The Reindeer Keeper

  A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of our Christmas tree after dragging it outdoors and standing it up by the bird feeders. I secured it to the post holding the feeders, thinking it would offer additional ways and places for me to feed the flock. After one of our windy, snowy, icy storms I looked out one morning and saw the tree had blown over. It was on the ground not too far from the feeders. After a while I went out to get it standing back up again beside the feeders. But I couldn’t budge the tree. It was frozen in place. I knew I’d have to leave it there until we had a warm spell. I thought that was that. But then, the funniest, strangest thing began to happen. It’s still going on as winter is far from over. The Christmas tree turned into a hotel. A busy and spacious Bird Hotel with a marvelous view of the field. It appears to be patronized by Cardinals, Sparrows, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Rock Doves, Crows, even Squirrels and Chipmunks. Some days...

That's my grandfather sitting on the doorstep of what was his woodshed. The woodshed was attached to the back of the farmhouse. Inside the woodshed, there was a door that opened up into the kitchen, making it easier when working out in the shed, chopping wood up into pieces. All that the wood chopper needed to do after chopping was open that door, walk a few feet into the kitchen to the wood box sitting by the woodstove and dump the new supply of chopped wood into it. I remember being in the kitchen, able to hear someone chopping wood in the woodshed. I loved the smell of the chopped wood. Loved the saw dust and wood shavings all over the place. Another thing I loved in that woodshed was the wooden platform leading from the door in the kitchen to a set of stairs that took you down to the dirt floor in the woodshed or back up and through to the kitchen depending which way you were going. It was a good-sized wooden platform. Perfect for stacking wood and more importantly, perfect for...