The first

Only two posts in all of last month! It seemed like being caught up in nothingness. No sun so no solar power; no eggs so even the chickens felt like they were in a holding pattern; nothing exciting at work.

Well, things have changed somewhat. Although much colder, we are seeing a few days of sunshine in the week. My son's work shift was shut down requiring him to switch to the week shift at a lower pay (but at least he still has a job). Probably the happiest news is that the 16 chicks from last spring have begun laying. And WOW! are they laying. We're averaging a dozen eggs per day including Pippi and Poppy's greenish/blueish eggs. I need to get a couple more nesting boxes put up so they don't feel the need to double up in them at the same time. :) I'm so glad I got the ceiling insulated for them; although with the recent plunge in temp there is frost all over the inside of the coop now.

I've been watching a show called Pioneer Quest where I've learned that what I really need to keep them warm is being housed with a cow. Lol. If you enjoy historical 'reality' type shows you should put it on your watch list. Basically, two couples are put into an undeveloped section of land in Manitoba with the equipment homesteaders would have had and spend a year as settlers from the 1870s. The good: no matter how hard they thought it would be, it was harder and we get to see that. They learned so much and came to love it there. The bad: the producers should have done better before starting by making certain they had the right equipment and supplies. Also, expecting strangers to live together like family was stupid and not something real settlers would have done. Of course they chose to build two houses. If they had wanted them to stay in one they should have begun with real family members.

One of the original couples had to leave at the beginning and I wonder how the year would have gone differently with them instead of the replacements. I suspect they may have been more suited to the isolation personality-wise although they were about a decade older and may have found the work difficult. Were there many homesteaders starting out in their fifties?

I definitely liked the young couple better, but I recognize that is mostly because (as everyone who knows me realizes) I'm not a people person and would hate living with someone who needs social interaction.

Closing my first post of 2015 I present you with...eggs!