If you stand and look at our house it sits at the bottom of the mountain, then there is a small hill on the right side. It is here that I have my bird feeders. Last fall and winter the wild turkeys would come down and have their fair share of these easy offerings. Like the cardinals, titmouse, chickadee etc, they thought it was there just for them.
This morning I attended the animals and as is their norm, the chickens and our domesticated turkeys walked over to the ground below the feeders to see what pickings they could find...as if their automatic feeder is empty and they are so starved! So I tossed out some strawberry tops for them and went to sit down to knit for a few minutes. My knitting was interrupted by their squawking.
It would seem the natives wanted to come dine and the domesticated turkeys would not let them. Red & Gray tried to be nice and explain that they (the natives) had the whole forest from which to obtain their food, so please don't egg in on ours. But the natives got nasty, as is their way, and would not listen but continued to head toward the feeders.
Gray quickly jumped up on the nearest grape vine to demand their compliance to the new rules.
But got no where. 
Red jumped up and yelled at them too but nobody was listening to them. They were outnumbered 9-2. 
The natives said they were soft from befriending man and since they had their food handed to them they had no right to begrudge them any droppings...a little reverse psycology. Red & Gray returned to the feeders to gather strength and format a new plan. 
It was decided that the natives could pass but still not go near the feeders. Red & Gray would stand between them and the feeders. 
When one of the natives decided to go rogue and sneak in on their flank, the ever vigilant chicken had Red and Grays back. 
Oh, they were slick and tried every trick in the book. They tried acting like they had surrendered and were going back up into the woods from which they came.
But Red & Gray would have none of that! They pulled back to once again. 
Another brazen little native tried to act all coy by flashing feathers, but Gray said "see ya"! And once again they got between the natives and their meal ticket. 
Mr. Squirrel was highly amused by these proceedings and devised his own plan. 
While he sat up in the tree watching, he had the Mrs. down on the ground picking up what the natives missed and making runs to the feeder while Red & Gray were occupied with more important dealings. 
Very opportunistic of old Mr. Squirrel. Bandit, the cat, reminded me that it was I that rescued Mr. Squirrel from his clutches a short time ago....if my feeders get chewed apart, I have nobody to blame but myself. I made my point by telling Bandit if she didn't go preen herself somewhere else she would be chasing Mr. Squirrel for food instead of fun. Her response was "now look who is being catty".
Gray quickly jumped up on the nearest grape vine to demand their compliance to the new rules. But got no where. Red jumped up and yelled at them too but nobody was listening to them. They were outnumbered 9-2. The natives said they were soft from befriending man and since they had their food handed to them they had no right to begrudge them any droppings...a little reverse psycology. Red & Gray returned to the feeders to gather strength and format a new plan. It was decided that the natives could pass but still not go near the feeders. Red & Gray would stand between them and the feeders. When one of the natives decided to go rogue and sneak in on their flank, the ever vigilant chicken had Red and Grays back. Oh, they were slick and tried every trick in the book. They tried acting like they had surrendered and were going back up into the woods from which they came. But Red & Gray would have none of that! They pulled back to once again. Another brazen little native tried to act all coy by flashing feathers, but Gray said "see ya"! And once again they got between the natives and their meal ticket. Mr. Squirrel was highly amused by these proceedings and devised his own plan. While he sat up in the tree watching, he had the Mrs. down on the ground picking up what the natives missed and making runs to the feeder while Red & Gray were occupied with more important dealings. Very opportunistic of old Mr. Squirrel. Bandit, the cat, reminded me that it was I that rescued Mr. Squirrel from his clutches a short time ago....if my feeders get chewed apart, I have nobody to blame but myself. I made my point by telling Bandit if she didn't go preen herself somewhere else she would be chasing Mr. Squirrel for food instead of fun. Her response was "now look who is being catty".But back to Red & Gray...Their new plan was a formidable united defense...no more of the divide and conquer.
The natives in a desperate moment tried to act all big and bad but Red & Gray were not impressed and looked upon them with disdain. 
And as the first rays of sunshine fell up on our little parcel, the natives were still a distance away from the feeders. 
Some looked down thinking of making one last valiant attack on the line. 
But with a last longing look over their wing they went back into the woods. 
Red & Gray returned to dine victoriously. The chickens lavished praises upon them for their heroic acts. That is our story and we are sticking to it!.
The natives in a desperate moment tried to act all big and bad but Red & Gray were not impressed and looked upon them with disdain. And as the first rays of sunshine fell up on our little parcel, the natives were still a distance away from the feeders. Some looked down thinking of making one last valiant attack on the line. But with a last longing look over their wing they went back into the woods. Red & Gray returned to dine victoriously. The chickens lavished praises upon them for their heroic acts. That is our story and we are sticking to it!.
and gave the rest of the fat to a friend. I melted some fat, added the cracklings, some apples that were going bad, oatmeal, sunflower seeds and corn and poured it into pans to harden and be cut up into blocks for the birds.
I was given my mother's bingo bag but the magnetic pieces are no longer used so I started making tags out of them also
....I was going to say it's a cheap Christmas Charlie Brown but it is just a homemade Christmas and I am having a blast. #2 daughter was not happy when she first heard this but then agreed that it really didn't matter what it is wrapped in. She got into the act so her and I made up some borax ornaments to use as package tie on's.
and I am adding holly leaves to it. They are in the making now. I recycled a sweater and made this stocking 
and I am on my second wine bag.
and enjoy with all our senses the beauty of the seasons.
The turkeys came down yesterday to check out the bird feeders for the first time this fall. Each of these are just a reminder that the year is drawing to a close and there is so much still to do.
They just need buttons, which are on the list!
This same cousin and a friend bought me this at Rhinebeck... 
It is called High Strung and is done by 
Too much crochet and my wrist start’s to hurt so then with the early darkness I sat down and started knitting. I finished a 
Do I need to say while the Yankee's were winning? Hopefully I will finish that today as now I find I have projects in the queque. It's good to be back to knitting.
Thursdaymorning, I helped get everything cooked and ready for the next day. Thursday afternoon was spent cheering #2 son and team on.
Friday I helped my friends make the headcheese. OMG I should have run when they started the headcheese but stupid me figured that if someone was willing to teach me to do something I should hang around and help them do their thing. The liverwurst was delicious but the headcheese will never cross my lips. The smell of it being poured into the pans was horrendous. I have driven by roadkill that smelled better than this food that one is to consume. 
When the man came home we worked on organizing the basement....Is this futile? I am storing things for the older kids, keeping momento's for all the kids. Somebody brings in more and it gets piled until there is time to do it. I have piles of stuff for friends, salvation army, library etc. I foresee doing this many times in the future. 
a Shetland lamb fleece 
and rug punch. 
So #1 went back and asked to purchase it with her credit card but they didn't accept credit cards. #1 asked them if they knew where the closest ATM was located. They bagged up the yarn and said just give us your name and phone number and mail us a check later!
It is gorgeous and the pictures just don't do the colors justice. I have to do a search for something suitable to make from it. #1's instructions were to make something for myself so that might have to be put on a back burner until January. 
In other news....The guys came home empty handed. The pigs went off to the butcher. I picked up two egg crates of de-husked black walnuts for black walnut brittle. Monster child (my nephew) found a chicken nest with a dozen eggs, so now I know where to look. 
and are suppose to get snow on Thursday! Things are moving much to quickly for my body to adjust. I succumbed and fires are a nightly ritual now. The geese didn't even have time to adjust.
It was so cold, Monday morning they decided to tuck their wings in tight to keep themselves warm and float south!
