Gorgeous Day

Today was a gorgeous day here in the Northland. It was about 34 degrees, which is awesome because Northern Minnesota was in the -20's. Awesome. The wind was low and now that we are settled and the house is clean Ches and I spent a lot of time outside.

This morning we actually had some sun, and while the clouds moved in this afternoon it was still beautiful and calm. I truly thought we just might get some of that precipitation that was predicted. I was happy that it stayed away.

We meandered around the farm, and down to the neighbors to see the piglets. I was shocked to learn that they had already placed them up for sale. For pete's sake they were just born on Saturday! I'm used to keep those little buggers around until they hit 40 pounds, but not here. They are hot ticket items. I wish I had a place to put a pig. Hmmm. I do have that extra bedroom...

After leaving the neighbors we checked the mailbox and the field for moose. We wandered down towards Jack Warren highway, but one of the neighbors has a Saint Bernard and I'm not too anxious to meet him. As we wandered back towards home Ches heard a noise in the woods and alerted. I stood still, unable to move. I never did see what it was but I'm suspecting a grouse. I have read too many "don't leave your house without a weapon" stories. I have totally freaked myself out. Totally.

I think the most interesting moment of the day was as Ches and I were sitting here. I shut off everything electronic to read today, in an effort to cut our next electrical bill. (Yes, it was that high.) Anyway, I was reading, listening to the poor little dog next door try to dig his way to China when there arose a clatter on the porch. I had an inkling that it was my buddy, the squirrel from Tuesday, so I chose to ignore him. I continued reading, when all of sudden there was a major ruckus on the porch, and I thought maybe squirrel buddy and his posse were crashing my pad.

As it turns out, there was only one squirrel. My buddy. He had discovered Ches' balls on the front porch. The orange orb had caught his attention and he was having a ball...literally! I laughed hard, then went for my camera. As I opened the door the ball fell off the porch and Buddy was attempting to get away with Ches' ball. When I came out the door he dropped the ball and ran, looked back momentarily, and then scolded me from the safety of his tree. It made for good humor for the day!

When Brent got home we were standing outside in the yard, playing with Ches, and we just talked about the day. It turns out we both had moments where we just looked up and said "can you believe we live in Alaska?" It's not something that we planned, but it's turning out to be a really great experience. I'm excited for the future.

Have a happy day!