The Friday after Thanksgiving, we awoke to Gertie and her pal, Rudolph, standing as sentries by the fireplace hearth. She must have invited Rudy to duty over night...she must have as well changed from her Thanksgiving garb to one recognizable as the uniform of the day for Christmas. All looked well and inviting as she also started a roaring fire in the fireplace to welcome us to the official first day of the Christmas Season. But we were somewhat saddened as Gertie related the story of Farmboy having become somewhat unhappy and displeased that his standing as the representative of "Fall" had come to an end, and Gertie said he even blamed her, sweet and innocent that she is, as facilitating his tenure's demise in her own interest of capaturing "center stage" again at the fireplace. She said he finally gave a big "humph" and left the premises (didn't find any open doors that AM, though). Anyway, Gertie says that she and Rudy assured Farm Boy they would take up the slack in his absence, and hoped he found satisfaction and a warm feeling wherever it was he found himself.

In any event, the fire was welcome, Gertie and Rudy were apparently happy, and all is well with the world. Funny thing, though, Farm Boy's Dad, the Gentleman sitting on the hay stacks by the front door in some of the pictures taken last month, was also gone. Gertie was kind of vague on his whereabouts, mumbling something about the situation becoming somewhat more heated than he liked. But I gave little more thought to his and Farm Boy's wanderings...I had noticed while talking to Gertie that a light trail of straw, obviously left behind by Farm Boy, needed to be cleaned up from in front of the fire on the hearth...lots there, too, though I can't understand how Farm Boy could have lost that much overnight...but it looks like he or Gertie or Rudy also tried to help with the clean-up as it appears they tried to sweep up some of the straw right up to the blaze itself...sweet Gertie, she is like that...helping Farm Boy leave in a "blaze" of rememberance. I really wish they had gotten along a little better, but it warms my, and I am sure Farm Boy's, heart that Gertie would have been so kind to have helped him when he needed to leave...