bare naked trees

The rain trickles down the windows as the wind whips through the stand of now naked trees. They sway and bend but don't break. My favorite is the corkscrew willow that flows in the wind like hair being gently tossed. But that one is always the first to break and it's getting dangerously large and growing very close to my mom's house.

I fired up the wood stove for the first time yesterday to keep my nieces warm yesterday. Temps are dropping down to the 40s at night, but frost has already knocked out all my low lying gardens.

I now have the abundance of time that only the end of a growing season can bring. I try not to look over my shoulder about what I shoulda done, namely harvested and dried or froze more herbs. Overall, the growing season was fine. Weird, but fine.

Now I walk to the far field where the grass is still green and stare at my cows as they chew their cud and stare back. I went with shorthorns this year and they've filled out beautifully on grass. I have a couple beef shares left and a couple of lambs not sold.
I did for the first time ever, cook up some beef heart. Oddly very delicious! It's hard to get over the mental block of what I was eating, but the flavor and texture of quick cooked, very lean beef was amazing. It took awhile to break it down into manageable slices, but I'd say it was worth it. Next up, the tongue. And yes, I'm cleaning out my freezer for this year's lamb and beef crop. How did you know?

Anyway, it's reflection and planning time. And reassessing. And time to head out to the flock and pick the next herd sire, the ram lamb that shows all the qualities that I'd like to keep for the next breeding season. I have a beautiful icelandic little guy that looks perfectly fit for the bill. And I'm wondering if it's too late to shear. I might lock up some of the better fleeced ladies for some beauty shop time with a nice brush out and haircut followed by a nice winter coat to keep them warm after removing theirs so late in the season.
It seems like time keeps slipping away from me so quickly. Oh winter, why are you back already?!