Back to Basic Living

The evening before the 2010 Snowmageddon began, Bernie and I signed a contract to have a deck built. That was a couple of weeks ago, and there has been so much snow on the ground since that day that I was beginning to doubt we’d have the deck before summer. But Friday, the construction company sent a guy out with a Bobcat to move all the snow away from house so they can start work a lot sooner. And while Mr. Bobcat was here, he cleared the area in the backyard where the goat barn will be built so Bernie can start on that. Yay!

The snow has been moved for two days now, and the temperatures have been above freezing during the day, so the area around the house is close to being snow-free.

And, even though it’s muddy, I will absolutely not complain….. this time…..

The deck will span the length of the house in the front, and then wrap around to span this side of it.

Diesel and Dolly are standing on the path Mr. Bobcat plowed to get to the area where the goat barn will be built.

Unfortunately, I forgot to tell Mr. Bobcat about the Sewage Treatment Plant the county forced us to get, and we suffered a casualty.

The good news is the piece that was shattered is a protective cover that we can hopefully get replaced easily. And Mr. Bobcat did make it back to the goat barn area and get it cleared.

We are supposed to get freezing rain tomorrow, but it doesn’t sound like there should be much, if any accumulation. Bernie plans to start building the goat barn Tuesday. And I’m hoping the deck work begins very soon.

While I was out taking pictures today, I decided to head up to check on the plants in the greenhouse.

Its was 41 degrees outside, but it was balmy 83 degrees in the greenhouse, with 34% humidity.

The thermometer displays a few things, and one of them is the low and high for the past 24 hours. It looks like it got down to about 30 last night in there, and the highest temperature in the past 24 hours was 102 degrees. And the most of the plants in the greenhouse look pretty good. They died back for the winter, but many are beginning to pop up again.

Psssst, Danni……. this is the rhubarb. I’m hoping it’ll be ok for a month or so until I can get it into the ground…..

I didn’t check the greenhouse on a regular basis during the really frigid weather we had, but I do know that the gallon jugs I painted black and filled with water never completely froze - even during the week or two that we never got above freezing.

Things may not be happening as quickly as I’d like on the homestead, but I think they are finally starting to move along now.

We are finally getting temperatures above freezing….. but it’s going to take this mess quite some time to melt off. Today Bernie dug a path for me to go to my greenhouse.

Duke supervised.

Bernie and I worked hard at keeping up with shoveling and plowing as the snow was falling last Friday and Saturday. By the time it ended Saturday evening, the snow was about mid-thigh on me, the chickens refused to leave their coop, and the pups were having a hard time finding somewhere to potty. I dug a small path between the house and the chicken coop, but I only removed the top foot or so of snow because it was pretty firmly packed from my walking on it. The chickens really did not seem to like it, and this is as far as the would venture down it:

So, in order for the chickens and pups to have an area for roaming, Bernie plowed the area between the garage and the chicken run.

And I shoveled a small opening that led to the chicken run and, within only a few minutes, Pico brought a few ladies out into the cleared area.

That cleared area joins with our driveway.

And Bernie is at the end of it, where he’s been for quite a while, shoveling the last few feet of the driveway that hook up with the road that leads to the main road. Diesel and Dolly know this, and they want to go find him.

I had only intended to take a few pictures and head back inside, but I knew the pups had cabin fever, and I knew they really wanted to find Bernie, so around the corner and down the driveway we went.

Around the bend, and over the little creek.

And then back up, beside the old cabin.

And at the top of the hill, they saw him.

And I saw why he’s been down here so long.

I would say this has been the Big Dig of 2010, but I’m afraid to assume we won’t get anything worse. It’s only February. And we do have another storm heading here tomorrow night……..

We are in the middle of a snow storm. Two hours ago it looked as though it was slowing down, so I took my measuring stick out and sampled a few areas. 16 inches of snow on the ground. And then? It started snowing like crazy again.

At 4PM, this is what the chicken coop looked like.

And it’s still snowing. *sigh* But look at all these gorgeous snow flakes.

I am in awe of these beautiful flakes.

They look like those paper snow flakes all children cut out in the winter.

The detail is exquisite, and simply amazing.

These pictures aren’t the best, but I hope you can see how awesomely beautiful these snowflakes are.

I had dark gloves on, so I laid them on the steps and just snapped some pictures as the snowflakes landed on them.

So very, very pretty. They take my breath away.

I usually don’t care for cold weather or snow. I’m not sure that’s changed much. But there are two things I wouldn’t give a million dollars for today - watching the pups play and romp in the snow, and finding all those gorgeous snowflakes. I almost cried watching them land. Their beauty was awe inspiring.

