O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How Tasty are Your Branches!

Dec. 15, time to get a Christmas tree.  I found a nice one close to the sheep pen.  The sheep were quite curious about it.  They associate me with  food and usually start bawling whenever they see me.  Sheep are generally quiet animals, but these two in particular have strong lungs and know how to use them when food is in question.

Gunnar came to the fence and started nibbling at the tips of the branches.  Not so fast, bud!

That gave me an idea.  I sawed down a small spruce and threw it over the fence.  The sheep attacked it with relish.  I guess eating hay every day gets kind of old, and spruce needles must add a little spice to their diet.  Spruce salsa?  The sheep also like pine needles during the winter.  The early French voyageurs suffered badly from scurvy, a disease caused by a Vitamin C deficiency - until they learned from the Indians how to make tea from cedar leaves.  They named the tree Arborvitae, the tree of life.  Sheep of course knew these sorts of things all along.  And we consider them dumb.

This one is ours.

Pond Hockey

December 6 - Finnish Independence Day

Pond hockey at its finest.  Who needs snow when you have good ice.

Yours truly about to deke out three defenders...(Hey, I can tell it any way I like.)

The island added strategic options...

Whichever team got three goals first was the winner.  Afterward we mixed the sticks to choose new sides and did it all over again.

Jake putting a move on Johnny....

The Koivisto brothers - Carl and Mark - chased each other while the rest of us watched.  (We couldn't keep up.)

Yours truly about to drop the puck using the old behind-of-the-back-at-the-goal toss. Nothing against it in the rule book.  For matter there's nothing against anything in the rule book, for the rule book does not exist.

 

Johnny stealing the puck...

Pond hockey is open to all levels of talent.  When your goal is a five gallon bucket, even a rookie is likely to score.

Jakencarl

Digging the puck out of the grass...

....breaking loose

The crowd around the goal...

After two hours of hockey, some post game refreshment - pannukakku.