real snow

Sunday night looked like this:

Monday morning 3:30AM looked like this:

Heading out for morning chores on Monday...

 

...with my pocket loaded with carrot pennies.

A tarp "veranda," one of the extra shelters - there are always extras so scuffles won't lead to a goat being pushed out into bad weather - had collapsed under the weight of Sunday's snow, so I moved Violet and Sambucus up to join

the smaller group in the big barn paddock.

Here they are in the roundtop, happily tucking into the hay:

Here is the view from that roundtop.

All these images are a bit dark - the sun was never visible yesterday.

As usual, you can click to embiggen if you wish.

Put your boots on first.

After feeding and watering, I walked through all the paddocks,

dragging my feet to make a bit of a trail between all the shelters.

I save that chore for last because it's rather tiring and I am soaked with sweat by the time I'm done, and ready to head back to the house.

The goats don't really mind snow, but they do like it when I break trail for them.

Although I think Hazel, experiencing her first Real Snow, was looking for a place to attach a zipline in the barn so she could get to me and my pocket full of carrot pennies without wading through snow deeper than her belly.

(Don't worry, she got her carrots without any wading.)

By Monday afternoon the birdfeeders - which I had cleaned off first thing in the morning - were the scene of constant activity. The first flock of juncoes appeared, in a group of at least twenty. I always think of them as a sign that Winter is here.

This time, though, I really didn't need any extra signs.

I cleaned the feeders off again after evening chores.

~~~

At 4 AM this morning:

And out I go!

~~~~~

sunday snow

December is starting off rather dramatically. Snow began to fall at about 2:30 this afternoon, and is predicted to continue right through Monday and into Tuesday morning. I've moved extra hay to the barns, extra stove wood to the parlor, and filled buckets with water in case we lose power again.

Here we go.

Tomorrow is the day I discover all the things I forgot to do to prepare for Winter.

But before that happens, I just want to take a moment to say

"thank you very much" for card and magnets orders.

Violet says, "I don't really understand how our pictures turn into bales of hay,

 but I am ALL FOR IT!"

~~~~~

looking back at november

November was a lovely month, and quickly gone.

There was a lot of rain, but also many clear, bright days.

I loved the clear mornings, often very cold, usually with frost or a dusting of snow.

More than once when I began morning chores I didn't even get as far as the barn before turning around and going right back to the house for a camera. 

Because when rays of the rising sun make it through openings in the trees,

the frost disappears in a matter of moments.

So much color everywhere.

This was new: multicolored leaves of the blueberry bought from a nursery in October:

Not all the November colors are bright, but just look at this:

in early light, the Chelona leaves glow like polished bronze.

November was a time for seeing the "first" of some things...

...and seeing the "last" of other things.

And we had to put a little more effort into being comfortable.

Piper will not allow a blanket on her couch -

I put one on every day, and every night she digs at it until it falls off.

So I experimentally made her a nightgown by cutting the sleeves off my lambswool zip-neck sweater.

She holds very still while I put it on her,

so I think she must enjoy the extra coziness.

She wears it when we go for walks on very cold days, also,

and looks Very Smart.

Moxie and Della divide their time between outdoors and inside,

and both enjoy sleeping in wooly beds by the woodstove,

which has been going non-stop all month.

But when I need to flatten out my back for a while, any time, night or day,

one or both cats will keep me company, which I appreciate very much.

Cats have taught me everything I know about how to be "in the moment."

 Last night I did the Daily Markmaking by painting this fern:

Painted with my left hand, because Moxie was sleeping on my right hand.

It was fun dabbing away with my non-dominant hand. I'll certainly do it again.

And now it's time to do tonight's markmaking before I fall asleep,

which will be very soon.

Goodnight, readers.

Here comes December.

Keep your fires fed.

~~~~~

selling images not goats*

FERN THE BABY

Remember around this time last year, when I made an assortment of blank greeting cards and matching 4x6-inch magnets, showcasing some of the very photogenic Cloud Harvest gang?

FERN THE YEARLING

Well, as 2019 rolls to a close, I'd like to offer the remaining stock at a reduced price.

In case anyone would like one. Or more than one.

LILY AND VIOLET NAPPING

In the past year, I've sold the card-and-magnet packs for $15. 

and the magnets alone for $10.

BABY LILY

Now, for a limited time or until they are all gone:

the card-and-magnet packs are $10 and the magnets alone are $5

postage within the US included.

BABY VIOLET

I will be happy to send them internationally,

but I will ask the buyer to pay any postage over the amount the US domestic mail would cost for the same package. That seems fair to everyone, I hope.

VIOLET AND LILY ON GOAT MOUNTAIN

The magnets are 4x6 inches, the cards (blank inside) are a hair bigger,

so the magnets can be mailed inside the cards as a little gift.

YEARLING LILY

The cards are already packaged with magnets and I don't want to reopen the clear, compostable envelopes, so I don't plan to sell cards separately. Or we could say, a card alone is now $10. and you'll receive a matching magnet at no additional cost :)

RENAISSANCE LILY

If you are interested, just email me at

CloudHarvestCashmere@gmail.com

with your selection and I'll follow up with an email within a day.

BABY TSUGA

Please note: I have more of some images than others, so first come, first served.

CLASSICAL LILY

By the way, the back of each card looks like this:

*About the title of this post:
I have recently declined multiple requests to sell goats, although it certainly would have made economic sense to sell livestock just now as we head into Winter - the most expensive time to keep an animal even under the best circumstances.
It felt like the right decision not to sell the goats, but it did occur to me I might put a teensy bit more effort into helping them support themselves through the sale of cards and the like.
I tend to be a little low-key about things like this. Very low-key. Almost silent and invisible, in fact. So this post is probably as "hey everybody! big sale now!" as will appear on the blog. To be honest, I feel a little awkward about even this, but if it works, well...
at least I'm selling images, not goats.
Thanks :)

MAMA TSUGA AND BABY TANSY

~~~~~

saturday shuffle

Wednesday was a very, very long day.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts!

They helped.

Thursday likewise, but at home: non-stop working about the place, with a couple of hours of able assistance from my Occasional Helper.

Yesterday ditto, except without the able assistance. But with the electrician,

who restored power to the outbuildings, one month after the storm and the fallen tree.

HUZZAH!!! No more frozen water buckets!

I've been so very tired, and totally "done" when evening chores are finished.

Too tired to eat. Too tired to sleep - which is such a weird thing,

but I'll bet you've experienced it too.

Today I'm hoping to get back into a rational rhythm, so to speak.

I'm starting by posting these snaps of recent #DailyMarkmaking efforts.

Some nights it's been literally just a scribble - I'll spare you those! -

and these are terrible snaps, I'm sorry.

But if I wait to take more, it will be tomorrow. Or Monday.

So I'm just going to post them here and keep moving.

I won't be moving fast - or "fast enough" according to the goats - 

but I shall continue to creep along and get somewhere eventually.

Onward!

~~~~~