First visitor

At least a first visitor of this size. In November Dan and I put up a nesting platform for a red tailed hawk, of which we have many in this county. We were inspired by Big Red and Ezra rearing their hawklets on Cornell University's campus last spring, and thought it would be great to have our "own" pair of hawks. I know the platform is not quite high enough for a hawk's taste, but there are no places taller nearby. Not enough tall trees in the desert, and this pole on our small round pen (for horses) was the best we could do without erecting some scary structure ourselves.

Today we had a sighting! He, or she, remained while Dan drove up the driveway, and even stuck around for some photos.

If a hawk will sometime call this home, Roadie, our resident road runner, will have some competition but there is enough rodentia to go around for everyone. Just yesterday Roadie tried to open a live trap, with mouse, that Dan had set aside for a moment before releasing it (privately). And that not 3 feet away from where he stood.

It's winter now

No biking today. Perhaps not even a dog walk today. Yesterday morning, when there was not a cloud in the sky, the weather forecast predicted a storm blowing in with 90% chance of precipitation. Yeah, yeah, we have heard that before. But just in case, I gave the horses a spa day and we covered the hay. Good thing too: it rained more than one inch overnight, and it's still at it.

Snow at 5,000 feet, and the snow level is falling. I could be painting molding, but Dan convinced me to have a "play day" and read my fun book: Free country, a penniless adventure the length of Britain. It is also perfect weather to do some cooking, snert (Dutch pea soup) is good when it's cold and rainy, and I should get started on making Kerststol (Dutch Christmas bread) to have my version perfected for the holiday.

Exodus

The weather is still quite mild, it is lovely having doors open in the beginning of December. It is not to last, I am sure, and the animals are giving signs too. Rodents are looking for warm places, and green stuff to eat.

I am normally quite tolerant and do not mind sharing, but when I found my lovely spinach gnawed and my kale assaulted, the gloves came off. Well, sort of, I bought out the live traps.

Over the last 3 days I have caught 12 mice in two garden beds, and 1 fat rat in the tack room. The wood rat taxied 1.5 miles away, the mice walked to the state land at the back of our property.