Intruders on the Property

On April 11, Bow enjoyed the nice weather. He went outside and gave his swing in the outer pen some use.

As the grass has started to grow, I was also out there mowing with my trusty reel mower.

After I finish mowing, the grass does not seem particularly well mown to the average person, but believe me, if I did not mow, it would get impossibly unmanageable.

After mowing, I relaxed a little by the pen, too. And then it was time for lunch. After lunch, I usually take a walk. But as I went out the door, I noticed that we had intruders on the property.

A big red truck was blocking my driveway in as spot I never even allow honored guests to occupy. Its motor was running, and it was very loud, but there was no one in the vehicle. I went all round the truck, trying to figure out why it was there, and where the people were who came in it.

Eventually I located them by the power pole, where they were attempting -- unsuccessfully, I might add -- to change the meter.

The process too a very long time, and we could hear Bow inside vocalizing in frustration. When I checked later, I saw that he had made a mess. However, at the time I felt it was best for me to stand guard over the intruders and to see them safely off when they were down.

I was polite, but I did let them know that the next time they need to work on my property, they should notify me that they are coming. This is, after all, a rural property. I could have had a guard dog loose or I could have been engaged in target practice, and there are any number of hazardous activities they might have stumbled upon that would have been dangerous to them. They can't just assume that it is all right to come here without first giving notice.

I am grateful for the electricity, and I understand that the power company needs access to the meter, but I think there is still some expectation of privacy even when there is an electric pole on my property. If I ever built that island for Bow, I would need to know that power company people would not wander onto the property without permission. Bow is very good natured, but he wants to know who is coming over and when.

Snow on the Ground

This morning we woke up to snow on the ground. It was not much snow, but it is the first snow of the season.

In the back yard, the liquidambar pods were topped with snow, like tiny Christmas ornaments.

The bench in the outer pen was frosted with snow.

I tried to entice Bow to go out into the pen to experience the snow, but even when I told him that Leo was out there, he stubbornly refused to go out.

He preferred to stay snug and warm indoors.

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A Bird in the Pen

A tiny bird somehow found its way into the outer pen yesterday afternoon. This happens every once in a long while.

Bow felt the need to chase the bird around and even to display at the tiny intruder.

I asked him not to hurt the bird, but he seemed to be trying to catch it.

The bird managed to avoid  Bow.

Eventually, it sought refuge in the indoor airlock,

There I was able to trap it in a tupperware container. And then I released it safely outside on the front porch. It flew away. End of story.

A Quiet Saturday Afternoon Before the Libertarian Convention

Bow swings in the Outer Pen While the Mowers Are Mowing

Things have been growing and blooming outside, even as my mind has been more on politics than botany. By the mailbox, the wild roses blossomed and twined until it was almost impossible to open.

I think this has been an unusually fertile year, because never before was the mailbox totally engulfed by roses.

It was so pretty that I did not dare disturb it. But then a couple of days after I took that picture all the blossoms and leaves on that rosebush mysteriously died, while the rosebushes all around it on my property continue to thrive. My current theory is that a government agent -- the postman possibly -- took it upon himself to protect access to the mailbox and sprayed weed killer on the roses. In hindsight, maybe I should have trimmed the bush. Because it's dying now.

A wildflower in my woods

However, I had this momentary fantasy when I saw the rosebush twined around the mailbox -- something out of sleeping beauty -- that if only I allowed  everything to grow wild around here, maybe we would be left alone by the government, because no one could penetrate the thorns of the wild rose bush.

A daisy with a ladybug in my pasture

Of course, I can't let everything grow wild , and today the mowers came. And as usual, Bow did not like it. But when I went to mow using my reel mower in the backyard, he contented himself with swinging vigorously on his swing, instead of displaying at the mowers.

And after the mowers left, we had a very quiet Saturday afternoon together.

In two days, I take off on the long drive for the Libertarian National Convention. Lawrence will be here with  Bow. I have paid half his fee in advance and will pay the other on my return. If you would like to contribute, there is still time.

