{"id":11329,"date":"2025-12-15T16:48:56","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T21:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/?p=11329"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:48:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T21:48:56","slug":"the-sun-is-shining-and-the-birds-are-singing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/2025\/12\/15\/the-sun-is-shining-and-the-birds-are-singing\/","title":{"rendered":"The sun is shining and the birds are singing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Well, maybe they&#8217;re not singing, but they sure are hitting the feeder tray under the back porch window. I&#8217;ll bet they&#8217;re glad the temperatures are warming up after several days of below zero for a <em>high<\/em>. I know we are! The deer and turkeys are sure hitting the feed I put out in the driveway. We&#8217;re now up to six deer and several flocks of wild turkeys. The deer now come when I call them. This morning, they were even waiting for me! They came running for their feed like a herd of goats, not even waiting until I was back in the goat barn with the bucket.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11330\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11330\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11330\" src=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Deer-herd_3493-630x420.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11330\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our little deer herd is growing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Will has finished up the big shelving unit in the basement and has it moved to the center of the basement and even put most of the boxes of canned foods up on it. Now I have to go down and organize it and get it out of the boxes. Yep, when it&#8217;s in the boxes, it&#8217;s all nice and neat. But I can&#8217;t find anything with the cardboard in the way. When it&#8217;s out of the boxes, I can see, at a glance, just what&#8217;s available for a quick grab. During the renovation, he also brought up many boxes of assorted &#8220;junk&#8221; from the shelves &#8220;not for food,&#8221; for me to go through. Slowly, I&#8217;m sorting. A lot of boxes haven&#8217;t been opened since we moved from the mobile home to the house. We found five boxes of David&#8217;s kid books, which he&#8217;ll come get for the granddaughters to enjoy, some of his toys and other memorabilia. Some of the boxes were only partially full of, well, pretty much junk. Will&#8217;s keeping the wood boiler going with burnables today.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11331\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11331\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-canning-rack_1905-630x420.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new canning rack is now finished. I&#8217;ve got to get the food organized now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In all the chaos, I managed to get the Christmas tree decorated and lit up. It does look so pretty. Will even found our two old Nativity scenes, which I&#8217;ve put up. I had to laugh, putting baby Jesus in the stable. That&#8217;s the same baby Jesus that our husky, Icy Bay, discovered under our tree, years ago. Daughter, Tricia, came running into the kitchen, horrified. &#8220;Mom! Icy Bay just peed on baby Jesus!&#8221; Yes, I did wash the Holy Infant well and let Icy know you don&#8217;t pee on the Son of God. I&#8217;m sure he was just thinking that tree needed marking.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11332\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11332\" style=\"width: 1542px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11332\" src=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1542\" height=\"1658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909.jpg 1542w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-279x300.jpg 279w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-952x1024.jpg 952w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-768x826.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-1429x1536.jpg 1429w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-696x748.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-1068x1148.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tree_1909-391x420.jpg 391w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1542px) 100vw, 1542px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11332\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Christmas tree is now decorated and lit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Our temperatures are supposed to (I&#8217;ll believe it when I see it!) reach the high thirties tomorrow. Some forecasts even said 42. Ha ha! I guess everyone needs a good laugh.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, canning supplies, garden equipment, and seeds make excellent Christmas presents! Each step toward self-reliance is a true gift from the heart. &#8212; Jackie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well, maybe they&#8217;re not singing, but they sure are hitting the feeder tray under the back porch window. I&#8217;ll bet they&#8217;re glad the temperatures are warming up after several days of below zero for a high. I know we are! The deer and turkeys are sure hitting the feed I put out in the driveway. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,8,13,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11329"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11334,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions\/11334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/JackieClay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}