Louis Dean did some serious sleeping last night!
I woke up and tucked myself into the girl bunk so as not to disturb him and allow him to sleep on.
I did get up to check on him and he looked like an overgrown little boy all stretched out in every direction! Squeezed my heart!
It was NOON before he finally got up!!!
We took our time waking up and his sleeping gave me time to catch up on my Scrabble games!
In the early afternoon, I decided to bundle up and go out for a walk about!
First stop was the chicken coop.
Dean had left them cooped up because of predators.
Recently hawks have been swooping down and picking them up - eating them right there in front of the coop! I saw the remains this morning.....
This is the second coop.
Dean said he needs to get in there and gather those eggs!
If he doesn't do it - I will!!
IF the hen gets up first!
I did not get a glimpse of the goats or the horses today.
Dean is down here as I write this tonight and is telling us that the coyotes got Bambi - one of their does. Ranch life can be ugly.
From the chicken coops, I went up to walk around the big tank.
Dean has cleared it all the way around so that made for a good walk today.
Can you see our camper and truck over there?
Winter has its own beauty.....
it feels a little melancholy to me.
I walked all the way around.
Meet our granddog, Rufus!!
I went down to see the new house updates and the really awesome bed Dean and Sherry bought at an estate sale recently.
It is beautiful!!!
This is the denim quilt I made Dean a few years ago.
The gift came with free mendings!
Next visit down here I will bring my Bernina and do some repairs.
It's cold here tonight and promises to get even colder! 26 degrees tonight and down to 20 tomorrow night. We are thankful for our electric blanket and the heated hrow that Louis Dean has draped over him right now.
Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement for my book.
I do believe you all may have more confidence in me than I do in myself.
I have been working on it for several hours today.
I takes a bit of time to really get into the mood, mode or whatever it is to pick up where I have left off in the story. Sometimes, like today, I have to go back and fix the dates and timeline. What I thought was 1955 was really 1956. Messy details that make all the difference in reading a book.
One thing before I close out this journal post tonight.
I shared recently about our Cousin Pam and her daughter, Danna.
Pam took her only child, aged 31, home from the hospital on hospice care yesterday afernoon.
I can't imagine anything harder than this.
Our hearts are breaking for them.
Louis Dean is especially sensitive to this time as he lived through similar with his beloved Ellen.
We are doing the only thing we can.....praying....
for comfort, peace, grace, strength, courage.....
for Danna, for her mother, her father, her child, her grandmother, her aunts and uncles, her friends.....her cousins...
Danna is not walking IN the shadow of death but THROUGH it.......
Sounds like someone needed a good sleep for sure. I can't remember the last time I slept till almost noon. Hawks swooping down and eating your chickens...yikes. I understand why my son's chickens have a roof over their outdoor portion of their coop, now. I can't imagine watching a child of mine suffer. A friend of ours just lost their 31 year old son suddenly from complications with pneumonia. Praying for comfort and peace... https://happywonderer.com/
ReplyDeleteI am so sad for your cousin and her daughter. such a heartbreak that I can't even begin to imagine.
ReplyDeleteIt's cold here..no snow..but I am more of a summer girl and I am already sick and tired of cold...
Love to you..have fun at the ranch
Sounds like you are having a great rest on the ranch. Just what you needed after the busy holidays. I'm so sorry to hear about Danna. She is in our prayers along with everyone else in the family.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is just the truth of it, though it can feel so much different. She is walking through. Praying for your cousin and her darling daughter. It is a challenging time to see one through to the other side, but it is a holy time. I am sure that Louis Dean would say the same.
ReplyDeleteYou are a brave one to go walking. Does your grandpup walk along with you? I laughed to see all those eggs! Time to do some serious baking or have a big old country breakfast.
You are having such a wonderful, relaxing time. I don't think I remembered how delightful those times are until I came down after Christmas to visit my son. Man, am I getting lazy!!
ReplyDeletestay warm sweet lady....that's a lot of eggs....I had to batten down the hatches on my chickens and rabbits...the wind is unbelievable...next week in the 70's...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful piece of serenity you have there with your camper, Linda. I am so glad you have your sweet Louis Dean to share life with-he is such a good man!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for Danna's family. Soon she will be heavenwardly bound-beyond all pain and suffering but her family's pain and suffering will only be in its infancy. God bless them- sending up a prayer from here for them. xo Diana
I love the bed Dean & Sherry bought, you can't buy furniture in stores like that any more . Thank you for asking prayers for Danna and family. Prayers make a great difference.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would definitely want that big black hen to vacate the nest before gathering the eggs. Perhaps she has a bad attitude and that's the reason for such a build up of eggs. I love the pretty colors of those chickens. You're right, things aren't always nice and wonderful on the farm. It makes me sad when animals and birds kill each other.