I am doing this to help Austin Petersen become president so he can take over the government, so it can leave us alone! That should be more effective than surrounding my house with an impenetrable wall made of wild roses -- don't you think?

Snow on Wednesday

The forecast said "Snow on Wednesday", but I did not realize this would be waiting for me when I got up this morning!

Just outside the sliding glass door to my bedroom, a winter wonderland awaited.

And the snow at the front was almost as inviting.

I drove my daughter to a friend's house for a sleepover after school yesterday, so she is getting to spend her snow day off from school over there. It's just me and Bow and the dogs and the birds. Bow asked to go outside, but he soon thought better of it.

He was all cheerful and playful on his way down the corridor to the airlock, but he drew the line at crossing the threshold into the outer pen.

Once safely back indoors, Bow cheerfully engaged me in a few leisurely games of chase, which are a good way to stay warm while both exercising and socializing.

It's quite possible that all this snow will melt by evening, but just in case we are snowed in we are covered, as I went and bought groceries last night. I almost did not hear the cashier calling me to let me know another register was opening, so absorbed was I by the new issue of TIME I picked up while waiting in line -- with all the latest news about Alexander Hamilton.

They lured me in with the promise of an exposé on his "tragic fate." I was hoping for candid pictures of Burr.Instead Burr was smeared as a "secessionist", and Hamilton's vision for America was praised.  "America has grown into the country that Hamilton envisioned." 

 Here is my opinion of Hamilton's vision for America:

http://www.pubwages.com/55/who-should-pay-for-waging-war

Anyway, while at the grocery store, I stocked up on food as well as reading material. We will not starve due to the snow.

For dessert for lunch today, we had this cake I baked last night using my own homemade dough with cherry jam. My daughter hates anything with a cherry flavor, but somebody gave us this cherry jam a while back. And I decided to use the jam while she is at the sleepover with a friend to make a cold weather treat for Bow and me.

A lot of people conflate creative efforts and personal labor -- whether in the kitchen or in other endeavors -- with wealth creation.

I would like to think that I created "wealth" by using the flour and the butter and milk and shortening and baking powder and the jam and baking them all together to make something new. It certainly would have cost more if I had bought a cake or pie ready-made at the store.

Bow and I  did enjoy having it for dessert!

But when all is said and done, I'm afraid that baking something and then eating it ourselves is just plain consumption and not wealth creation at all.  Only if I had managed to sell the cake to somebody else would it count as wealth creation. But that in itself is a small mercy, as it also means this particular transaction between me and Bow will never get taxed! We can eat our cake and not give a single crumb of it to the government.

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Almost Spring

Yesterday was so warm that it felt like spring. I went for a walk in the pasture, and a butterfly flew past me! Bow and the dogs were all feeling the warmth in the air, and we all congregated outdoors.

But while Bow just wanted to sit in a high place and enjoy the warmth, Leo wanted to play, and he jumped high in the air and barked to draw Bow's attention.

I called Leo over and asked him to stop pestering Bow, and he came by to the other side of the pen, complying with my request. It was such a nice day that I even took my own turn on the swing. Brownie, who is no longer a young dog, walked by and dropped a rock he hoped someone would throw so he could retrieve it.

In some neighbors' yards, the daffodils are already blooming. But ours got burned in the grass fire, so it may take a little longer this year. That's okay, because there is snow scheduled for Wednesday.

Bow Braves the Snow on Valentine's Day

Bow in the outer pen this afternoon

Today is Valentine's Day, and it snowed in the morning. But yesterday, the day after the fire, there was still smoke curling up from some of the stumps in the woods.

I walked though the forest and noticed a few smoldering embers.

I wondered whether any of it still might be a latent fire hazard. It smelled nice, like a campfire.

But this morning there was a blanket of snow covering the burnt portions of the land. No more fire hazard. All is safe and cold and white.

Bow waited until the afternoon to brave the cold so he could lounge about on his bench for a few moments.

He was careful not to set foot on the snow covered floor, and even wiped off the rim of the bench before lying down. Then he gave me a happy backwards glance before settling down.

