tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post3180229012909397148..comments2023-10-18T08:14:35.207-04:00Comments on Thistle Cove Farm: It's Beginning to Look Like Winter...Thistle Cove Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15722295191884810953noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-69347794151182019152013-11-29T18:39:06.759-05:002013-11-29T18:39:06.759-05:00Hello MM, thank you for visiting TCF and for your ...Hello MM, thank you for visiting TCF and for your kind words; most welcome, I assure you. We're due for a couple of warmish days...thank God! most welcome as well, I assure you -smile-.<br /><br />Sue, I've been knitting wash cloths to go into Christmas baskets. When those are finished, I'll start on a sweater I put down a while back and, hopefully, finish it by spring.<br /><br />Annie, I keep *everything* lock up and inside a building which is also sometimes locked. I've learned to trust no one much and that's sad.<br /><br />Charsley, right now I am so tired and in such pain I need 4 aspirin and 2 beers to sleep. It's been a week of tending to a down animal but, please God, it looks like he might pull through.<br /><br />Naussie, the bucket is sitting on the ground...is that grounded? <br />-grin-<br /><br />Vicki - 'cause I have to be, woman, 'cause I have to be.<br /><br />Marsha, I'll take freezing over 110 every day! I despise the heat.<br /><br />Dianna, we are SO in agreement! Bless your heart!<br /><br />Vic, good idea but I want to take the bucket when I leave; $40 is $40 after all -grin-.<br /><br />Quinn, I'm doing everything I can to make it easier on me. This last week has been dreadful...down animal, single digit temps, snow, sleet, rain and my body is crying like a baby. <br /><br />Midlife, if round is a shape, then I'm in great shape.<br /><br />TL, I've been on a tool buying kick lately; have bought some dandy ones.<br /><br />Michelle, when I leave, I'm taking Thistle Cove Farm with me...the name at least.<br /><br />Lynne, thank you and I don't consider myself amazing, just doing my job. some days I cry like a girl...when it's cold and my body hurts.<br /><br />Lorraine, it's so difficult and it hurts...not quite as much, eventually but the pain is always close.<br /><br />Karen, yes, staying warm, at least trying to stay warm.<br /><br />MK, Tom is the cat (get it...Tom Cat? grin) and Sam is the dog and long suffering. as to the work...mercy, it is a lot and in the cold, seems double lot.<br /><br />Lisa, I am so sorry, please accept my condolences. Losing a spouse to death is awful, the worst thing I've ever gone through. Any time you need to chat...e-mail me.<br /><br />Donna, the work exhausts me too!<br /><br />Val, we are SO in agreement! I despise the changes and don't understand most of them. I don't have the time to learn a bunch of news stuff, just so it can be changed in a year. grrrrrr! <br /><br />Farm Girl, the cold works on my body and bones...I ache like a toothache most nights and a lot of days.<br /><br />Dori, you are a ray of sunshine, thank you for visiting! one of these days, you and I are going to sit down and chin wag for a very long time. hope my mansion is next to yours when we get to heaven!<br /><br />Gretchen, wood stoves gets lit after Dec 1; this week it's going to be a trifle warm...30's during the day and lower at night. Flannel nightgown weather, to be sure.<br /><br />Jill, right now my body is crying like a baby. this cold has gotten to me and I've got another day to go before I can hunker down for Sunday then Monday, back on deck. I do want to move and start complaining about the heat -grin.<br /><br />Debby, it was a quiet day and uneventful, thank God.<br /><br /><br />Thistle Cove Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15722295191884810953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-90831590821281552652013-11-27T12:32:55.487-05:002013-11-27T12:32:55.487-05:00Stay safe and warm! Love the picture of Sam and Gr...Stay safe and warm! Love the picture of Sam and Gray Tom Cat. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day. Debby@Just Breathehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11685398064340027809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-4364568333915050912013-11-26T20:26:54.131-05:002013-11-26T20:26:54.131-05:00You're the hardest worker Sandra. I know you ...You're the hardest worker Sandra. I know you just do what has to be done but wow - what a lot you accomplish. And I'd be standing at that trough crying too! Hugs and stay warm.