Having just left Aldi, enjoying the fabulous sunny and breezy fall day (61 F.), I notice that the two lanes of cars are stopped going both ways. This is the road that bisects the Gould Farm in Hadley. I wondered if some ducks were crossing. Then I saw her. A young (as in she looks like a teenager) cow is on the tiny bit of grass that has the road on one side and the electric fence on the other side. She was looking away from the road toward the empty field where she and her buddies normally graze. She bellowed for help, started to cross the road, then changed her mind and went back to the wrong side of the fence. The traffic inched forward as the poor girl waited for some help.
I couldn't stand it, so after I got through the stop sign, I made a U turn and went back. As a former school bus driver, I know how to take command of a situation. I threw on my hazard lights and got out of the car. Some idiot decided to go around all of the stopped vehicles and he nearly killed me going down the center, but it is always good to let an asshole get out of your way.
I called to the cow and she looked at me. I talked in a low voice while walking toward her. She wasn't impressed and started to walk away. She looked back and I walked to the middle of the road and luckily she thought crossing the road there was a good idea. And it was -- because there was a woman on the other side who herded the cow toward the barn.
After I turned around again to go home, I saw that the herd was outside behind the barn and the farmer was fiddling with the gate. So maybe Bessie had wheedeled her way out of the gate and crossed the road to go to the pasture.
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Yes, it's that time of year again. I have made pumpkin muffins and I'm looking for recipes to use the rest of the can of pumpkin. The muffin recipe only made 6 muffins, so maybe I'll make that again. Tomi brought me a sugar pumpkin and Sue brought me the carved duck all the way from Copenhagen, Denmark! His head moves if you want to create different expressions.
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It was a fun 3 weeks with 3 year old E, but, boy was I tired! The "cold" lasted for 20 days at which time Tomi took a look at me and dragged me to a CVS Minute Clinic. They gave me an antibiotic and I actually felt better after two doses! I had done 3 covid tests all of which were negative.
Oh, yes, if you jump in the puddle, your pretty pink boots fill up with muddy water!
On the Friday that E left, N arrived. She is 12 years old and just a teriffic kid. She was very polite and funny and we got along great. She was picked up and delivered to school in Greenfield (about a half hour drive one way) every day for school. Since she had her lunch at 10 a.m., she was pretty hungry when she got back from school. We ended up eating supper at 4:30 p.m. I told her she was an honorary senior citizen. That gave her time to do some baking which she loved. We went to a movie, I supervised her making a keto carrot cake cheese cake and peanut butter cookies. She made (from a box) chocolate cupcakes with frosting piped into flowers all by herself. I was shocked when I bought food coloring for the frosting -- it is really expensive. I think I'm going to bring the colors with me to California. I bet Mom would love pink mashed potatoes!
A couple of days ago, I had M who is 3 years and a lovely boy who is on the spectrum. The poor thing hit meltdown (overtired) with a spectacular tantrum. I ended up driving him all around Robin Hood's barn to get him to fall asleep which he did a few minutes before hitting my driveway. So I sat in the car with him while he slept. Thank goodness for cell phones which provide reading material!
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Needless to say, the flowers are waning.
I have been told this is tropical so the only way to save it is to bring it into the house.
This one flower out of many seeds bloomed. The birds ate the rest.
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I have been watching Anne with an E (about Anne of Green Gables) on Netflix and it is very wholesome. I am actively avoiding "doomscrolling" which I learned about from The Good Wife. That's when you look at all of the bad news on your phone and tv and facebook, twitter, etc. I'm much calmer. Of course, it's the equivalent of burying my head in the sand but I need a rest.
Oh, I also re-watched The Crown. Wow. I understand that the royals are human, but ... some are really mean.
And that's what has been going on here. Happy trails!
