A Dead Squirrel for the Holidays

Happy Holidays! And no, that's not a dead squirrel; that's Burned Santa. Remember him? As a real innovation, Bob added lights to Burned Santa's interior... you could even say he glows.

Here's the other side. Bob was trying to keep up with the honored tradition of putting lights our for Xmas. I like the effect: sort of Xmas in Hell.
Anyway, I went to get wood for my studio wood stove the other day and as I  picked up a couple of logs, I saw this fluffy grey thing. At first I thought Bob had left a glove on the wood pile. But it was a squirrel and it was most emphatically dead.

After assessing that it wasn't "playing opossum", I took this picture, wondered idly how it died- old age? log fell on it? scared to death by Robin chasing it? who knows. But it didn't have any obvious evidence of foul play, like blood or bite marks on it. I told Bob and he disposed of it as I was rushing off to work or something and forgot to get rid of it.
But it gets weirder as the next day, I was walking by Maggie's barn and I saw this:

Another dead squirrel! Now we had a mystery on our hands! At first I suspected it was the same squirrel and an animal had found the first squirrel carcass and carried to to the barn but on closer examination, it was clearly another corpse, as it's tail was bushier and it's position was different. It was kind of creepy because how often do you find dead animals just sort of laying around? Was there a rash of squirrels suddenly falling out of trees, an outbreak of squirrel plague or do we have a group of elderly squirrels ready to depart this mortal coil all at once? I guess we'll never know what killed them but it was definitely strange to see two dead ones within two days.
Let me know if anyone spots further squirrel die off and I'll post something more Christmas-y like our tree later this week.

Cheatin' on Maggie

It's true! I have been cheating on Maggie with a horse named Missy, pictured above. Missy belongs to my friend Gloria who spends the winter in Florida. She was kind enough to ask me if I'd like to ride her horse for her while she whiles away her days on the beach, getting warm and sandy. (We're freezing here!)
I think Missy- seen below in her entirety- misses Gloria, but she's been a good ride for me so far. She seems to be pretty level headed and not spooky or flighty. And she really looks the part of what she is- a Quarter Horse. Very different from my poor Mexican Pony Maggie who is still out of commission because of reoccurring abscesses in her hind foot. Maggie is altogether smaller, both width wise and height wise.

 A comparison:

Maggie is a good hand (four inches) shorter and probably two hundred (or more!) pounds lighter. Even their heads are different: Missy has the wide forehead and big jaw of a Quarter Horse. Maggie has a much longer, narrower head, but your guess is as good as mine as to what Maggie is... maybe part Mustang? Maggie is/was a pretty comfortable horse and it's too bad she's been lame.
I have been fortunate to be riding with Sabina, the woman who actually owns the farm. She has been riding a horse named Hannah, that she bred and raised. Hannah's great; about two years ago, I did some lessons at this farm and Hannah was the horse I was partnered with. She's got a great attitude but a really big, roiling canter- much bouncier at the trot!- than Missy or Maggie. (We didn't ride this past week, though as it snowed and was something like 12 degrees).
And here's what Missy thinks of me; she leaves a big pile every time we ride.

I think I posted this particular subject to avoid what is really on my mind. The winter (which doesn't even begin until this Thursday!!!!!) is already taking it's toll on me. It's dark and cold and the days are short and contrary to whatever it's doing in Florida, it's snowy here. We had such a protracted fall that winter hit suddenly and I sure wans't ready for it! I'm also in avoidance about the holidays. I did make Xmas cookies (one of my two requirements for "celebrating" the season) and we are considering a tree. Maybe that'll get me going, and the fact that it's supposed to be in the forties on Wednesday when we ride... thank goodness for that!

Starting a Revolution

Here's the flag at the end of our driveway! Tattered and twisted- a fitting image for where we're all headed. Dog Bless America!*
What a holiday: people blowing off their digits with fire crackers, explosions that replicate gun battles, dogs and cats (and people) being scared out of their wits by the aforementioned loud noises, people consuming way to many salty, high calorie foods. Truly American, this Fourth thing!
The idiot up the road- and others surrounding- will be dusting off their muskets, powder kegs and assault weapons to prove they are the true patriots- not peace loving, art making heathens like Bob and me! Our ears will be 21 gun saluted with a deafening din.
Let us be thankful for all the wonderful state of the nation.

The funny thing is I wanted to post an update on the State of the Studio but it was my patriotic duty to acknowledge the holiday! Check back tomorrow...

*Dog, of course, being God backwards.

Happy Valens Gras/ Mardi Tart's Day!

Because I had to rearrange my work schedule (again) due to freezing rain and because I thought I was having a yoga class on Tuesday night (cancelled due to continued snow removal), Bob and I chose to celebrate Fat Tuesday and Valentine's Day as a sort of ComboHoliday last night (that would be Wednesday). We had this truly beautiful and utterly delicious quiche that Bob whipped up. I can think of a few other things that Bob wanted to whip...
Like the Price Gougin', Fast Talkin' Pugnacious Snow Plowin' A- Hole that tried to rip us off. Don't get either one of us started! The punchline is that after several calls from me, the neighbors and Bob, this little creep actually showed up at our doorstep and returned our check. I seriously suspect that he was worried that we'd report him to the better Business Bureau or the Attorney General's office. People who take advantage of people suck. I think we'll try and buy a snow blower. Or maybe teach Maggie to drag the driveway; isn't that what they used to do?
Of course, now I'm pulling phone numbers out of the local paper for snow plow possibles if we're unlucky enough to have more excrement fall from the sky this winter. What about that stinkin' groundhog? Didn't he predict that spring was right around the corner? And we're supposed to have very cold temperatures this weekend and maybe more snow early next week...