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698801749067092572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-12583652729361463972013-11-26T17:48:58.503-05:002013-11-26T17:48:58.503-05:00It is a relief to me to hear that you are working ...It is a relief to me to hear that you are working on making it easier for you to get through the winter, as with the new blue bucket. I'm thinking that way, too, that is, wanting to ease the stress on my joints, my time, my emotions, to make it possible for me to keep going through the rest of my *life* :-)<br /><br />Having all that firewood at the ready will help, in many ways. It's so heartening. Here, also, we are ready that way, but yesterday and today -- and for how many cold days will this last?? -- we are forbidden to burn wood because of the air quality. :-( This always happens on the coldest days. At least, we do have a forced air natural gas furnace, and I do thank God for that!GretchenJoannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13641677400029070452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-81936275584442655532013-11-26T17:47:19.009-05:002013-11-26T17:47:19.009-05:00Tom and Sam: just LOVELY! All the photos tell a ro...Tom and Sam: just LOVELY! All the photos tell a romantic, serene and good-prepared winter-beginning-story in Original Thistle Style! dorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17317158312699345659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-43335204443635125342013-11-26T11:12:13.198-05:002013-11-26T11:12:13.198-05:00I love seeing what you have been up to and oh so c...I love seeing what you have been up to and oh so cold. I can't even imagine that kind of cold. <br />I do understand getting wet, I stay wet the whole time I am taking care of things outside. <br />At least my clothes don't freeze. <br />Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.Farm Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00998621464797636686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-46296615877892196732013-11-26T09:03:47.064-05:002013-11-26T09:03:47.064-05:00My computer just crashed when I was in the middle ...My computer just crashed when I was in the middle of up a long comment to you, but the bullet points:<br /><br />♥ I hope the rest of this winter is cozier and safer-feeling than it's been so far. I wish you warmth and rest and comfort.<br /><br />♥ I'm glad to see FlowerLadyLorraine's above comment. She's the friend I mentioned to you months back. I've had a feeling for awhile that you two are kindred spirits. <br /><br />♥ That can't-get-a-grip feeling: Yessssss. I hope things start to feel smoother. One of my own goals lately is to learn to take as good of care of myself as I do of others and of the things around me, and I know I'd lose my own life-has-me-by-the-neck feeling and just feel better if I could figure that one out. <br /><br />♥ There was something else--Oh, "following." I follow along but don't even know *how* I'm following you or most people anymore. I need to organize my email susbscriptions, bookmarked blogs, GoogleReader/Blogger-followed blogs, BlogLovin'-followed blogs, etc. It's a minor thing, but I was so much better at keeping up with people when GoogleReader existed. I follow too many people to list them as a sidebar on my blog anymore--Blogger limits the number that can be listed--so that's out. Anyway, that's a trivial item on my to-do list, but I'll feel more organized after sorting all that "virtual clutter" out and just have all my good online reads listed in one place. But I'm here. :)<br /><br />I hope there's some rest and quiet moments by the fire ahead for you this week. We're getting some snow today but nothing major yet. <br /><br />Love and Best Wishes,<br /><br />Val ♥Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04587080107116858971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-68285383159204656292013-11-26T08:38:46.738-05:002013-11-26T08:38:46.738-05:00Just reading about all of your winter preparations...Just reading about all of your winter preparations exhausts me. God bless you as you toil on your land and tend to the dear creatures who are under your care.Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05347598432040432610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-78215210454082755812013-11-26T08:23:43.733-05:002013-11-26T08:23:43.733-05:00You popped up on my Facebook feed this morning via...You popped up on my Facebook feed this morning via Karen Maston's FB. Very timely as I joined the ranks of widowhood in the last week. I'm reading your posts to glean info and am very blessed to have seven children, some of whom are old and experienced enough to really help me through all of the business end of things. We have a small hobby farm, but over the months of my husband's illness I've sold off the animals. I think our situation is much less involved than yours, but it's still no picnic. I praise God every