Vacation Day 4

The day of gastric distress - nuf said.

Vacation day 3

It wasn't an ambitious day for me. My son went ice fishing with friends so I've been on my own all day. Still very cold out so right after lunch I brought the dog back in and collected the four eggs that had been laid since morning chores. I sewed some hangers onto the blankets used over my son's bedroom windows to make them more secure and easier to put up. Other than that I watched lots of New Tricks and enjoyed a quiet day.

Vacation Day 2

Whew! I'm beat tonight. More plastic on the windows today: living room, kitchen, and bathroom for a total of ten windows. I know it's important; I could feel the cold air coming in around the edges as I was taping and covering them...if only there weren't so many! The only room I won't do is my son's. His bed is against both windows so the plastic never stays in place. Instead, we hang blankets over them.

According to the weather forecast our cold spell is going to continue all week. It feels like a waste now that the young hens have begun laying when the eggs freeze solid and crack open before I can collect them. All the chickens are in good health, which is the important thing.

This is definitely a night for going to bed early!

Vacation Day 1

After months of back to back projects, I've finally caught up at work and am on vacation! My dual goals for this time off are to destress and catch up on my to-do list here at home.

Today I put plastic up over my bedroom windows to help keep the northwest winds out. This evening we went to see The Hobbit. I'm afraid that I'm one of those who found it boring. It didn't have that special feel like The Lord of the Rings and the pace was very slow. My son enjoyed it though.

First blizzard of the winter

Sunday was our first blizzard of the winter. As blizzards go, this one was mild; about 10 inches of snow combined with strong winds caused road closures and advice not to travel, yet by Monday the winds had died down. I shoveled the driveway today and it wasn't bad with no wind and moderate temps.

So, it feels as if we're being eased into the winter season. Personally, I'd love to see a pattern of heavy snow followed by a melt down. We desperately need the moisture and as long as we can avoid ice it wouldn't be too hard to deal with.

There's something especially cozy about being home by the fire when you know you can't go anywhere but feeling safe anyway. If there had been an ice storm and the power lines were in danger I would have felt it necessary to try to clear some of the snow off the solar panels. As it was, I reread The Long Winter and marveled at what they survived. Imagine not being able to leave your home town for over five months, no school for an entire winter, heat only during the day, no lighting, no insulation and being on the edge of starvation. It really would feel like the weather was some malevolent force trying to destroy you.

Keep warm, dry and safe.

Fluffy stuff

Our abnormally warm and dry winter has finally taken a turn towards normal. These were the scenes that waited outside my back door this morning.

The moisture is desperately needed, but it is a bit worrying because the wind is supposed to blow hard today. A good day to stay inside...at least that is what my chickens tell me. They aren't leaving the coop.

Firewood

I've got our wood stores filled up as much as possible so I took some pictures. This way I can track how much we burn and how long it will take until we can fit another pickup load into the garage.

Double stack at the back of the garage.

Full rack on the side.

We're enjoying a little warming trend right now. I'll even be able to hang clothes out on the line this weekend.