The fall days seemed to stretch on forever, but they have finally come to an end. The snow has begun to fall, and the stairs from the apartment have become an icy slide of death, spicing up every morning with a near-death experience. Tomorrow’s low is supposed to 4! We’re not sure if the few meat birds that we have left will survive!
This morning I woke up confused why it was so light at 7:00 – until I realized that I had forgotten to set my clock back, and I was late to do morning chores! I pulled on my carharts and a winter jacket over my pajamas. Outside I was greeted by a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, and animals not-so-eager to be let out, for once. After removing all the ice from the watering troughs and putting water and food in all the stalls, I discovered that Peter, Catlin and their weekend guests had started a camp fire underneath the pole barn, and I joined them. We sat around and chatted for a while, then got busy making breakfast over the fire – fresh eggs, potatoes and sausage. We wrapped some of the left-over organic apples from the Harvest Party in tin foil, and baked them for dessert. The amazing food that we get left or that we harvest from the garden is certainly one of the biggest perks of RBR. I only wish that I was a better cook and knew how to use spices and sauces, so that I could enjoy it even more. The snow was still falling and it was very cold. We had to keep rotating and passing around the few pairs of gloves that made it outside.
After we cleaned up, some folks began to press the remaining of the apples, and make some hard cider. I went inside and sat on the couch with Cecil and Big Titty, the two cats, and read for a few hours, until I began to feel restless. I got my cross-over bike from the shed, and biked through 3 inches of snow and some ice down to Carbondale, and worked in the clay studio until shortly before sunset, when I biked back, and put all the animals in and fed them.
Things at the ranch are beginning to feel more comfortable and relaxed. I only wish that we here felt that ACES appreciated us, and that we appreciated them. Without a boss now we tend to feel like we owe nothing to ACES, and therefore we don’t work as hard as we could, and we take advantage of having no supervision. Nothing serious, but I just wish that that down here we felt appreciated enough to not WANT to take advantage of the situation we are now in. Well, in a few months things might be changing… We’ll see. I think that our actions are a symptom of a larger problem (not to discount the part that we are playing, however).
Well, another big week on the horizon. I’m counting down the days until I get to go home for Christmas. I really miss old friends. Sometimes I feel like I was crazy to move so far away. Why did I think that mountains could replace so many amazing relationships? Well, I guess, like in my Moving-Across-the-Country Theme song, I needed wide open spaces and new faces. Room to make my big mistakes. Somehow, I’ve never been good at taking chances, and therefore, I’ve never been good at making big mistakes. I’m working on it. My mistakes tend to be things that I don’t do, rather than things I botch up. Does that still count?
P.S. Sorry, this post had nothing to do with Zucchini Lemon Muffins - I just finished baking them and they are smelling delicious!!
