It is soon all hallow's eve.  Today autumn has disappeared into the dreary, cold rain of pre-winter here on Dogstar Farm.  The morning promised a warm, sunny day, even such that I had to pull the sun shades down over the windows.  Our house is south facing, with large windows taking in sunshine during the winter months, but shaded from the sun during summer months.  However, the afternoon brought rain and cloudy, grey skies.

Dennis will finish his two month teaching at the College of New Caledonia tomorrow.  He has been teaching full time since September.  September is not the best time for him to be teaching as that is usually his time to get in firewood (6 cords), prepare the equipment for winter and do general clean up before snowfall.  It was a tough slog for him this year.  He had a new course that required development along with teaching.  He spent many a late-night hour working on material to cover the course objectives.

Back to the farm.  We have a neighbour down the road who has a sturdy backhoe.  I hired him to fix my pond outflow so the pond would hold more water.  He also tore apart a pile of wood debris, made from creating the pond, and re-piled it to remove most of the dirt so the pile would burn better.  I like a pile to burn quickly, hot and clean.  So here are a few pictures of the activity:

You can see what a beautiful day it was - and timely too, considering the pouring rain we have this afternoon.  You can also see frost on the grass in one photo.  I have yet to armor the outflow with rocks.  I will wait for a drier day and for help from my chief rock mover, Dennis.  Note where Mike is moving the debris pile.  That is where I plan to build my cabin.  For years I have talked about building a cabin.  The pond is a perfect location.  I have visited the site throughout the year.  It has sun all year round, even in mid-winter. It is nearly in the centre of the property and far enough from the road to be quiet and peaceful.  I look forward to getting started!

I don't think I mentioned in previous ramblings that we sold most of our flock.  We retained 2 ewes, both purebred Katahdins.  We also kept Ben, our big ram.  We felt that Ben was too lonely by himself so we acquired a wether, which is a castrated ram.  He is a handsome, purebred Barbados Blackbelly.  He is very friendly.  He and Ben get along nicely. Our new boy's name is Calypso.  Here  he is with Ben:

Granted, it's hard to see him, but if you click on the picture you'll see him better.  He thinks he's a wild sheep. He has horns.  Apparently, the horns stop growing upon castration.  Other Barbados blackbelly rams have full curls.  Calypso has partial curls but he's a handsome boy all the same!

Here are a few pictures of the pond area:

You will note there is a thin layer of ice on the pond.  As much as I tell myself that fall will never end, the fact remains that winter is around the corner.  We have the winter tires on the van so for once we're ready before the first snowfall.  Usually I slip and slide into the tire shop, along with just about everyone else, and beg to have the tires put on while I'm in town.  One time the tire shop owner chastised me, reminding me that I have lived in this country most of my life and that every year winter arrives at the same time.  He was basically telling me that my lack of planning should not constitute an emergency for him!   I agreed with him and have brought in my vehicle near end of October, depending, of course, on the weather forecasts.  Not that they are always right, but it's the best we've got to go on.

Once I figure out how to get pictures from my iphone to my computer, I will update you on our visit with my second cousin Brad and his wife, Rebecca.  They came all the way from New Hampshire!  It was an excellent visit!  More on that later.

Ok, time to go put the kettle on and have a piece of Dennis' birthday cake!
Bye for now.