ReplyDeleteSending love and prayers for your cousin and her daughter. What a hard and difficult time. But your words from the 23rd Psalm are always a comfort.
ReplyDeleteGlad you get a few days at the ranch. How relaxing. Love the bed from the estate sale.
So peaceful in the country. I will light a candle for LD, and your family. Tomorrow we find out the results of my hubs biopsies, feeling a bit anxious but I know God will provide. I loved your book, left me wanting to know more. My mom is 87 and grew up in Los Angeles, oh how times were different for them. Why do you call your ponds tanks? I only hear that in Texas? Lol Thank you for sharing, you are a bright light in these gray days of winter!
ReplyDeleteHey, Dazee! Please let us know about your husband's results.
DeleteRegarding tanks vs ponds - I'm not a country girl - but I think they are called tanks because they are man made. But don't we have man made ponds too? I'm confused!
Hi Linda, I am sorry about your cousin and her daughter. I can relate to it very well. To watch knowing there is nothing we can do to change it and wondering when will it end. We have snow and in the single digit. There hasn't been much traffic. I working on my last tea towel for a custom order. I should have it finished this week. Sometimes we need that extra sleep. I have been known to take a nap in the afternoon, but I think that it is from exhaustion and frustration at times. I think about you and hope all is well. Take care. Hugs and Prayers from your Missouri Friend Shirley
ReplyDeleteLove that you two respect sleeping patterns. My hubby and I are day and night. He's fine after 7 hours and I have actually slept as long as 13 hours at a stretch. I can only imagine that I really need it in some way.
ReplyDeleteYour outdoor pictures in this post have such a haunting quality...just beautiful. Very sad about the predators, I know this is the way it is and has to be. I worry about our pets. My friend at the lake lost her small dog to coyotes last winter. And no, it didn't happen at the lake with the woods right across the road, but at their suburban home.
I so feel for your cousin, her daughter and the entire family. Yes, prayers are the only answer sometimes and you covered everything that we should ask for.
Stay warm...we were 3 degrees today. My fingers were frozen just walking to my car and waiting for it to heat up. I can't seem to drive with gloves and they didn't warm up for a good 20 minutes. Cold for the next few days.
Jane x
Hello from Idaho. Stop in from Living Rich on the cheap. Nice blog and love 1st picture my grand dad Edgar wore overhauls like them...If anyone ask him to change them his reply would be..."If they don't like me in my overhaul and there no need to like me in other way.
ReplyDeleteIf you find the time stop in for cup of coffee
We are in a deep freeze here in the pacific Northwest...for some time already...but I am surprised to see you are also having cold weather. Stay warm and cozy...and enjoy your time at the ranch!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear of your cousin's daughter. Praying for them all.
Your cousin is really going through the hardest thing imaginable.I am so sorry. Yes, some of your pictures look quite melancholy!You were brave to walk for so long in the cold, and it sounds very windy. And apparently that rooster doesn't care for the weather either! Love your denim quilt!
ReplyDeleteprayers for Danna and her family. so very sad at such a young age. poor Bambi, the food chain works but we don't care for it. poor chickens being coopped up because of hawks.
ReplyDeleteJust lovely, lovely Texas countryside. I am distressed about the animal attacks even though I know it's part of nature. The estate bed is just stunning! Lovely photos Linda. Now what a lovely little book that would make...your photos of the ranch! Y'all stay warm and cozy! Actually may snow today!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your cousin. I know it is probably hard for you to revisit some of the scenes of your childhood as you write Linda, I am going to lift you up in prayer this morning as you work on your book.
ReplyDeleteomgoodness that's a lot of eggs - you could make a lot of "egg in a basket" with those!! you look cute all bundled up - i don't mind the cold too much!!
ReplyDeletesad news about danna, hoping all the prayers bring her and the family some comfort!!
Linda, I am so sorry about Danna. God will be with her. I pray for all of you and her family. Good for LD getting himself some long over rest. Maybe it's the Bundling up in warm blankets and the peaceful calm of the ranch...that allows him to sleep so soundly. Linda I am hoping and praying you get your book published soon. You do not have to be a pro at writing when you have a story to tell. Now dang that poor hen must be about plum wore out sitting on that pile of eggs.LOL. Blessings stay safe, love you, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDelete