The winter pasture is taking a familiar shape. The animals make their trails in the snow and ice, the snow mixes with mud and manure, the sky takes on its own evocative cast, unique to the winter. This is an Iphone 5 photo, I am impressed with the camera in the phone and am experimenting with it, especially on Instagram, where I am signed in as bedlamfarm.  The camera doesn’t have the depth of field of the Canon, but it is sharp and picks up color and shading well. Maria and I worked hard today, dealing with the donkeys’ assault on our barn. More about that later. Multi-grain pizza tonight, with tomato, greens and mozzarella. Battenkill Books is having a 40 per cent off sale on all hardcover books this weekend, so I rushed down and got the new John Banville novel, “Ancient Light” for $11. Can’t beat that. The store’s number is 518 677-2515 and online at www.battenkillbooks.com. My offer to sign and personalize any of my books purchased through Battenkill is good all year. I find I am needing hardcover books along with the mysteries and other books I get on my Kindle. Doing both.