Helpful Hens

We had another snow storm on the horizon, 

so I had to head over to the homestead to take care of the chickens.

The coop needed to be cleaned out, 

and they needed some high energy snacks.

The girls thought I needed help with the straw.

I had to shoo them away several times.

Apparently, they like their straw pre-scratched and picked over.

The coop got cleaned, 

the snacks got added,

and I woke up to snow.

Yay.

The Blizzard of 2016

 So this happened this weekend.

 30"+ of snow dumped down on us Friday night and all day Saturday.

And Sunday we began digging out.

 Not only digging out the cars and sidewalks, 

but more importantly digging out a potty area for the dogs.

 We're on our second day off of school

and I've been fortunate enough to be able to work from home.

Of course, I'd be working less if I was at the office

simply because I've been working on chores around the house.

I've finished the painting in the kitchen 

and will soon have the painting done in the laundry room.

Things are coming along nicely. 

The chickens are fine over on the homestead,

and my my emergency preparedness came in handy

when we needed plastic sheeting

 to cover the attic vents when we discovered snow in the attic.

Now we're just staying warm inside.

More Snow? Really?

That's a downy woodpecker sitting on the tree

Guess what.

That's right, we got 4 more inches of snow on St. Patrick's Day.

I also received my box of seeds 

from Annie's Heirloom Seeds.

And Thursday is technically the first day of Spring.

Really.

I'm serious.

Part of a herd of 20+

So, I'll get to planting some of my seeds that need to be started indoors

and come up with ways to keep the deer from turning the garden into an outdoor buffet.

(they like kale a lot)

Is It Spring Yet?

This is the garden from just 2 days ago.

Luckily the temperatures have been near or above 60 degrees

and most of the snow is gone.

Of course tomorrow is supposed to be 31 degrees

but at least there's no snow.

All the warmer weather and the sight of grass greening up

and crocus and daffodils popping up

had me dreaming of the veggie garden.

So I placed an order.  

Big E better be ready to get dirty, 

there's going to be a lot of planting going on.

What's Up?

This may come as a shock, 

but we got more snow.

Luckily, we didn't receive the 8-12" they were predicting, though 

we did manage another 4-6" with a visit from the polar vortex.

I'm so glad he came back to visit.

It just really seems like Spring is never coming

and we'll be stranded in this perpetual winter.

Then the chickens started laying eggs regularly.

So eventually I guess we'll start thawing out.

Let's hope it's soon.

All this winter had me in a real snit.

Stress didn't help either.

But I'm still trying to work on resolutions

even though it seems like a wasted cause.

I heard someone say that there's still 10 months to work on resolutions.

I thought that was a ludicrous statement,

but it's true.

There's nothing that say you must make good on them by the end of February.

So on that note I've managed to achieve the following:

Paying off credit card debt

Breaking through the weight plateau I was stuck at

(though I'm not exercising enough yet or eating perfectly healthy)

We managed a couple of family nights/times and need to get that on a regular basis

We managed 1 date night and need to get that on a regular schedule too!

I've been a little better about eating habits. There's been more salad and less crap.

More water and tea and less soda.

These are all positive things, and I'm working with renewed fervor to get more accomplished.

Today Lent begins and as a child I always tried to "give something up" for Lent.

This year I'm deciding to give up bad carbs/stress eating.

Might seem more like a diet than a Lent offering,

but I really, really rely on stress eating to make me feel better.

Except I don't feel better because I get upset that I ate whatever I ate

and then I need to eat something else from the stress of eating something bad.

So, I'm giving up my crutch, my comfort 

and forcing myself to be healthier and work through things in a healthier way.

Blizzard of 2014

This past Wednesday into Thursday we had a significant snow storm.

A snow storm is marginally better than an ice storm.

The hens were all snug in their coop

though certainly not happy about being cooped up again.

Luckily we have a snowblower and child labor.

Inside we resorted to playing Monopoly that should be called

The Game That Will Not End.

 Jake was passed out.

It was tough for a puppy to jump around 24" of snow.

Luckily we were prepared for potential power outages.

We had our fridge stocked with esstentials

(Like Helluva Good French Onion Dip and Potato Chips)

and we had water stored

and wood.

But never lost power.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

Yesterday we had yet another snow storm.

I get that it's winter

and snow isn't so unusual for our area

but the past couple of years have been relatively snow and cold free.

Anyway, it snowed.

I have no idea how much 

because the wind was blowing and drifting.

Some areas had grass showing other's were nearly to my knee

as I walked out to check on the girls. 

They were locked up tight earlier in the evening

but I couldn't remember if I had counted to make sure

all 5 were up in the coop when I locked them in.

So to save myself from worry, I went to check.

They were all roosting and more than a little irritated with the intrusion.

I try to think about the fact that there's only 56 days and 22 hours until spring.

(It can't get here fast enough)

Enough Already

We've had some snow,

some ice,

some more snow...

and just when I thought we could get a reprieve

(and I could go out and replace the vehicle that got totaled 

in the above mentioned snow and ice)

we're getting more snow.

I'm ready for the Spring

Snow

“Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.”

~Jeff Valdez quotes

The first real snow of the winter is headed our way!

Winter

First snowfall of the winter- The Apple Tree

Love those country traffic jams

Big Bertha has to check everything out.

Gibbs the cool cat