Altivo

Had two friends from Canada as visitors this evening. They are on their way back to the Vancouver area after a family event in Ontario. I have known them for years on line, but this is the first time we have met in person. It was a good time for all of us. I declared it a second Wolfenoot, and after we put the horses in for the night we sat down in the dining room under the wolf and moon cutout that hangs in the window there, and had home-made pizza, round brownies (I made them in muffin cups,) and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (made by Gary.) All the food was round, and the pizza had meat on it as well as vegetables.

We talked about music, farming, reading, writing, cooking, and more. Gary demonstrated his hurdy-gurdies and explained how they work. Then they went on their way westward, having booked a hotel room in Rockford.

Tomorrow is a rehearsal day, and I need sleep. I also have some sheet music I should edit before then, but I'm too sleepy right now.

Dinner with nearby friends, pleasant chat, icy clear night with stars so bright you can touch them and the Milky Way visible (first I've been able to see that clearly in several years.) And still two more days to the weekend. An auspicious beginning.

Gary made three kinds of bread that we took to dinner, and all were good. There's more of each one left.

We reassembled the eight t-trak modules, now that they've been painted and the tracks put back in place. They went together correctly, and trains ran smoothly over the track. Now time to build scenery.

Gasoline back down to $3.25 here, wonder how long that will last. Time to pay the horses' vet bills for the coming year, and to my surprise they've gone down. The boys are each $46 less than last year, and Tess is down about $10. They are in a sort of package/HMO program where we pay a flat rate that covers two visits by the vet, basic vaccinations and lab work, and so forth all in the single charge. This is the second year in a row that the cost of those services has dropped. And we like our vet, too. Amazing.

Now, it's time for bed I think.

It was nice. I stayed too long and ate too much. There were a lot of delicious things people made. I suggested once again that we make a library cookbook. The bread I made was consumed in its entirety. One slice left for Gary when I got home.

There were a couple of "melon collies" but it was mostly upbeat and happy. Hostess and colleague has the biggest housecat I've ever seen, 19.5 pounds and just huge. Fortunately very friendly.

And I need to sleep because I have to get up early again tomorrow. Thunderstorms got me up at 3am, same predicted for overnight tonight.

Our farrier friend's wife called and said he was under the weather and they were out of bedding straw for their horses. She couldn't find a source within reachable distance, did we know of one? Well, not offhand, but Gary offered to hit the cheapest local source of shaved wood bedding and bring them a dozen bales. So we dropped everything, ran to Union Feed, loaded up Gary's station wagon with wood shavings (not loose, they come in plastic bags) and stopped by the local grocery to get some lunch fixings, then made the 21 mile drive to John and Linda's.

Unpacked the shavings, after which I got to pet and smooch several horses including my old favorite, Accelerator, who I know recognizes me and always comes for a hug. In fact, he kept making a fuss when I tried to walk away from him, banging on the gate with a hoof to get my attention until I finally told him to stop it. John has a new quarter horse paint stud who is really handsome though a bit over-spirited for my taste. After I'd petted and snugged him a bit and he'd nibbled on my coat pocket flaps and ears as many horses seem to like doing, Linda called to me to be careful as he is "nippy" and might take a chunk out of me. Well, no. We got along fine and he is very sexy and handsome even if not quite as personally affectionate as Accelerator is. Talked to and petted John's gray dapple mare also, who is really pretty and sweet but seems not to have many brains. She tangles herself in everything hurtful she can find, most recently a wire fence that cut her face badly though it has mostly healed without serious scarring. They have one yearling Haflinger colt and he's a sweetie too. I can't have any more horses than I have now, but I'd have loved to bring him home with me. Didn't visit their sheep or nutty llama as the snow is too deep.

We had a reasonably healthy lunch of sliced turkey sandwiches, low fat chicken noodle soup, and some blueberry pie (well, it has anti-oxidants, right?) and a nice chat before hurrying back home to take care of our own critters.

Contrary to the weather forecast, the sun never came out today and it snowed very lightly most of the time. I don't think the groundhog saw any shadow though.

So here's the rest of it:

( Con report behind cut )