The view from my toilet

Yes, this really is the view from my toilet. You can see several things from here.

First, we still need to put tile around our bathtub. Whenever I list the things that still need to be done on the house, I always forget that one. We have a separate shower though, so it's not a huge deal, since I don't splash that much when I bathe. On the list of "things I wish I'd known" before building this house, I would add, "Don't have a separate shower and tub." Why? Because if you don't use a tub for about a week, you still have to clean it. Yeah, it gets ridiculously dusty, and all sorts of stuff collects in there, like dead Asian beetles in the fall. Ugh!

Second, there is a tree out there that still hasn't lost its leaves. Six or seven years ago, I wouldn't have noticed that, and I wouldn't have cared. Today, I wonder why it hasn't lost its leaves. Healthy trees shed their leaves in the fall, just like healthy animals shed their winter coats in the spring. After the goats stripped the bark off our apple trees, they didn't lose their leaves in the fall, and when spring arrived, we realized they were dead. So, if that huge tree is dead, that's a lot of firewood!

Often, I see ducks and geese swimming on the pond, but this time of year they're confined to the small area that is kept unfrozen by the aerator. They look like little dots in the picture, but they're bigger in real life. I've seen deer wandering through the pasture, and sometimes our horses gallop around the back of the pond. Every now and then, I also see naughty goats back there after they've gone through the electric fence. Overall, I'd have to say that the view from my toilet makes it the best seat in the house.