On the last day of 2009 the animals at Little Pond Farm welcome the New Year.

Snow on my head means a long winter of fine bunny weather, says Candy.

One should play on a holiday, says Lily.

No, says Scooter. Welcome the New Year with warmth and cuddles.

Thank the farmers and ask for more kale! say the goats. We do love holiday food!

Look! Cabbage! say hens. This IS a good start for the New Year.

Everyone here at Little Pond Farm wish you and yours all the best in 2010.

We flew home from Puerto Rico last night. This is a view of the sky in San Juan at dusk.

We stayed at a hotel that was originally built as a convent in 1651. A 300-year old nispero tree grows in the courtyard. At night, hundreds of fruit bats swoop around it.

Puerto Rico was HOT and humid. Quite the change from the 11 degree F temp and bitter winds that greeted us in Boston. It was a short 4 nights away from home, but it felt like ages. Lily Dog said that it WAS ages – maybe a few years since she had seen us last.

All of the animals were well-cared for by Luisa, our pet sitter. She was surprised at how much hay the goats waste. Goats don’t have a “5-second rule.” According to goats, if the hay hits the ground, it’s inedible.

The rabbit surprised Luisa by being fine in the biting cold. Candy does love winter weather.

The chickens weathered the cold just fine, as I knew they would.

My family did fine in the tropical heat. We hiked in a rain forest, the boys went body surfing on a day when the red flag (danger, undertow!) was up. We ate very good food. I bought a sunhat.

We’re glad to be home. Scooter wants me to take a nap with him. I think I will.

Merry Christmas to all! Thank you for all of your warm wishes. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to give some of you a White Christmas. It’s COLD here, and my family and I are going somewhere warm for a few days holiday. I’ll tell you about it when I get back. The animals will be in good hands. Luisa has been my pet sitter since when I had just a guinea pig and a dog. She’s gamely learned to take care of the chickens, rabbit, koi, and Lily Dog who is not easy. The goats will be a new challenge for her. I expect that they’ll squeeze out the stall door and leap around on the galvanized bins. I’ve no doubt that Luisa will figure out how to get them back where they belong.

This is what I heard Christmas Eve:

Pip said, Come and snuggle.

Caper asked, Did you bring food?

The chickens murmured, we don’t wake up for anything.

Candy hopped around in the snow and said, where are the chickens?

Lily came outside and said, I’ll watch for aliens. They come out even on Christmas.

Scooter didn’t want to wake up. He squeezed his eyes shut and said, love and started snoring again.

It’s what I hear them say every night. I suppose it’s Christmas Eve year round here.

All the best to you and yours — from all of us at Little Pond Farm.

I grew up in a Reformed Jewish home in a neighborhood of Protestants. I enjoyed looking at Christmas lights, but I never yearned for a tree of my own or a visit by Santa.

There was, however, one aspect of Christmas that captured my imagination. When little, I read a picture book about how the animals talk (in English!) on Christmas Eve. I didn’t need that magic with my own dog (who I perfectly understood) but I oh so wished for a barn in the backyard, filled with animals, and one night of the year when I could snuggle in the straw with them and listen to them talk.

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from my home to yours.

On Sunday morning, we woke up to this.

The snow was too deep and it was too windy for the hens. (Nine inches fell by the end of the afternoon.) I put bread in the suet feeder and hung a cabbage. That kept the girls busy and out of trouble.

Candy didn’t understand why no one wanted to join her in the snow.

The goats were kept in.

If you’re not going to open the door, at least I can use if for a scratching post.

We’ll play indoors while you’re not looking.

If you insist that we stay in this boring stall, I guess we’ll just have to eat all day.

Silly animals. This is what you should do on a snow day.