WINTERIZING THE FARMHOUSE

Autumn at the farm

On Friday (Nov. 8), we drove to the farm in the old pick-up to winterize the house. Son Clint went with us to a lend a hand. It was a decent day – 40 and sunny when we arrived. The sun was warm and an impediment to taking pictures.

First, Mike and Clint loaded the 4-wheeler into the back of the pick-up and the lawnmower onto the trailer.

The old maple has lost her leaves

While Mike and Clint pumped antifreeze into the pipes, I took fussy Bess for a walk. She usually insists we go to the pond, but she gleefully agreed to walk down the lane, working both sides of the road and into the fields as we went. At the bottom of the lane, I suggested we return to the house, but she made it clear that we should go on. “What does she know,” I wondered. So, we moved up the road, beyond the old apple tree and the elderberry bush where she went over the bank and was soon on point. Then she stealthily crept into the scrub brush, and within seconds, the elusive covey of Hungarian Partridges (probably 25-strong) got up and flew farther up the hill. Bess continued to hunt the scrub brush and was soon on another point. This time a pheasant got up – and then another. (Pheasants here are escapees from the hunting club in Little Canyon.) And then another bird flew out, either a hen pheasant or a hun. (My bird identification skills aren’t the best.)

Next, Bess led us on up the hill to the edge of the field where we knew those huns had parked themselves. Bess pointed them again, and as she moved in, they flew farther away – this time across Plank’s field, which is now a homesite. Well, no matter. I wasn’t hunting anyway.

So, we headed back to the house to tell Mike about our hunt. We knew he would be sorry he missed out. Bess was satisfied with her hunting experience and finally settled down.

As a part of winterization, we unloaded the refrigerator into two crates and the cooler, and that was about all we had room to carry back, though I did bring the bin of Christmas stockings and Hallie’s stuffed Dalmatian that barks “Jingle Bells.” Also, Avista has alerted us to the possibility of electricity outages this winter, so we brought the generator back, too.

But I’m making another list of things to get from the farmhouse because Mike wants to return so that he and Bess can search for those huns again. Mike says we’ll go as soon as the rain is over. (Apparently he thinks the predicted rain will actually happen.) And that will give me a chance to pack up more more stuff. KW