Winter Takes Hold ~ All Is Well ( Thursday Update )

 Time to pull the Christmas dishes out of the pantry. This chickadee teapot is not strictly for Christmas but I use it especially this season. The teapot reflects the sights around Cedar Pond this time of the year. We have so many chickadees helping themselves to the sunflower seeds filling our bird feeders. The chickadees don't seem greedy either. They grab one seed and fly to a nearby branch to crack it open and eat the seed meat inside before flitting back to the feeder for another seed. The chickadees are with us all year and although easy to overlook for the more dramatic birds , they make me happy. Chick-a-dee-dee-dee !

 Ella and Fella my Sebastopol Geese hang out under the bird feeders eating any seeds the birds fling over the feeders. It is good to know the expensive black oil sunflower seeds don't go to waste around here.

 The bees are snug in their hives during the very cold weather. My husband makes his honeybees sugar boards to eat during the winter.

 Deciduous trees have shed their leaves . Our cedar and fir trees seem even more beautiful to me in winter with their deep green showing against the stark bare trunks and branches of the aspen, oak, alder, and maple trees.

 The last few days were very cold, below 30 degrees. We kept a fire in the wood stove the whole time. Nothing warms a body up as well as hauling several loads of firewood into the house. Now the temperatures have risen sharply and according to the weather man we're in for a very big wind and rain storm. It is good to be prepared for these storms because we frequently lose electric power when the high wind gusts knock trees down onto the power lines. I've already filled containers with water , have the candles and matches near, firewood stacked and ready to burn, a battery powered radio , and books to read. Especially books to read !

 Our pond was almost bone dry the end of September and two weeks into October we had big rains . More rain in November helped fill Cedar Pond and the water overflows the banks of the island in the middle of our pond.

 Our creek ran dry in June ( very early for this to happen ) and is now flowing rapidly adding more water to the pond.

 My sheep don't suffer the cold or wet because their wool coats keep them very comfortable. ( This is Tovah , one of my 4 horned sheep.)

 I found some dishes for our Christmas table settings. The green goblets and cream cloth napkins I bought at the dollar store go very well with the dishes. My winter teapot also looks pretty nice with these dishes.

I could easily use these dishes all winter because this is a common winter sight for me, wild bunnies bouncing across our lawns, gardens, and under the firs and cedars. Winter has taken hold and all is well here at Cedar Pond. God is so good to me and I am thankful.

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