day that Bob is safe in heaven and we'll all see him again! Day-by-day, that's how we have to do it! Hugs to you and thanks for the information and advice. :)Lisa Richardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00567160304529796810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-84840746348003757422013-11-26T08:16:31.035-05:002013-11-26T08:16:31.035-05:00Hi dear -- I love to hear about your farm, althoug...Hi dear -- I love to hear about your farm, although the description of your work load is heavy! I'm glad your goal this year is to make things safer, more convenient, and easier to manage. You have so much on your plate. I love the description of Tom and the cat -- oh my!! He is a patient, long-suffering dog. As Adam says, you can only be long-suffering if you have first been long-bothered :)M.K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09205619221345704689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-39187361984058012482013-11-26T07:04:46.346-05:002013-11-26T07:04:46.346-05:00Dearest Sandra,
I'm so glad you are working to...Dearest Sandra,<br />I'm so glad you are working to make things a little less exhausting around there. Stay warm, please. The horses are so cute! Pom Pomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01524994024698986829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-27078023041659276342013-11-26T06:29:13.274-05:002013-11-26T06:29:13.274-05:00Dear, dear Sandra ~ I have just started following ...Dear, dear Sandra ~ I have just started following you recently and you never cease to amaze me in all that you do taking care of yourself, the farm and your critters. If you can do all of that, I can certainly, with God as my strength, handle my little 1/4 acre.<br /><br />I'm coming up on the first yr. anniversary of my husband's going home to be with God, and you inspire me so much.<br /><br />I really enjoy your sabbath posts too, thank you.<br /><br />Have a lovely Thanksgiving week and Thanksgiving day.<br /><br />Love and hugs ~ FlowerLadyFlowerLady Lorrainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17678852154334714784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-15699283746284793652013-11-26T05:35:02.821-05:002013-11-26T05:35:02.821-05:00I didn't know that you could keep water unfroz...I didn't know that you could keep water unfrozen this way, that is cool. While reading this post I thought this is what it must have been like for my Grandma who was often alone on their homestead while my Grandfather was off working. She was far from town and neighbours-they were Norwegian Pioneers, your life is amazing and you are impressive!!! Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17458351240865452950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-72588334509724082532013-11-25T23:33:35.038-05:002013-11-25T23:33:35.038-05:00Wow, that's a lot of followers! Glad to see yo...Wow, that's a lot of followers! Glad to see you're still at Thistle Cove Farm. I'll be sad when you leave, even though that's totally selfish of me.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550786937196525098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-18931330328792235762013-11-25T22:16:39.199-05:002013-11-25T22:16:39.199-05:00Having the right tools makes a job so much easier....Having the right tools makes a job so much easier. Glad you move the feeder closer and don't have to go so far with those large bales of hay.<br /><br />Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy that wood stove when you do light it up.Tombstone Livestockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07022776395762826903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-2570468593935544092013-11-25T21:47:04.687-05:002013-11-25T21:47:04.687-05:00"but I'm no hero and when it's wet, c..."but I'm no hero and when it's wet, cold, windy and just plain nasty, that's reason enough to light the stove and get cozy."<br /><br />I'm realizing what a slug I am after reading this post. You must be in some great shape! Looks like you're ready for the winter and so brave to do all you do. Hope you are cozying up to the fire tonight. Midlife Roadtripperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700277803842883251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-56349666450338765592013-11-25T21:35:49.766-05:002013-11-25T21:35:49.766-05:00Good thinking, Sandra! Anything you can do to make...Good thinking, Sandra! Anything you can do to make the chores go even a tiny bit more sensibly is a good idea, in my opinion! Glad you found an alternative to hauling that hay over hill and dale this winter :)<br />I lucked out and found a 'birdbath de-icer" at a tag sale a few years back, and that has been keeping the goats' main bucket thawed. Before that, I was carrying fresh buckets out twice daily and carrying the ice-filled buckets back into the house to thaw in the shower. Can't say I miss that particular sport!