Goodbye Fall! Hello Winter!

 

Not many people believe me when I tell them how short-lived our Autumn is here in the central mountains of New Mexico, above 7,000 ft elevation. When I posted on September 18 with my I'm Going To Miss Him post, I’m pretty sure some folks probably thought I was just being silly for whining about how much I was going to miss summer, the beautiful warm days, the cool breezes, wonderful hiking and camping, watching my garden grow, and enjoying my lovely hummingbirds.

September 18th seems so far away already, yet it was only just 2 weeks ago!

             Yes, that’s right…2 weeks ago!

And last night was our first hard freeze and our first snowfall.

Yesterday Jen and I harvested the rest of our zucchini,

Pulled up the last few bunches of baby carrots, (my kidlets and I ate them all up just 10 after this photo was taken. Mmm! So sweet and crisp!)

And picked the rest of the pickling cucumbers off their vines in preparation for this winter storm.(Hello! Bread and Butter pickles and Dill pickles, too!)

Good thing we did. I don’t think they would have survived the 28F temps and snow we had last night and this morning. Brrrr! (But sad. Because there are still some baby zucchini and zucchini flowers still on the vines)

My poor old hens have seen this time of year come and go for 4 years now. They are smart enough to stay inside their cozy warm hen house at least until the sun rises and warms everything up. (They have a reflective brooder lamp inside with a 100 watt light bulb, that I keep in there year round)

Most of the Summer chicks, who are now 16 weeks old, haven’t learned that winter weather tip yet. They were outside in the coop before the dawn had a chance to truly crack open it’s warm light.

Many of them were fluffed up, looking rather uncomfortably cold at 7am this morning.

I tossed them some scratch, poured some warm water in their waterers, and refilled their feeders, and that seemed to warm them up a bit.

Then I stuck around to enjoy their comforting clucking sounds as they pecked at the corn and seeds on the ground.

They can be counted on for gathering around me to receive some attention and petting and I always enjoy stroking their soft, silky feathers.

(Hey! Who gave me horns?!)

 

But then it was time to head up to the barn to feed the rest of the critters. Apache seemed to be trying to soak in all the warmth of the sun shining into her stall. She’s already been growing a thick, fuzzy fur coat to keep her warm, too.

Wait! Who is that??!

Looks like Val’s dog Sandy, of the Fantastyk Voyage Blog decided to climb under the fence into our pasture to visit Apache and the llamas and goats.

Howdy Sandy!

I was a little worried about Sandy trying to sneak into the llama’s paddock because llamas can be very defensive and aggressive towards strange dogs trespassing into their space, especially Catlinite, who takes his guardian job seriously.  Llamas, just like donkeys have been known to kill coyotes and dogs.

But as I watched the scene at the barn, Catlinite lunged at Sandy before she managed to scoot underneath the gate, and he chased her away. Whew!

After the animals were fed, I took a few more photo examples of “The Loss of Summer”…….

or “Farewell Autumn”………..

and “Hello Winter”.

And I was supposed to participate in another ACTHA Competitive Trail Ride out in Grants, NM today, but my ride never called. But it's ok. It must not have been meant to be.

And besides a barrel racing friend of mine invited me to come watch and support her competing at the Rockin Horse Ranch, in the town of Moriarty, just 15 minutes east of us. I’m very excited because I haven’t been over there since last April’s Paint Horse Show. And the barrel races will be in an indoor arena, too. Very nice.

Anyway…….. 

Looks like it’s time to pack up my summer clothes and pull out my winter woolies!