but who's counting

Arthritis: 1

Me:  also 1 

(because I dropped it just before I poured the boiling water in)


I bought this wonderful mug from a talented, self-described "student" potter in 2011, and have never seen another like it: a graceful, stable globe, beautifully glazed in a soft sage deepening to forest green, and with a more comfortable handle than most. The color, stability and handle remain...I'll try using this piece as a candlestick.

~~~~~

poultry report

Lovely organic eggs, collected this morning.

The first thing I do when I come in from morning chores is remove my gloves, earwarmer, and the two eggs in my pocket. In that order.

And here are the Providers of Eggs: Agatha and Eloise.

Photograph taken mid-November.

When we could still see the ground.

I haven't been doing much cooking lately but most days I have a fried egg in some form –  usually omelette-ish, with broccoli or cheese. A new discovery: a little leftover cooked sweet potato makes a lovely addition. It adds a richness of taste without overwhelming the eggs, and a slight density of texture, and just a hint of sweetness.

Agatha

Eloise

You may remember that the hens came here as pullets back in August, because Captain Hastings had become the only chicken on the place and needed company. Very sadly, only a few weeks after Agatha and Eloise arrived, Captain Hastings was killed - perhaps by a hawk. As soon as I realized he had not crowed at 4:20 that morning, I knew something was very wrong, and began looking for him. I found his remains not long after.

A sad and unexpected ending, but I'm so glad Captain Hastings' last weeks of life were very happy ones, spent busily keeping an eye on his little flock.

~~~~~

friday

cranberry

Today's snow was predicted to begin around noon, with less than an inch accumulation. So when I received problematic paperwork in this morning's mail requiring a couple of hours to sort out in person, I decided not to wait til Monday but to go immediately and take care of it so I wouldn't have it in the back of my mind all weekend. Less than an inch of snow would mean either light snow that wouldn't be bad driving, or heavy snow that would be easy to wait out before coming back home.

Well, the "noon" part was correct. But heavy snow was still falling 

when I got home at three and went out to check on the goats.

Violet on one of the narrow goat-paths.

If you click to embiggen you can see the path.

I know I've said this before: I'd rather have any amount of snow than a quarter-inch of ice. Chores are harder and take longer but they get done. We've got firewood, food, and - touch wood - we've got water.

And of course, daily markmaking.

I hope all is well in your varied and far-flung corners of the world.

Thanks for visiting and commenting on mine.

~~~~~

wordy wednesday

The snow.

It is deep.

Bud is okay with this "Winter" thing.

He and Hazel have certainly had a "deep end of the pool" introduction to snow.

Mourning Doves feed on the ground, and are not as comfortable with the deep snow as are the smaller, lighter birds. This one was resting for a while between feeding sessions.

The snow is over my knees.

Yesterday I waded out to the workshop

and retrieved my snowshoes from their place on the wall.

Then I waded back to the house and dusted off my logger boots.

Since my dungarees were still soaked from the day before, I dug out my old fleece-lined riding breeches, last worn in - I think - 2007.

This fetching ensemble brought back some good memories

of working in the woods during the Winter of 2000-2001.

19 years ago?

Crikey.

The snow kept falling until around noon, but in late afternoon the sun made a welcome appearance. I thought Piper might like to accompany me on my quest to the bottom of the unplowed driveway, where the Highlander was awaiting excavation.

Piper said, "No thanks. I'll just go back inside and let the clumps of snow on my legs melt into puddles throughout the house. You have fun, though!"

I got much of the snow off the truck, before throwing in the towel and leaving the rest for today, Wednesday. I needed to save a little energy for evening chores, which I finished up just as the sun was beginning to set.

I am happy to say more snow is *not* predicted, until Friday.

~~~~~

real snow

Sunday night looked like this:

Monday morning 3:30AM looked like this:

Heading out for morning chores on Monday...

 

...with my pocket loaded with carrot pennies.

A tarp "veranda," one of the extra shelters - there are always extras so scuffles won't lead to a goat being pushed out into bad weather - had collapsed under the weight of Sunday's snow, so I moved Violet and Sambucus up to join

the smaller group in the big barn paddock.

Here they are in the roundtop, happily tucking into the hay:

Here is the view from that roundtop.

All these images are a bit dark - the sun was never visible yesterday.

As usual, you can click to embiggen if you wish.

Put your boots on first.

After feeding and watering, I walked through all the paddocks,

dragging my feet to make a bit of a trail between all the shelters.

I save that chore for last because it's rather tiring and I am soaked with sweat by the time I'm done, and ready to head back to the house.

The goats don't really mind snow, but they do like it when I break trail for them.

Although I think Hazel, experiencing her first Real Snow, was looking for a place to attach a zipline in the barn so she could get to me and my pocket full of carrot pennies without wading through snow deeper than her belly.

(Don't worry, she got her carrots without any wading.)

By Monday afternoon the birdfeeders - which I had cleaned off first thing in the morning - were the scene of constant activity. The first flock of juncoes appeared, in a group of at least twenty. I always think of them as a sign that Winter is here.

This time, though, I really didn't need any extra signs.

I cleaned the feeders off again after evening chores.

~~~

At 4 AM this morning:

And out I go!

~~~~~