Woke up to a world of white this morning - not snow, but frost covering everything. After a few weeks of "after harvest" browns it is a very refreshing and welcome change. Glen is working on leases at least an hour away these days so his alarm clock goes off at the ungodly hour of 4:30, and being a spectacularly poor specimen of wifehood, I don't even acknowledge that I'm alive, let alone that I know he's getting up to face the dark world alone. I know, there'll be a special place in heaven for me when I get there - just outside the gates - but the middle of the night is for sleeping in my books. I didn't hear him do his "winter is really here" groan this morning, so frost must be okay. You don't have to clear it off the roads or dig bales out of it, and it doesn't blow up into banks you can get stuck in.

Since I have been up (at about 7:30, when the sky was at least begining to lighten up) I have started about five different jobs and completed not a single one. The kitchen table is strewn with papers that I have sorted through to find the bills that need paying and things that need filing. That led to putting away catalogues which, in turn, progressed into paging through them to get ideas for Christmas gifts. That led to starting a shopping list for things I need to pick up in the city when I go into Brandon for a medical appointment on Wednesday. Not one of these things is done and in the meanwhile I've called Sandy in Winnipeg just to catch up on her news and Mitchell has dropped in to raid the deepfreeze for some meat. That's something we do for all the kids - they all help with the cattle chores and can have what beef they need anytime they want. Mick stayed for a bit of a visit and a piece of raisin pie - his favorite. Yesterday I did actually get something done - a whole batch of pies and a big pot of stew.

Glen says that the feeders are finally scheduled for market next Monday. They should have gone six weeks ago but with him gone working all the time it's been hard for him to make the arrangements. I have been on his case this fall to cut back on some of this cattle work. What will happen next is that, once last year's feeders are gone, we will wean this year's calves and start all over again. We segregate them and start feeding them a grain diet. That means pails and pails of oats both morning and night, all winter long. Before and after a very long day's work and always in the dark. It's crazy that we continue to do this when we make a decent living at our jobs! Sometimes it almost sounds like I'm getting through to him, and then we end up buying another bull to refresh the genetics going into the herd!

He did tell me the other night that he thinks maybe he'll just fill the creep feeder (a big feeder bin on wheels) with oats and just park it in their pen. That will lighten the work load somewhat. There will still be bales to feed both the cows and the feeders and bedding to put out for them both, but the day to day drudgery will be lessened at least. He teases me that I'll be losing my exercise regimn, and he's right about that - I may be sorry we didn't carry pails all winter long when spring comes around!

I have managed to get the yard cleaned up and ready for winter. There is still most of a bale play house that he put in the middle of the yard for the grandchildren when they were here, but he is slowly carrying the straw off to put bedding into the corrals. It needs to be out of the way before the big snow hits us - they stand exactly where he has to push the snow out of the way to clear a path out of the yard. It won't always be frost like this morning - he had better get that done. And so must I get something done around here ... better get back to that kitchen table!