The temperature dropped below zero last night, but I kept the place warm by getting up every few hours to add more wood to the fire.  Today the temperature rose to over 20 degrees, so it was a beautiful sunny day, for the first day of deer hunting season.  Strange to say, I haven't heard much in the way of gunfire around here.  Maybe the deer have left, or the hunters are going elsewhere.  I saw no deer tracks at all on my walk, but I did see round poody toes, which means a cat of some sort walked by.  It was bigger than a housecat, but not as big as a cougar, so that leaves Mr. Bobcat. 

After much ado, which means trying to stabilize the horrid aluminum ladder, we got the beef suet hung up high on an oak tree in a coated basket.  And today, the pileated woodpecker has been on it twice when I went outside to feed the chicken.  And Miss Suzy, the chicken, is very happy in her sheltered, sunny location.  And I am happy to go out and feed her, because everything is so much easier to do now.  Her water freezes up though, so I bring hot water out and pour it in her jug.  It stays liquid long enough for her to get her fill. 

I'm feeling lazy these days.  My list of things to do sounds like this now:  call about my tire; bake bread; get the mail, etc.  Not the heavy schedule I was on during the fall, and I am really enjoying extra relaxation time.  I now have new books to read and new puzzle books to work on.  And today, to add to my enjoyment, yes, even before Thanksgiving, a seed catalog for 2009 came from Pinetree Seeds   The fire is crackling in the stove, the birds are enjoying the treats I put out for them, and my Pepper is lying by my side after our walk.