It's a new year, blah blah blah....

- Yep, another year is over and a new one has begun. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic now than I have felt for the past decade pretty much, so no... I'm not going to complain. While things aren't perfect, they are still so much BETTER!

As for resolutions, I'm just not into that like I used to be. And a word for the New Year... are you kidding? Just one word? Impossible.

- Before New Years I started taking down some of the Christmas decorations - thank goodness because it feels cramped enough in this house without drowning in all the holiday decor - although a few are still up and I'm in no hurry to take down the tree.

I am really going to miss saying goodbye to our ornaments. They're precious to me.

- Below are photos of Christmas in my bedroom this year, sans the glitter houses I had out last year.

And I finally stenciled the bird on the branch to the sweet furniture that I got for my birthday back in May. (The doors can only be opened with a key). The stencil actually looks more faded in reality than it does in the photos.









































We got this - as well as another cute one with kids on the stairs looking down at Santa - back in the 80's I think. The fire doesn't light anymore because I need a special bulb for it. Hopefully, I'll be able to find one someplace.

I have no idea where the other one is. I never did find it this year.

























I ended up using the tree in the dining table display, and the bunny I finally just placed on the bottom shelf of my little bookcase.































































Click HERE to see all our Christmas Decorations from 2013 - 2016.















Yesterday the owner of the donkey's/mules next door FINALLY showed up to check up on them and give them more hay to help keep them warm. It's TWO DAYS LATE - considering the poor things were in the cold all that time with no hay to eat and they were too cold to graze - but what's done is done.

I was really worried over those donkeys these past few days - and especially nights - in all this cold. (At night it's been feeling like the 20's). I mean, look at how cold it already was at 8 pm on New Years Day.



I noticed a squirrel trying to get water out of one of the bird baths, which had all frozen.



I figured the donkey's water must have frozen, too, and even if it hadn't I knew donkeys hate drinking cold water, so yesterday I filled up two small buckets with warm water for them.

The girls, and for the first time since it's been cold, came up to the fence once they saw our garage door open. I gave them the buckets of warm water and they seemed to appreciate it. I also gave them 2 carrots each.

After I walked back to the house, I got the camera to take a picture of them. (To show Mom that they're drinking the water. Actually, when taking photos/video from the garage was when the owner finally drove up). While doing that I noticed "Anna" stripping the wood off the fence post and eating it. I've never seen her do that before, so I looked up this behavior online.





It turns out either she's bored, stressed, or hungry.

My guess is on the latter, seeing how she's been stuck inside the shed for days on end with probably nothing to eat to keep her warm. (There might be grain buckets inside the shed with them, but I'm not sure. I'm no equine expert, but I think a donkey's main diet is supposed to be grass/hay and not grain anyway. The buckets might have been filled with water instead. I just don't know. All I do know is that they seemed really hungry to me). She might have done that before - eating the wood - only I never noticed. It might have nothing to do with her being hungry at all, but at least they have hay to eat now. I no longer have to imagine the worst.



Well as I said, what's done is done. At least I can stop worrying about them now and the weather is a lot warmer today than it has been. It's in the high 40's today and it's really sunny, which I'm sure all the animals around here appreciate.





Speaking of animals, I was so HAPPY yesterday to see our other neighbor's cattle roaming the pasture next to us.

The cattle haven't been in that field for MONTHS now and Mom and I have really missed seeing them.



FYI: The video of the 6 deer was taken tonight. I think they're venturing out today because the temperature has been a lot friendlier.







And even though it's been f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g lately, our Maddie has loved it like mad. It's really been difficult getting her to come back inside.



To end my rambling post, here a pic of the birds feasting like royalty to keep warm. We have three bird feeders and all of them have been quiet busy these past few days.





And here's a photo of the deer we saw tonight - we counted 6 - and another blue heron over at the neighbor's pond from the other day. I've seen them a lot lately.







I almost forgot to post these two. It's video of the hawk that we saw a week or so ago, and then a group of deer from a while back.