Fun with chickens

While I wish for spring, the continuing cold keeps us in winter and I will have to wait to clean the coop out. Yesterday I took an armload of hay out to freshen the floor. When I walked in, looking a bit like a mobile haystack, the chickens panicked with cries of "Monster! Murder! Run for your lives!". Then, as I spread it around, those still inside changed their tune to "Hey, what's all this?" and began the fun job of scratching it about. Sherlock went a bit mad and burrowed in until she was completely hidden and didn't budge even when Princess walked right over her.

grump grump

A miserable day of howling winds, snow flurries, and sleet.

And I was dreaming of taking the plastic off the windows and sunshine.

What's this?

A shabby stuffed animal perhaps?

Nope. It's a kitten asleep on the firewood, of course.

It was a beautiful day outside with temperatures above freezing! My yard and garden are still buried under the white stuff but that might change soon if the weather continues warm.

Enlightenment

Not in a new age way, more of a realization of cause and effect. I had been feeling more comfortable with my meds lately, but after a bout of stomach flu last week I find myself once again struggling with the constant nausea. Apparently, my digestive track balances on an edge and illness is enough to throw it off. :(  I'm not so sure why I couldn't stay warm today. While the north wind was strong, the house wasn't that cold; just me.

So, I didn't get the seeds started that I had planned on this weekend. Doing as much as I did was good. I raised the chicken gate before the water froze - yay! We got the firewood stacked in the garage. I've been trying my hand as crocheting again after many months.

For a pretty glimpse of some green (since the outside world is still white): the lettuces in the aerogarden.

Spring has sprung a leak

Our first serious rain after the winter and everything feels and sounds strange. Because the ground is still frozen there is standing water everywhere and the snow is shrinking. After a day of rain the weather forecast calls for a switch to snow tonight. If it gets cold enough this area is going to turn into a skating rink.

What a relief that I sent my son to get a load of firewood yesterday before the rain began. This is a soaker.

One thing I will have to do today is go out with a screwdriver and raise the chicken gate. Right now it's standing in about three inches of water. Joy...hah!

Blustery!

We've had a drizzly sort of day making the paths slick and treacherous. I'm careful to walk in the snow alongside the path to avoid a painful tumble. The wind is blowing noisily through the tops of the trees; there's something almost mournful in the sound, as if winter is lamenting the coming of spring. It won't give up too easily, we are forecast to have snow tonight and tomorrow.

While I don't have loads of energy yet, I did find enough to begin a project that I've wanted to do for a long time - cleaning the library. Even making some progress felt good.

I checked the propane tank and it's still over 70% full. Not one delivery this winter! I love the wood stove. I was regretting not having written down when I bought firewood since I always paid cash and didn't have a tally for the winter. Using my savvy detective skills, I looked up every time the wood guy's phone number showed up on my records and discovered that we bought wood six times. The total came to roughly half what I would have spent on propane (or a third of the amount from the years when I wasn't so frugal with the thermostat). Nice as that is, I'm still ready for spring.

Uh oh

We had a bit of a scare last night when we came home from the movies and found the dog had forced his way thru the gate between his pen and the chicken pen. Luckily, all the chickens were already roosting in the coop for the night. This morning we used a wood splitter to chip away the ice that was keeping the gate from closing properly. I will definitely be raising that gate this summer so this problem doesn't happen again next winter.

Speaking of the movie: if, like us, you are a Die Hard fan, don't bother going to the latest. A Good Day to Die Hard is a complete flop. Boring and choppy; all the blame firmly lies with the writer and director...and whoever made the decision to hire them. This will be the first Die Hard movie I won't be buying; I wouldn't want it even for free.