Haymaker...(Not the Kind That Knocks You Out)

It's a chilly September afternoon. This morning I walked down the hill on a carpet of brown poplar leaves. Each slightly-cupped leaf held about a tablespoon of the rain that fell overnight. Have I transported into bizzaro world? This weather is nothing like last week when we were baling hay.

That day was HOT...It was sunny...It was breezy. We were living the motto: "make hay while the sun shines!" The Cowboy raked the hay into tidy rows. The hay took longer to dry this go-around, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. As I watched the methodical up and back trek of the tractor, a pudgy groundhog waddled his way through the alfalfa stand in the field next to me. He headed right towards me! Didn't he even see me? He was within 4 feet of me. If I'd had a .22, I woulda ..............just pointed it at him since you all know I'm a sissy in the shooting animals department. That's right, woodchuck chuckers, I just let the chubby thing lumber right past me. I was glad Harry was asleep...I'd hate for him to tangle with a groundhog in the first few weeks of his ranch dog role.

What a contrast today is. It's cold...and it's gray...sooooo I've spent all day inside smelling up the place with some homemade banana cake.



New Country Hint: On a breezy late summer day, don't go for a stroll in a walnut grove. Just sayin'.