And the New Year begins....

I was so lazy yesterday that I know I will suffer for it today.  I didn't do much of anything yesterday.  Eöl, Little Sis, and I watched a couple of movies..until the tv went on the fritz.  I think it's dying.  The screen has been dark-ish for a while, making it difficult to see dark scenes in movies, but this time the whole screen went green and sounded like a bug zapper.  Not good.  We spend a lot of time watching movies in the winter, since it gets dark so early and there's just not much else to do.  Sure, we also read a lot, and spend way too much time here in front of the great unblinking icon of internet knowledge, but movies are a great way to wind down before bed.  Not like in the summer, when the whole "winding down" thing takes place on the way from standing to hitting the pillow.  But I'm a true cheapskate, so the tv will have to be officially dead before I even consider replacing it.  I'm still debating about that, anyway.  Do the new tvs pick up channels? I'm not sure I want actual tv channels in the house again.  We can surely find some other way to rot our brains.  At a recent dr visit, Little Sis and I saw this commercial playing in the waiting room.  I just stared, open- mouthed, and turned to Little Sis to ask, "Is this a real commercial, or some weird parody?"  The things we miss without tv.  *rolls eyes*

In other news....
It's 10 degrees right now (-12 Celsius) with a windchill of 1 (-17C).  Of course the sun isn't even up yet, so hopefully it will warm up a bit before I head outside for chores.  We have at least a foot of snow on the ground, which is sure to be slick with patches of ice.  Still want to be a homesteader?  Pick a warmer state!

The coyotes were making rounds New Year's Eve.  I was up around 4 a.m, taking the dog out, when I heard the pack howling.  It's hard to tell how many there are and exactly how close they are.  Their howls sound nothing like the ones on tv.  In fact, foxes sound nothing like they do on tv, either.  Anyway, the barn cats were all trying to run into the house when the pack started its chorus.  We usually have a few cats go missing when the pack comes through.  I've kept the ducks and most of the free range flock locked up (with plenty of food and water, of course) until we are sure the coyotes have moved on.  The fox has been making rounds, though.  I saw tracks going to each of the chicken tractors and the place the free range flock is housed.

We have some free range chickens that don't get locked up at night.  I won't be too fussed if they end up on the fox/coyote buffet, though, since they tend to poop on the porch all day.  If I could catch them, I'd lock them up, but they are fast little boogers.  Not faster than a fox or coyote, though, I'll wager.

I've seen a few odd things with the predators around here lately.  One day, the guineas were setting off their fox alert, and I looked outside to see the free range guineas attempting to run the fox out of the yard.  They would squawk and run at the fox, and the fox would retreat a bit toward the woods.  Then the fox would run toward the guineas, and they would retreat a bit, squawking and carrying on.  This went on, back and forth,  till it looked like the fox was going to be a bit more aggressive and I opened the window and yelled at it.  I had Chipmunk sleeping on my bed and couldn't run outside to shoot it.

Another day, a hawk came into the yard after a bantam chicken.  It actually had the bantam in its talons, pinned to the ground.  The odd thing was that the ducks, the guineas, and a few chickens were pecking the hawk!  As soon as I opened the door, the hawk took off.  I don't think it's been back since then.  Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?  Maybe if more people stood up for each other, the way the guineas, ducks, and chickens were standing up for their fellow fowl....

Today, it's back to the real world, no more being lazy.  I suppose now is a good time to start.  Time to get busy!!