February 1-4
This big snow of winter is here, the following pictures were taken after the first round of the two week snow storm. You can see how high the snow is and the trail made for Tutu to run to the only place on the property where she will poop, come Hell or high snow.
Below are some mouse tracks made overnight. spanning 100 feet or more as traffic passed from pine tree to pine tree.
All I could think of was, what could possibly motivate a mouse to trek across the snow in freezing temperatures in the middle of the night?
I found this trail interesting because something made it stop and do a short double back...or maybe it just fell through the crisp surface of the snow?
There was a morning where all the trees were coated in a beautiful snow/frost and the drive into Columbus was gorgeous. Trees in some yards look like they had been dipped in sugar. This picture does not do the morning justice. The sun was shining and the sky was a clear blue, and it was a beauty that can only be found in February I think. Little did I know the novelty of this winter wonderland was going to wear off. I thought to myself, "well, here is out big snow of the winter." HA! Little did I know.
February 5-7
Meyer Lemon's were in season and for some reason, I could not find any of the meyer lemon recipes I seem to run across all year, now that I had a bag of them. I tried this upside down cake recipe from a book just called "Baking" and it comes in 4 volumes. I do not regret forgetting to take a picture of the cover because the cake did not turn out.
I will not go into the details of the epic fail of this cake, the least of which were the sweet mild lemons tasted completely sour by the end of it.
The only redeeming thing about the night was this lovely romance, the first in a series with the third one coming out this October and it was a lovely audiobook.
I suspect there may be 4 in the series total, and I love these series where each character gets their own book.
This was another audiobook I enjoyed in February. Read by Juliet Stevenson (who played a fantastic Mrs. Elton in the 1996 version of Emma with Jeremy Northam and Allen Cumming.) It was very good overall but the last third of the book was heart aching and sparkling. The fictional speculation based on what we know of Jane and Cassandra Austen's life is very plausible and the ending was beautiful and there is more than a little humor. Also, my favorite quote of Jane Austen's was worked through in the end.
And of course, another John McCormack book is really something to look forward to for nightstand reading on these cold nights and short but still feelingly long days.
Speaking of country vets, have you been watching the new PBS James Herriot series? It is fantastic and it is nice that they are only an hour since they have been airing on Sunday nights. I've never read the James Herriot books which seems ridiculous now.
I've been enjoying making some more simply gemstone jewelry, usually I can make one necklace or two bracelets during an episode. Stringing beads together on elastic is a real no-brainer craft. I generally stick with one stone at a time. It's kind of plain, but I'm not a pattern and print wearing person anyway and tend to go for "solids" so this style of jewelry seems to mirror that preference.
Green Aventurine:
Green Agate
Cultured green potato pearls.
Amazonite
And Azurite
I just select some from my stash just as the show is starting. Clearly all this green is an inspiration from the green landscape of Herriot's world and pinning for the days when I can see grass, even winter grass again.
Tutu keeps me company as we watch the Jame Herriot episode "Tricky-Woo is Missing!" Which side is her best side do you think? This one or...
February 16-20th
Well, as you can imagine the snow isn't funny anymore. Look to the left of Andrew's car in the driveway...there is an herb garden there somewhere beneath all the snow.
Taking Tutu out is a real expedition, especially since she insists on only pooping at the willow tree (middle, below.) There is a lot of wildlife traffic down there, and she has important messages to leave. Andrew had to re-shovel the path, and I followed along behind removing loose snow.
I am so grateful that Dad has the skid loader to coat a road to the chicken pen.
The pen itself is its own adventure. The snow is so high, that my head brushes against the beams.
Collecting the eggs is even more important in this cold weather, many of them were frozen even during daylight hours, it was cold enough to freeze them in the matter of hours.
The hens themselves have very limited space to roam in. Their coop is stacked full of grass hay and chicken poop, almost right under their perches. I imagine if all the snow can melt by this weekend, I will have a big job ahead of me removing it all and replacing the hay. Once it gets warmer, the poop will thaw and can cause poor air quality.
Since most of their pen is under 8 to 10 inches of snow, they spend there time in this are of the pen (think of it like a Florida room, or the pop out on an RV) Covered on all sides but the one facing the pen, it is free of snow. I filled it with this compressed straw that I didn't like in its other uses, but was perfect to make their space warm, cozy, and interesting. Also, the shorter cuts of straw makes is nearly impossible for them to trample down, maintaining it's "fluffiness" for days on end.
At this point in time the temps are too cold for the electric waterer. The round black rubber tub holds their drinkable water for now, and they certainly know to fill up before it freezes.
I got another John McCormack book through blessed Inter-Library-Loan.
The chickens aren't the only ones who get cabin fever. Often after spending a couple days at home, This greets me when I get home at night and Andrew has been at the station. Tutu decides to remake the bed in out absence.
February 28th
Everything is mud. It took an hour and a half to clean out the chicken coop.
See you in March.
