Blizzard # 2

Yesterday was blizzard # 2 for our area.  It's only Jan 13th, so that isn't a great sign.  The garden is completely buried.  It's so deep that you can hardly see the difference between the raised beds and the ground.  Behind the garden, our bushes are in bad shape under all the snow.  They bounced back from the last storm, but I'm not sure how much more they can take. 

The kids are loving it.  They've been making tunnels in snow banks today.  I'm sure the sledding will resume shortly.

They're very proud of their work.  My Noah is the very silly one at the top.

The chickens are doing well, considering how little the like the snow.  They're currently under my front window.  It isn't ideal, but was very necessary.   My neighbors that we were sharing the chickens with are moving.  They couldn't have the chickens there while selling the house, so here they are.  The tractor was moved between snow storms, so the girls couldn't be in a better place.  I would have had to lift the tractor over a snow bank.  It's working out well, they hardly got any snow in the run and are quite close to the electrical outlet. 

Toby is in heaven.  He loves this weather and has been playing in the snow quite a bit.  Here he's waiting for me to stop taking pictures and kick the ball for him.  How could I possibly resist that face?

 

It really is gorgeous out there today.  I'm not a big fan of snow, but it keeps the kids happy and active and the photos are great.

The weather outside is frightful

It's snowing again.  We have a couple inches on the ground from last week and we're predicted to get about 20 more inches today and tomorrow.  So, have I run to the store?  Nah.  I'm sitting here with bread in the oven, the bones from yesterdays roast in the pot for stock and happiness in my heart.

Yesterday was not what I had expected, but wonderful nonetheless.  We got a call from my parents yesterday morning at about 9:30.  I was thinking it was just to tell us they were on their way.  Instead it was my father calling to say my mother was nauseated and having chest pain.  I'm a cardiac nurse (I haven't worked since Morgan was born) and Hubby is a paramedic.  We're the ones who get called whenever there is a problem.  We told them to call 911 and met them at the hospital.  Thankfully all seems to be ok.  Mom is having a stress test as I write this, but it looks like the whole thing was just some anxiety and stress.

We made the best of it and went home to eat our meal.  My parent's will come over sometime this week for Christmas.  The kids will be thrilled to have the holiday last a little longer and have another day of presents.  We're just happy that Mom is alright.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you had a wonderful day.  Now is the time to reflect over the year and get ready for the new one.

Peace to all.

First snow of the season

We are having our first snow.  It started yesterday and was predicted to be nothing.  They lied.  Cape Cod is buried and we have about 4 inches with it still coming down.  I'm really not a fan of snow.  My friend Kiwi loves it and wants me to appreciate it too.  While I love having 4 distinct seasons, I am not a big fan of winter and the snow.  Apparently, I need to move.  I will say that it is pretty.

The tomato frames against the garden.

The broccoli giving some texture to the garden in the snow.

Every year I think it would be nice to decorate this with lights.  We've lived here for 9 years and it hasn't happened yet.  Outside decoration doesn't really happen here. 

I'm obsessing about the chickens again.  They are really well protected this year, but still have a coating of snow in their run.  They're refusing to go out.  I forced a few to go out, and even put some goodies in their run, but they won't budge.  I wouldn't care, but their food and water is in the run out of necessity.  I'm sure they'll go out eventually, but I worry anyway.  Yes, I'm probably nuts. 

Evicted

The chickens have not enjoyed the snow so far.  Before I got them, I did lots of research.  Chickens do well in the cold, many times much better than in the heat.  I read of people with chickens scurrying around in the snow looking for goodies.  I also read up on chicken tractors and what was best.  Yeah right.  They lie I tell you! 

My chickens wanted to stay inside all day.  This would be fine if there was a way to have food and water for them inside.  The tractor that J built (and heavily researched) does not allow to have water inside.  The water freezes and before freezing it gets filled up with shavings and straw.  Utterly useless.  I can put food in there, but not water.

So we needed to get them outside.  We worked very hard to get the majority of the snow out of their run.  This got a few of them out for a few minutes before running back inside.  Mind you there is no heat inside, except from their bodies.  This morning they were still huddled inside squawking their disapproval.  I got another bright idea and spread shavings over the snow.  This gave their little toes something warmer to walk on.  They didn't care.  One or two would come out and go right back in. 

At this point I was getting very frustrated.  I don't want to lose these birds!  So I went outside and forced the issue.  I opened up the top and pulled each and every one of them out and placed them in the run by the food.  Food!  Water!  They were ecstatic and quiet for the first time in 2 days. 

Then I took a picture and the shutter scared them back in.

Silly birds.  At least they know its there now.  I may have to repeat this process a few times until they get it, but at least I know what to do now.  Hopefully they'll be ok.  One thing is for certain, J will be building a full sized coop with an adult sized yard next year.  It will also have food and water inside.  You live and you learn.

It just keeps coming.

Here is my compost pile.

This is the back of the house.  On the sides are the bulkheads and in the middle are the air conditioners.  Just to give you some perspective, the taller air conditioner comes to well over my waist.

These are J's back steps.  Can you see how high the snow is on the steps?

The chickens are a little freaked out about the snow.  It took J and I a bit to get the snow out of their run so that they would come out.  They came out for a few minutes and went right back inside.  J and I have decided that chicken tractors are not meant for people who get this much snow.  I was crawling around on my hands and knees in the snow trying to brush it out while J lifted it.  Next spring a bigger coop will be built in the backyard.   That is J's very overworked snow blower.  Thankfully it was fluffy snow so it was pretty easy for me to shovel myself. 

The Weather Outside is Frightful

This is the scene from my back door this morning.  I woke up and realized that I have a dog that needs to get out in this and chickens that I need to be able to get to.  Then I questioned why I would have these animals in the first place.  Finally, I just put my boots on and went out in the mess. 

We have at least a foot so far, but its hard to tell since its blowing so much.  The snow in the backyard was consistently over my knees as I was shoveling out to the girls.  Toby thought it was just for him to play in.  He loves the snow and hops around in it like a puppy. 

When I finally made my way to the chickens, they were hiding out in their house.  We had put plastic on the side of their run that usually gets the wind, of course this time it came from the other side.  The result is that there is quite a bit of snow in there and they don't want to come out in it.  The ramp leading down from their house has about 4 inches of snow on it and its no better on the ground.  I ended up tramping back out with some smaller feed and water containers that we used to use when they were smaller.  That should get them through until the snow stops this afternoon.  When I opened up the coop they were all complaining about it.  Poor girls.  They seemed nice and toasty inside though.  Chickens give off quite a bit of heat. 

Now, I'm going to sit and have a cup of tea (or several) and watch the rest of the storm unfold.  It looks like we'll be close to 2 feet when all is said and done. 

First Snow

This is one of the reasons I love living in New England.  The defined seasons are so joyous to me.  The first snow of the year is magic.  The kids woke up so excited to go outside.  The world was new and beautiful.

As I look around I realize there are still things to be put away.  The snow was a bit of a surprise.  We were supposed to get mostly rain in my neck of the woods.

The chickens were excited too.  We had put up plastic on one side of their tractor the other day.  Its on the side where the wind usually comes from to protect them from drifts in their run.  It appears to have worked perfectly, although we only got an inch or so.

Toby was thrilled as well.  He loves the snow.  His favorite is the deep snow.  Last year he became rather famous on our street as the king of the snow pile.  Every day he would be out on the hill of snow created by the plow.

I'm curious to see how the leeks will do now.  This snow won't last long and we aren't predicted to get anymore for a bit.

The kids may not come in today.  We'll have some hot chocolate and waffles when they do finally make it in.