<br /><br />Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17292701509476856967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-86298522460097229032013-11-25T20:55:07.398-05:002013-11-25T20:55:07.398-05:00I'd put a run of chain around the bucket handl...I'd put a run of chain around the bucket handle, and run it through an eye-bolt you can set into the landscape timbers or into a foundation hole and mortar it in place...Monkeywranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06732066232389894763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-27494596013355747732013-11-25T20:30:55.583-05:002013-11-25T20:30:55.583-05:00And so we pray with even more fervency about that ...And so we pray with even more fervency about that beautiful farm blessing someone else...way too much responsibility for you, Sandra. It certainly was great to check my list and find your blog among them!Diannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15916346102440260126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-40442883480777918942013-11-25T20:18:44.504-05:002013-11-25T20:18:44.504-05:00OK, a Houston weather update: the temperature has ...OK, a Houston weather update: the temperature has fallen 2 degrees today, all the way down to 44f.<br />I so admire all you do for your animals, Sandra. The Lord will reward you, as He already has by giving you this life. It's cold, but hey, my darling friend, I think that is better than 110, don't you?<br />much loveSplenderosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06421992667097947469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-85633774111416717552013-11-25T20:16:36.702-05:002013-11-25T20:16:36.702-05:00Every time I think that I get a lot done I just co...Every time I think that I get a lot done I just come here to check on you. You are so much more active! Vicki Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06929340703066037054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-2997301920219026702013-11-25T19:45:46.506-05:002013-11-25T19:45:46.506-05:00My gosh! I cannot imagine living in a place where ...My gosh! I cannot imagine living in a place where you have to have an electric water bucket. I presume it is all grounded etc. We have paper wasps here and they sting really badly. Happy Thanksgiving.africanaussiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16660727599623626163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-87914429785246305682013-11-25T19:17:59.497-05:002013-11-25T19:17:59.497-05:00Oh you make me tired just reading all you do to ke...Oh you make me tired just reading all you do to keep the farm/ranch up and running. It sounds like you are ready for hibernation and well deserved. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. Thank you for blessing us with your blog.Charlseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09053834409143300915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-19594252235127039322013-11-25T18:48:12.638-05:002013-11-25T18:48:12.638-05:00I very much enjoyed this post! I am amazed that y...I very much enjoyed this post! I am amazed that you can keep the animals and yourself going with all this work. how very sad that your other blue bucket grew legs and ran away from home. i have having to lock things up, but we would have nothing left here if we didn't try. Life among the multitudes, I think. Blessings, and well wishes for the coming Thanksgiving Day. I would definitely close a top roof window,if there were a hornet's nest (paper wasps) over me too! They can be ferocious! Lots of rain headed our way, cold enough to snow a bit, maybe tonight or tomorrow night, buckets of rain due for tomorrow.anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03269208573774815462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13163430.post-72463448795777608322013-11-25T18:32:17.298-05:002013-11-25T18:32:17.298-05:00Sounds like you are well prepared for winter for y...Sounds like you are well prepared for winter for you and your animals. My goodness but you are a woman of pioneer spirit. Now it's time to light that fire, cozy up and KNIT. I know you have a stash and WIP's...oh wait...did you finish them all last year? I'm working on my WIP's...both knitting and crocheting. It's a comfort and I feel in touch with my Pioneer Spirit and my Great Grandmother Martha Jane.<br /><br />Sue <a href="http://collectintexasgal.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">CollectInTexas Gal</a>Sue McPeakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04927975578544675345noreply@blogger.com