Well, even Ukrainian Christmas is over now. The decs will have to be put away and the tree will have to come down. Don, as usual, wants to leave it up all year round. My aunt crocheted this angel for me several years ago:

My tofu-spinach lasagna was not a hit at supper last night, nor were my beef shishkabobs, for which I’d marinated chunks of round steak and they still came out tough. There was a recipe for Parker House Rolls that I tried because the dough can be prepared the night before and refrigerated. I figured if the rolls turned out worth eating, in future we could have buns fresh out of the oven for breakfast on a school morning. They were soft and succulent and are sure to become a staple around here. Their practical beauty is that not only are they whole wheat, but they’re fast and easy.

Loverboy laughed at me last night when he and the neighbour came in after hauling the furniture to the upholsterer (love the open feeling in the office here -- huge improvement). I told them I’d have supper ready when they got back, and had been in the kitchen for about three hours when L noticed I’d put my t-shirt on backwards. He stuck a crumpled-up kleenex in the chest pocket and snapped a photo.

It’s windy like an early spring day. I went into the barn and had a look at the two calves that Pa is keeping indoors, then got the hound off his chain and onto a lead and took off north of the yard. Chester wanted to run and I obliged him, but not for long. I was out of breath in no time. After that I let him pull me around the outer perimeter of the yard until we came back in to the deck here and had a short sitdown before strolling back to the corrals.

As you can see, we didn’t sit on these chairs, which have filled the deck since we brought them back from Alberta. I pulled an old wooden beater out of a snowbank, set it beside the woodpile, and made Chester sit beside me while the cats came wandering into the yard. Each one of them stopped and puffed up when they saw Chester, then kept their distance. For his part, Chester puffed up too and sprang around at the end of the lead, nearly pulling me off my feet once. I told him to smarten up and sit down, and he did.

I made him practise heeling and sitting, and convinced myself he has some memory of doing those things. Ha. The big surprise of the day was how the cattle and horses reacted to him. When I, sweet little quiet me, walk by the fences, the cattle tend to bolt to the other side of the corral. They’re a highstrung sort, this breed (Gelbvieh), and anything or anyone unusual --even a child sqealing -- spooks them. Normally, this is all I see of them when I walk by:

Today they hurried over to the fence to check us out and stood there in a line, sniffing and snorting at us. I had to make Chester behave, but he sat quietly beside me for the most part.

Then when we got to the horses, they abandoned their hay and stepped right up to the fence. They usually come over, but not like today. This time, I had to keep a firm hold on the dog’s chain right close to his neck, because he wanted to lunge at them. The cattle had followed us as far as they could to the south edge of their corral, and stood watching. Finally Chester did lunge at one of the horses, which was reaching its nose out to us, so I gave him hell and started back toward his doghouse. The cattle followed along the fence, leaping and jumping like calves.

Strange. Obviously they’re all curious about the dog, not afraid of him. I guess they haven’t seen him close up before.

xoxo
Kate