And, since it really is that time of year, look at this gorgeous wreath:

That’s Nancy, Debra’s (my sister) best friend from childhood. They all came up for a visit last weekend. Debra and Nancy brought everything necessary to make this wreath. The three of us put it together, and now it’s hanging by the woodburning stove.

No sense hanging a wreath outside on the homestead. Not many people wander into the middle of these woods. And I like having it inside where we can enjoy it.

So, it’s officially winter and it’s officially the Christmas holiday - even though my calendar tells me different

I hope each of you enjoys the season! We’re making the best of it on the homestead!

Diesel and Dolly haven’t been allowed outside without being on a leash until today. Today was a big day for them. They have finally learned to come back to us when we call them, so they were finally allowed to run around without being on a leash. And it was the perfect day for it. It snowed! And Diesel and Dolly LOVE snow. But before they were allowed to take off on their own, Bernie had a little chat with them and they promised to mind us. Diesel shook on it.

Diesel is so tiny, he has a hard time keeping up with Dolly. At first, she spent time with him and kept him close by.

He followed her around for a while, but kept looking over his shoulder to make sure we were following.

Before too long Dolly ran off without Diesel.

I don’t think I have one picture of Dolly without snow on her nose.

They played for quite a while, but it was quite evident when they got cold and decided it was time to go inside. Diesel sat in the snow, shivering, and looking up at us. Bernie had to pick him up and cuddle him to make sure he got warm.

And when Dolly had enough she simply hauled tail straight to the house. She even climbed the stairs for the first time ever!

Diesel and Dolly really love the snow, but I’m not sure they’ll care for the ice we’re supposed to get tonight. I am absolutely positive that Bernie and I won’t care for it - especially at midnight when we do the puppy poop run with them. And the poor chickens don’t care for any of this weather. They haven’t left the coop all day. I took them a few special treats during the day, but even that didn’t seem to help their mood. Puppies aren’t as moody about the weather as chickens.

Diesel and Dolly ended up getting sick over the weekend. By Sunday night they had pretty bad diarreha and we were a little worried about them. We took them to the vet Monday morning and learned they have a bacterial infection in their intestines. The good news is, the antibiotics the vet gave us for them started working right away. They slept so well last night that we actually had to wake them up to go potty at midnight and again when we got up at 5AM.

These little pups are doing great. I’m sure everyone thinks they have the smartest, sweetest, cutest pups in the world, but we really do. Seriously. You’d think so too, if you met them. They wouldn’t let you leave until you agreed. Diesel and Dolly are like that.

Bee Free,
Penny

Prior to today, the most amount of email I’ve gotten in response to this blog concerned soap making and butter churning. But certainly the post yesterday on my fin has gotten the attention of many of you. I really appreciate all the concern and well wishes. I’ll post a few of the comments I received below, so that you can see how much my blogger friends love me and are concerned for my well being:

1 - “I always knew you were special, but I had no idea you are half fish”
2 - “Sharks have fins toooooooo!”
3 - “Will you join the circus now?”

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. And speaking of pictures, I drew one to help explain my fin:

I swear to you, this is a very close duplicate of the picture the specialist actually drew for me. I am not lying. At any rate - that Homer Simpson looking thing is actually all the root openings at the top of my tooth. The fin is that thin line coming out of the top of one of those roots. Apparently it is almost microscopic, but for some reason Dr. Specialist is convinced he will see it when he slices my gum open and be able to remove it. I asked him if there is any chance he will cut a nerve and I will have facial paralysis the rest of my life. Do you know what he said to me? He said “There is always that risk, but it is very rare”. VERY RARE??? That’s exactly what he told me about having a freaking fin in the first place!!! Great.

So now you know all I know about my fin. And my fin and I are just fine for now. After next week, my fin will be nothing but a memory and I will be able to smile about it - that is if my face isn’t paralyzed from the surgery.

It’s been snowing here all day long. I would guess we have about 3 - 4 inches now. I took some pictures earlier - they appear kind of hazy because it was snowing like crazy when I took them. Oh - and they were taken out a window because, as you know, I don’t do snow. I put them up on the website and will add more as the day progresses. Check them out!

OK, I’ve got to go start making some soap for Valentine’s day. Just wanted to check in with y’all and express my appreciation for all the warm thoughts and wishes and concern for my fin. I can sure feel the love.

