop the washing machine ever since.

Which is why, when I wanted to continue yesterday's chores without coming inside in my cleats, I just reached in the door and placed the eggs on the drying sweater. When chores were finished and I came in, the eggs looked so perfect against the cable knit, I thought you might like to see them too.

But the color of the wool in that photograph isn't quite accurate. The green is very close to the darkest color of these hemlock needles:

Speaking of being outdoors, the ice that has coated every leaf and every twig has been slowly melting. I spent a vigorous half hour releasing the Highlander from it's ice coating yesterday, pausing to take a few snaps of the flowers by the driveway as the sun began to reach them. You can tell from this bee balm stalk where the sun had been the day before:

And here is the sun just reaching a Chelona stalk:

For the past three days, Piper - 55 pounds - has been walking on the frozen crust. The goats - even the largest goats - with their sharp little hooves have been walking on the frozen crust.

I'm not sure who weighs more, Betula or myself, but I've also been walking easily on the frozen crust, cleats a-gripping. It's such a pleasant way to get around, and I've spent more time outdoors than necessary for chores, just puttering around and looking at things, because it hasn't been tiring to walk through the paddocks.

No telling how much longer it will last, but the sun shone for hours yesterday which doubtless softened the crust. Today may be the day that every step means plunging downward several jarring inches into the snow below. But I've enjoyed that weight-bearing crust while it lasted!

Wishing you all a day in which the crust bears your weight.

~~~~~