Wednesday, Feb. 26
10:30 a.m.

There is a little girl of two, who as I enter the other yard is sliding across its white surface on a toboggan pulled by her older sister. She sees me and calls out “Kaffy!” with a big smile on her pale little face.

She is often at her grandparents’ home on the other side of the door that divides their duplex-style farmhouse, and when I leave she invariably wants to come with me.

This morning her mother phoned to ask if I’d keep her for an hour or two this afternoon. It’s warmed up to 5 below (Celcius), so maybe today I’ll take her for a walk around the yard. There are 11 new cattle to have a look at; not that I will be able to tell what’s what, but I’ll go look anyway.

One-third of the feline herd sits on Loverboy's ski-doo in front of the workshop, where the sun beats down and keeps them warm.

3 p.m.

We didn’t walk, but we danced and dusted, played ball, did dishes and mixed up a pumpernickel bread instead.