Winter arrived!

Just as predicted...a rare thing in P-town...SNOW! Everyone in our house was very excited...everyone outside not so thrilled!

One of our excited inside animals... with the chickens all cooped up, Bailey has a day off from her chicken tending duties





My husband came up with this great solution to keeping the chicken's water thawed, but they won't venture out of the coop to drink it. He says they'll come out when they have to and won't let themselves dehydrate. I put their food inside the coop.



and one of our not so thrilled animals... Nelly, our sweet little sebright

Winter is headed our way...

...at least that's what we've heard for the last several days. After much discussion and contemplation, I decided I would NOT heat the coop this year. After all, I've heard from people in Alaska with temperatures well below zero, who never heat their coops. Our hens seem to be doing just fine huddling together if necessary. We did have fresh eggs last winter when we heated the coop, but our hens stopped laying way back in August, so it seems unlikely they'll lay again until spring.

But the temperatures are expected to dip into the teens for several days with snow predicted for tomorrow. So just before dark, after cleaning out the coop and providing my hens with fresh food and water, I ran an extension cord out to the coop and clamped a light fixture with a red light bulb onto their perch. I find the red glow coming from their window very comforting.

The girls were all cozy and snug when I closed them in tonight...

Daughter's first animated video...

...the fascination with all things hamster continues.

Isabel's famous egg drop project

My daughter's science project was to create an egg carrier that would protect a raw egg when dropped from up high. She carefully wrapped an egg in cotton and placed it inside a zip lock. Then she placed that package inside another zip lock that was filled with crumpled paper.



As a preliminary test, she threw the package out the upstairs bedroom window so it would land on the lawn...





So far so good!
Now it's time for the real test... onto concrete (just below the window is a concrete patio)...





It survived!!!



Here's Gidget, our EE who generously donated the egg for this project...

Thanksgiving dinner...yum yum!

finally ready for the table...



mmmmmmmmm..... sliced and ready to eat...



fresh free-range turkey from our local coop, homemade portabella mushroom stuffing, homemade buttermilk yeast rolls, homemade sweet potatoes with roasted pecans, fresh green beans sauteed in butter and garlic, homemade yukon gold mashed potatoes and homemade gravy ... it tasted as good as it looks... are you salivating yet?

Happy turkey and pie Day!

Pumpkin pie with a crisco crust, apple pie with a butter crust... both were a big hit

Then came the chicks!

The chicks arrived. Only 2 days old--so little and sweet. We set up a plastic brooder in the main floor bathroom and clamped a 40 watt light bulb onto the shower head. This brooder worked great. I used a tupperware storage bin, and cut out a rectangle on the lid and replaced it with screen. These tiny little creatures sure poop a lot. Their digs have to be cleaned every day (2 times a day when they're a little older). I lined the bottom of the plastic bin with paper towels so their little feet wouldn't slide around so much. This makes it easier to clean too. We got right in there and performed our designated chick chores-- I became brooder cleaner and my daughter, chick cuddler. hmmmm... I think I got the short end of this deal.