Braving the Snow

It has been a very mild winter so far. But yesterday and today school has been canceled due to snow. It is a very small amount of snow, mind you. Just a very thin coating on the ground. Nevertheless, yesterday morning Bow was cautious and decided to stay in.

He helped me to continue proofing the new book,

After lunch, I took a very short walk to the mailbox to pick up the mail.

When I returned, Bow told me that he wanted to go outside. I was quite surprised, but I complied with his request.

Bow was not going to get his feet wet, snow or no snow. So he had me temporarily hold the door shut, and then he gingerly climbed from the dry stoop to the bench, without touching the floor of the outer pen. But that does not mean he does not like snow. He sampled the snow accumulated on top of the crossbeam support, and he found it was good.

Brownie just grumbled a little and walked away, but Leo started barking, hoping Bow would play chase. But Bow would not be goaded this time. He stayed calm. No way was he getting his feet wet! He was staying put on the bench.

Leo could bark all he wanted, but there was no response from Bow.

Of course, Bow did not stay there long. He came in to warm up in short order. This morning, after breakfast, Bow asked to go out again. But when he felt how cold it was, he did not venture out. He came back and asked for his blanket, instead. It's not a bad life.

Changing Weather

It has been very warm and very sunny for days, and then everything changed.

Massive clouds appeared overhead.

Hungry birds circled in the sky above our pasture.

The bidens trembled and swayed in the breeze.

Bow avoided going outside and started watching videos instead.

Today it is still wet outside.

 I gave Bow a chance to go out, practically coaxed him. 

But he decided to stay inside.

The View from the Outer Pen

There is an eight foot fence surrounding our back yard, That is mostly for privacy for Bow. It means that delivery people and others who mistakenly drive onto our property don't immediately have to spot Bow and start gaping at him, if he happens to be outside. But the privacy fence does not keep Bow from seeing things that are going on in the outer yard, if he wants. He can climb high and get a view of what is going on in the world beyond.

From the top of the bench rim, you can see the nearby tulip tree and the Weigela bush in the distance.

The tulip tree is getting ready to flower.

The old, dried out blossoms are still there, but this year's green flower heads are already visible and getting ready to open.

When I go to check on the Weigela blossoms, I know that Bow is watching me, and he sometimes vocalizes in my direction to let me know.

The Weigela blossoms have been open for a while now, and they are getting a little droopy. Their petals are falling one by one to the ground.

Still there are insects who find them attractive.

Sometimes I have trouble putting a name to the insect.

But sometimes they are just the familiar honey bee.

Back in the pen, Bow has a clear view of the flowering dogwood.

You can see the orientation of the pen toward these trees in the short video embedded below.

When I go for my afternoon walks, Bow also gets to be outside, if he wants to be.  Our grass has not been mowed yet, and so I get glimpses of tiny little flowers shooting up that I might otherwise never have gotten to see.

The clover flowers are so delicate and fresh.

Dandelions, both young and old, are making a nice showing.

These little tiny yellow flowers are so pretty, whatever they are called!

To make the flowers grow, sometimes all you have to do is not mow the grass for a while. The same is true for trees. Much as I hope that the new fruit trees we planted in the orchard will make it, there is a very good chance that some of them will not. When you "plant a tree" you are doing a very unnatural thing. It's not at all what the tree huggers would have you believe. You are not planting, but transplanting. You are tearing out roots and making them grow someplace else. It's a shock for the tree. Some survive and some don't.

But if you just don't always mow the lawn, you will be amazed at what shoots up all on its own, without any work on your part. On the other side of the driveway from our majestic tulip tree, a baby tulip tree is growing.

Nobody planted it. It just volunteered. But already it is getting ready to blossom. This little tulip tree, if left undisturbed, is better than any tulip tree I might buy in a nursery to plant, because it already has strong roots here.

Of course, just because a plant is growing, that does not mean its survival is guaranteed. Predation takes place at every level of the trophic pyramid. This peony by the lagoon is getting ready to blossom, but will those black ants let it?

When I get back from my walk, Bow usually wants to go back inside, and he tells me so.

Bow needs my help to unlock the metal door, but he opens the glass door all by himself.