Notes from Maine - 2022/10/02

This time of year, I always feel like I’m on a deadline. A million details have to be squared away before the ground freezes and the snow flies. I will be struggling to find daylight to get everything done. And there are still plenty of things I can start yet (difficult to rake leaves before they fall). It’s fun to romanticize the winter. I imagine the snow piling up outside while I’m trapped indoors, finally turning my attention to one of the puzzles in the closet or the aspirational canvasses I bought when I hoped to learn to paint.

Winter never turns out like that. I always have too much to do, just like summer. Life doesn’t slow down just because it’s cold out.

A year ago, I was just coming to terms with the idea that Maybelle (she’s a horse) was pregnant. That was a fun and scary time. She’s definitely not pregnant this year. Her sweet baby lives up the road now with people who love her very much. These next six months, it will be crucial for me to keep the horses apart when they have baby fever. I wouldn’t mind another foal, but we’re not going to have another winter baby. That was too difficult. 

With about fifty more bales of hay (fingers crossed, coming this week), the loft will be full. That’s one thing I can cross off my list. Each year it’s a little more difficult to throw the hay. I’ve gotten a little smarter about my methodology to offset the amount of exertion. What I need to do is clear more pasture out back. But more pasture means more fencing, and that’s a giant effort. Maybe next year.

There’s a maple tree in the lower yard that always changes color first. I know I have a good picture of it somewhere. I’ll post it below. Even years like this, where the drought has turned most of the leaves brown without any good color, that tree will put on a show. 

It’s hard to believe I’ve lived here twenty years. It’s inconceivable that I’ve lived here that long and I haven’t remodeled this kitchen yet. I’ve touched every other room. Some rooms (like Dad’s room) have been overhauled twice. 

The kitchen should be my only project this winter. I can build new cabinets and get them ready. I can pull up the old floor and live in the back part of the house temporarily. This is just idle chatter. There’s a good chance I’ll put it off again. 

Today I have to focus on what needs to be done while the weather permits.