Yesterday there was a murder at our pond!

Yesterday, while a sad day for the country, was a peaceful and pleasant day here on the farm. Well, other than the murder at the pond!

I went out to sit in my rocker while I let the dogs play in the front yard, but it wasn't as quiet as it normally is here. There was a huge commotion at the big old oak down at the pond. Crows! A whole murder of crows cawing back and forth!

We don't often have crows here. Perhaps the numerous buzzards scare them away. I suspect they were attracted to the recently harvested corn field. I don't know for sure, but I do know I had a great time talking to them and hearing their replies (although I don't speak Crow so have no idea what they were saying).

After a 15 or so minute discourse they flew off past the barn...all two of them? I thought there were much more than that in the tree! It takes more than two to have a murder, so I was relieved when a third crow joined them as they flew out of sight.

According to Cornell University, the phrase "a murder of crows" is a poetic term and never used by scientists. Scientists prefer to call a bunch of crows a flock. I'll stick to murder...it appeals to my poetic side.

As the day faded away a big harvest moon came up over the trees. A perfect ending to a murderous day!

Late summer Saturday in the South...

Today's been a typical late summer Saturday here in the South. The farmer was in the field next to ours harvesting corn and Don mowed grass before going in to work a later shift. We even had a quick shower late this afternoon with a faint rainbow (in photo above). Of course I had clothes on the line so they'll have to stay there until tomorrow.

The rain brought our mild 82 degree high for the day down to an even more pleasant 75 degrees. That was exactly what I'd hoped for so I threw open the front door and some windows. As dusk fell I was shutting windows and calling the dogs in before shutting the door. I was not happy about that at all, but someone up the road decided it was a nice evening to blare their rap crap and gangsta garbage at full volume. SIGH...if they'd been playing something I liked I could have left the windows and door open!

Even the dogs dislike the "music" and were howling and barking their heads off before I brought them inside. Obviously, it hurts their ears as much as it hurts mine!

Peaceful day...

I'm so grateful for today. It was quiet and peaceful...absolutely lovely. While it got a bit warmer than the past few days, there was still a nice breeze and it was very pleasant sitting on the front porch in my rocker while the dogs played in the yard.

While I was sitting there I closed my eyes and listened. All I could hear were the birds chirping and the grasshoppers humming. It was as if I were the only human on earth...glorious! It was definitely the quintessential late summer day.

The farmer came this afternoon and harvested some of the cornfield and I took advantage of the sunshine by hanging clothes on the clothesline. I don't know why, but that's one household chore I love to do.

Last night I baked an apple pie and tonight I've got venison spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove for Don when he gets home from work. The house smelled so good last night...scents of cinnamon and apples and it smells just as good tonight with the aromas of bell peppers, onion, garlic and tomato sauce wafting around me. Mmmmm...

Even though it's dark out I still have the front door open so I can enjoy the fresh cool air and the sound of crickets chirping between Sarah McLachlan songs I have playing.

I hope you're having a pleasant Friday evening as well. Enjoy your weekend!

We need more food!

You may have noticed I don't blog on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. That's because those are Don's off days...our Saturday and Sunday. Usually I let him stay home and babysit the zoo, ummm...farm, while I do my errands and buy groceries. Then we spend Wednesday together at home. I don't get much computer time on those days as I let him have it. After all, I have the computer the other five days!

Because of the heat I put off my Tuesday errands for a week or so, which meant a big shopping day this past Tuesday. When I got home all the dogs and some of the cats were very curious to see if I'd gotten them some treats. Putting the groceries away is always a challenge with ten or more four-legged "helpers" getting in the way!

Wednesday Don and I met a friend at Ajax Diner in Oxford for lunch. If you ever find yourself in Oxford, Mississippi I highly recommend stopping in at Ajax Diner for lunch. They have the best Southern home cooking you can find outside of Grandma's kitchen! YUM! I always have the fried catfish and sweet potato casserole.

Afterwards we stopped at the State Trooper's Station in Batesville to get our licenses renewed. Don's had expired on his birthday back in February and mine expired on my birthday this past weekend. It was packed, but we used the new kiosk and were out of there in five minutes.

While in town we noticed that, for once, the temperature in the truck matched the temperature on the bank sign...111 degrees! I'm glad I didn't know the heat index! When we got home it was 107 at the farm with a heat index of 113. Don made sure all the animals had fresh cool water and filled up the kiddie pool I'd bought for the dogs the day before. Then he and I crashed in the house and enjoyed a lazy, drowsy evening.

Now you know why I go missing for two days and what I normally do on my "weekend". Y'all stay cool and keep your fingers crossed that this heat eases off soon!

Who let the cat out of the bag?

My cats love to hide in odd places. I've found cats napping in the kitchen sink. I've found cats crammed into boxes much to small for them and I've found cats hiding in bags (like Norah in the photo above). Every time this happens the old saying, "...let the cat out of the bag" runs through my mind, which got me to wondering, where did this saying originate?

After some research it became clear that no one knows where "...let the cat out of the bag" originated. There are two theories though...one being that in the 1700s or so farmers would trick buyers by selling them a cat in a burlap bag when they thought they were buying a chicken or a piglet. Another theory is that the phrase comes from English sailors being punished with a cat 'o nine tails, which was a whip. Researchers don't put much stock in that theory, nor can they find conclusive evidence of the farmer trickery.

So, I guess in this case, I'll just have to let sleeping dogs, er...cats, lie...which I highly recommend doing when you find a cat in a bag!

Making hay while the sun shines...

Yesterday  our hay was baled and I am relieved it is done and over with, at least until Fall. Hay baling time is very nerve wracking around here. Our dogs do not like having strangers on big loud equipment driving around and around the house.

When the farmer came last week to cut the hay the dogs were outside barking like mad. So, I brought them inside where they stood at the windows and barked like mad! Same thing happened when the farmer and his helper came back yesterday to bale it up. When they left I let the dogs out, thinking they would calm down, but I was so wrong! They stood at the fence and barked at the bales of hay! By the end of the day I had a headache from all the racket.

Fortunately the dogs are all laid out and dozing due to the heat today. No one has any energy to bark. Don counted the bales and we have a dozen big rolls of hay...more than enough for the horses this winter. If they do another cutting in the Fall we may actually have hay to sell...a first for us!

In the past we have let a farmer cut the hay in exchange for half of it. This year we get to keep all the hay because the farmer who baled it used our 13 acre field to plant corn. We're doing a barter type thing with him and I think it's going to work out pretty good.

The dogs probably disagree!