Oh Christmas Tree
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!
Not only green when summer’s here
But in the coldest time of year.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!
There’s a big storm forecasted for today, so Mr Chiots and I headed out yesterday afternoon to get our Christmas tree. Here in Maine we are lucky to have lots of balsam firs on our property. We found this perfectly imperfect beauty over the front hillside.
It’s decorated with one strand of 25 big white bulbs and a few etched glass balls. It smells heavenly and we love the warm glow it casts in the living room. There’s nothing better than enjoying hot chocolate with the tree on.
Do you put up a Christmas tree? Is it a real tree or a fake tree?
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Peanut Butter?
Dexter is such a fun cat, he’s adventurous in every way, even in his diet. I know Dexter will eat just about anything I give him, our other cats are super picky. One day I was eating a spoonful of peanut butter and he decided he wanted a taste.
I didn’t let him taste it until I was just about finished, he polished off the rest on my spoon. Now, whenever he smells peanut butter he makes a pest of himself until he gets some. He’s just about as bad with pumpkin pie, which he also loves.
Do you have any pets that eat crazy things?
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Friday Favorite: Fun with Pranks
Many years ago one specific prank gift was given at Christmas, it was fake poop. It has been showing up here and there ever since. For a while it was lost in the bottom of a junk drawer, but it was discovered once again and has been making the rounds at my parent’s house. The kids think it’s the greatest thing ever, especially our youngest niece Katie who happens to be four.
She is happy as a clam when she gets pranked so she can prank someone else. When we were back at Thanksgiving we put it in a can of Pringles for her to find when she reached for a snack. She laughed and laughed and immediately ran upstairs to put it on uncle Brian’s pillow. Before we left the prank poop was left on the bathroom counter with all four of their toothbrushes resting on it. My mom said Katie found it and thought it was great!
This isn’t the only prank gift that’s been in the family, every year there are different prank gifts, of course they usually revolve around bathroom humor. Fun pranks like these help us from getting too serious and reminds us to keep that kid part of us alive.
Do you have any family pranks?
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Snow Dogs
Tara has been living at Chiot’s Run for almost three months now. She came to us towards the end of September and is really settling in to her role as protector of all things living. I find her sleeping by the ducklings sometimes and she frequently patrols the perimeter fence we have set up now. She’s also really liking the cold weather, she finally spends her days outside without panting and searching for shade. She was definitely made for winter! Lucy is also a winter loving dog, she gets super excited when the snow starts to fall. You can almost see a extra spring in her step when the weather turns cold.
Tara even has a few nicknames already, Terrible T seems to be the one she likes best, though she’s anything but terrible. We also call her Sweet T to round it out.
Yesterday, Tara spent all day out and towards evening we discovered that she had started to dig herself a den. It’s located in a small ravine between the chicken and duck coops. You can’t tell she’s in there until she sits up and pops her head over the top of the rocks. It’s the perfect place to be able to hear what’s going on and be close to both coops.
We have yet to decide on a permanent place for T, but we’re thinking this might be a good. Perhaps a little roof over her den or just laying saplings and pine boughs might suffice. We knew she’d eventually show us the place she wanted to claim as her own, this should work until the snow melts in spring, then she’ll have to find herself a new den. It can be hard to have strictly outdoor animals in our society, people think they’re being abused or neglected. Some certainly are, but there are those that are much happier being outside, Tara is one of those! It can also be hard on us as we want to protect them and keep them safe, truth is, Tara is perfectly able to take care of herself and knows what she wants and needs.
Have you ever had outdoor animals?
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Fun with Uncle Brian
When we travel back to Ohio we make sure to schedule lots of time with our nieces & nephew. This trip back was no different. They are especially fond of Mr Chiots (aka uncle Brian) and of course they love his iPad. One day, while Mr Chiots was off hunting, they were over and asked where the iPad was. I told them Mr Chiots had it, they proceeded to ask when he was coming back.
They have loads of fun playing games with him, it’s certainly nice to have an adult that will take the time to play games with them. I bake cookies and do other crafty things with them, uncle Brian is the techie adult to play games and watch movies with.
Do you remember having adults you loved spending time with as a kid?
