Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Winter? Or Spring?

A month.  That's how long it's been since I've posted.  I'm in a blogging slump right now, but stick around!

We've been keeping busy with regular stuff...you know, milking, feeding, cooking, cleaning, repeat.  The weather, however, has been very confused!

Two weeks ago we were running around in shorts and T-shirts...at least Jim was!...and last week we had a "blizzard".  Stella, the nor'easter paid us a visit on Monday evening and 'til she was gone, we had somewhere around a foot of snow.  We didn't know what to think!  It was pretty cold, but seemed frigid, considering the unusually warm weather we had all winter.

Here are a few pictures from the storm...

On Tuesday morning, just after I got up, and the snow wasn't too deep yet, I snapped this picture of the daffodils along the south side of the house...


The biggest concern for us was when the milk truck would come, and whether or not we would be ready for him.  He showed up just as we finished milking, and just as Jim was ready to hop on the skid loader to open the driveway.  It was pretty good timing, actually, because the snow was only about 6" deep at the time, so between the chains on his truck and Jim on the skid loader, he came and went with little trouble...


That's always a relief.

When I fed the calves in the morning, I glanced in the chicken pen, and was surprised to see these hens all huddled together outside...


I have no idea what they were thinking, but there were no tracks around them, so I'm assuming that they huddled together outside all night, with the snow coming down around them.  I carried them inside the shed, where they happily joined their friends for the duration of the storm.  They're fine...and laying eggs quite happily now that the snow is gone!

I got a new phone, and was having fun taking pictures in the snow.  This is one of the hens that was outside all night...she was intrigued by her first selfie...



Now, a week later, most of the snow is gone, except for a few big piles.  It had better be...because SPRING is officially here, and I'm happy about that! While I don't like losing an hour of sleep over the change to daylight savings time, the longer daylight hours energize me.  I feel so much more motivated to get things done when there is daylight and sunshine!

One thing I've been working on the past few weeks is something called 40 Bags in 40 Days.  You may have seen postings on face book about this, or read about it online somewhere.  I'm not following it to a "T", but I'm working on cleaning out and simplifying.  It coincides with lent, and is so satisfying to me.  I've cleaned out closets, cupboards and book shelves. (why was I keeping things in my kitchen cupboards that I never use?) When I'm done cleaning out, I'm planning to scrape wall paper in the upstairs hallway.

Enough rambling...

I hope you're seeing signs of spring wherever you are!

8 comments:

  1. Alica, I love your rambling. It's all about life anyway. We've had weird weather here too. We still have tons of snow and my tulips are poking out of the ground but we have colder temperatures than you here but yes, Spring is on the way. These last two days have been very warm and sunny with the snow melting but we have another storm on the way apparently and we just missed one this week.

    Time is going fast and soon April will be here and then Easter.

    I love the selfie with your brave hen.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  2. That is a great selfie! The chicken looks totally into it! I don't envy you scraping the wallpaper. A job I despise.

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  3. I am glad you are finally having spring. Its nice to see everything. I like your 40 bag idea. I am glad you are getting so much done.

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  4. The weather really is crazy. Glad you and all the critters made it through the storm. I really need to do some decluttering myself.

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  5. I love the picture with the chicken!! Crazy weather. I hope it gets very spring-like for you. Good for you cleaning out cupboards and such - it's a great feeling. -Jenn

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  6. I think we all have had crazy weather this winter.
    Glad the hens were okay and what a great picture of you and the hen. : )

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  7. Alicia,
    Glad you got through the storm safe and didn't have any trouble getting the milk truck in or out.

    Your 40 bags in 40 days sounds interesting. I'm not much for clutter, but seem to have more stuff than I truly need.

    I'm like you, I need sunshine!

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  8. I love the selfie with the hen! It has rained all day, but I am sure it will be snow tonight.

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I enjoy hearing what you have to say! Thanks for your comments!