We are back from a mini vacation.

Christmas Eve we went to Mass as usual. Each year there is a pageant put on by second graders as part of the Mass. For as long as we can recall, this program has been put together by one family. We can recall when the daughters of that family had a role in the pageant and now their children have parts.

The pageant tells the story of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem to find that there is no room in the inn. My wife, Mary, especially likes the ancient wooden donkey on wheels who follows Joseph down our church aisle. Our son, Jim, had the great honor of playing Jesus when he was a few months old and he reappeared several years later as the Emperor. Eileen was an angel one year.

We have a new priest this year. He is from Kenya and he clearly enjoyed the pageant. Just another wonderful reason to live in small town America.

Christmas morning we drove to Vermont. We had rented a house near a ski area for a few days with my sister and her family from Arkansas. My oldest daughter and her family came over from New Hampshire.

A young lady who is a family friend has been taking care of our cattle while we were away. She does a great job with them.

I used to ski but don't anymore. So I went to see some cattle. There is a farm with excellent Lowlines about an hour from the ski area. I visited with the owner and really enjoyed looking over his operation.

Then there is a world famous Belted Galloway farm near the ski area. Jim and I had met some of their people last year. So we went over to visit. It is a world class operation.

My daughter and her husband and two boys and I went to tour a farm that has become a National Park. It goes back to 1869 and the most recent owners were the Rockefellers. As part of their arrangement in giving the farm to the government, they must continue to maintain a herd of Jersey milkers. The cows are immaculate and they ship milk just like everyone else. It is really hardly different than the farm a friend has about ten miles from here. He and his ancestors have been milking cows in the same spot for over a hundred years. He also has Jerseys.

Jim and I had to come back early for a meeting about the Naval Academy. He has received what is called a competitive appointment from our Congressman. This doesn't mean he is in but certainly moves him closer.

Today we went to the Adirondacks to pick up our larch wood. There was one area of Lake effect snow along the way that was troublesome but we made it safely.

There was a huge thaw and high winds over the last few days but it looks like we came through unscathed. It is supposed to snow again overnight with lake effect later tomorrow. It would be better for the cattle and us if we could just get a steady temperature range instead of these wild swings. I am believer in the theory that you need a period of good cold days to knock down the various germs etc.