Homesteading of 2005

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE ?? SPIDER!!

Ah, the sweet aroma of custard baking in the oven. It is truly autumn now. When it feels good to have the oven going for over an hour and it doesn't make the house miserable hot. I waited until evening to start the custard so the oven would  heat the house into the night and we'd not need to light the heater until late if at all.

The trees are finally losing lots of leaves. While we have mostly oaks, they don't all drop their leaves at one time. Some are already bare but most are still covered with leaves of yellow and brown.

The freeze night before last got the mums. They will now need to be pruned and set inside for the rest of the winter. I did get out and get some photos of the prettiest earlier in the evening, just before they froze. I will include some photos this week if I get the time. I had a bunch of sunset photos and did take the time to add them as a page to my Texas Sky collection.

I have ordered the Scrubbies and will create a Christmas tree as soon as I get them in. Green of course but we don't have space for a bigger tree. For years I kept a medium size artificial tree until I had put it out in the old barn and the rats got into it and it became a challenge just to throw it away. I have an odd supply of miniature decorations complete with little green hooks. I have a short strand of tiny lights that will look pretty. Kathy is sure busy this season but she needs the business. Visit her at The Scrubbie Lady. Look at all her new items.

Over a year ago Arlene Correll sent me a coat rack. One of those wall mounted items. But this one was custom painted with the pretty picture that appears on our Homesteading main page. When I received it, I wondered how long it would be before I could hang it on a wall in our new house. Well, that new house has a floor now but no walls yet. The old one in the hallway fell apart the other day and rather than wait and keep the jackets and coats scattered all over the house, I am going to hang it in the hallway in this the old house. I'll take a picture and show it off next week. Go and see what a delightful artist Arlene is by Clicking Here. She has many items that will make wonderful Christmas gifts. Hey, I know where to shop.

Same day, just very late now. I was out tending Max and thought I'd toss a used plastic tray into the trash. And I almost stepped on a young rattlesnake. He didn't make the usual rattle or even hiss but then I didn't get within 4 foot of him and it was dark except for my flashlight. So, I run back inside to wake Randy. He thinks I am kidding but I never kid about much of anything especially snakes. This guy was moving toward the house and would have been happy for a while to stay underneath it. Whew. I am glad I had the big shovel with the sharp teeth handy. Randy chopped him into pieces. Max is smart enough to stay well away from the poisonous ones. He kills the plain ones and leaves the mean ones for his POP. Now, I am jumpy and seeing snakes everywhere. I will sure move slower and look more closely before I move along the pathway.

Check out the spider and see if you know what it is. Doesn't really look like a spider. He disappeared with the last rainstorm and I've not seen him again.

Every day I see more yellow and brown leaves on the trees. Even the little Redbud is almost all yellow. The huge heart shaped leaves all over the ground are quite lovely.

We've had more hot days than cold. But these days of not needing heating or cooling is great. Save on the tremendous electric  bills. The price of propane was so high, we'll treat lighting the heater or oven as a special event.

The doggies all like the cooler weather better. Their coats are fine for cold weather but make them miserable in the hot times.