Bee Free,
Penny

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a cold weather person. I really just don’t care for cold weather. Not only do I really dislike bundling up in clothing, cold weather is…. well… cold. Not a big fan of cold.

But it’s cold on the homestead today. And it’s snowing. Snow is really pretty if you are on the inside looking out. But I don’t like actually being in the snow. Not only is it wet, it’s…. well…. cold.

Everyone in this house handled this snowy day differently. Elvis handled it like this:

Priscilla handled it like this:

And Bernie handled it like this:

Bernie’s always showing all of us up by gathering firewood and stuff.

And I handled it by taking pictures in the house and out the windows. The truth is, I did actually venture out. In keeping with my vow to make it outside at least one time a day during this winter, I decided to get all brave and stuff and wander down to the mailbox to check the mail.

Our mailbox is at the bottom of our driveway - which is about 1/4 of a mile. It’s ordinarily a nice walk, so I decided I would bundle up and head on down there. All by myself. I was in a pretty good mood as I put on my snow boots. By the time I got them laced up, I was starting to get a little annoyed. The are bulky and cumbersome, and as I tried to put my snow suit on over top of the boots, my mood was deteriorating. By the time that ordeal was over, I was starting to sweat and get pretty irritated. I finally managed to cram my hands in my gloves and get the stinkin’ top of them over my sleeves. As I put my hat on, it got hung up on my pony tail. I squished it on and loudly announced “Well THIS is fun!!” as I stormed out the door.

As I walked along in the winter wonderland, looking at beauty of our woods covered in a white blanket, and listening to snow gently hitting the tree limbs as it floated to the ground, I couldn’t help but wonder why the hell I was outside in this mess! But in truth, my spirit lifted with each step and pretty soon I was skipping right along with a song in my heart. OK, maybe I wasn’t skipping, and the song was likely me wheezing as I huffed it up the hilly drive, but still, I did get in a better mood.

Our mailman is unpredictable and unreliable on a good day, so I have no idea why I expected a snowy day like today would be any different. He had not shown up yet. I closed the mailbox and started back to the house. About halfway up the drive, I saw Bernie walking down towards me. He probably figured I was in such a foul weather mood that I would throw myself in front of the first car that passed down our desolate road and he came to check on me. We stood and watched the snow for a few minutes and then headed back to the house. I threw a snowball at him and ran in to the comfort of our fireplace. Which is where I plan to stay until all this snow melts.

Bernie did head out early this morning to do a little turkey hunting. But apparently the turkeys don’t like snow either, and stayed holed up the whole time he was out there. He came in looking like the Abominable Snowman, but he looked happy, if not a little disappointed.

Hey - here’s a picture of the cheese we’re making. It’s been sitting for about three days growing it’s rind. In a day or so we’ll dip it in wax and get it started curing. You can’t really tell in this picture, but it weighs about two pounds:

That’s a good looking cheese right there now!

We’re safe and sound on our homestead and watching the snow from the windows right now. We have a nice fire going and are hunkered down for the evening. I can’t wait until spring.

Bee Free,
Penny

After a few days of near 80 degree weather, we were socked by a Nor’ Easter. High temperatures in the 30’s and a few inches of snow. Ugh. It started snowing Friday morning and didn’t stop until after dark Friday night. The roads were treacherous, so after fighting our way home from work in the city on Friday afternoon, we decided to hold off until Saturday morning before heading to the homestead to check things out.

We managed to get to the homestead just fine, but about halfway up our 1/4 mile driveway, we were greeted with a tree that had fallen across the road. It was a small pine, but it was large enough to block our way. We got out, walked up to the house, procured the Trail Blazer and a chainsaw and headed back down to clear the road. Here’s a couple of pictures of the tree and Bernie attacking it with his chainsaw:

After we got the tree cleared, we rode on up to the house, only to see that another tree had fallen on the backhoe. So much for a nice relaxing weekend on the homestead. Fortunately, it landed on the boom and not the cab. There didn’t appear to be any damage to the backhoe:

Bernie checked out the backhoe and realized the battery was dead. We put a charge on it, and he cut up as much of the tree as he could. Once the battery is charged, he’ll move the boom and hopefully bring the remaining piece of the tree down to a height he can reach.

UPDATE: Bernie got the battery charged and he managed to get the backhoe from under the tree. Then he took the bucket and beat the tree down to the ground so he can cut it up later. I put some pictures up on the website. Check them out.

I mixed up 4 pounds of deer jerky earlier this week, and today I put it on the dehydrator. It’s smelling pretty darn good, and should be finished in a short while.

Next weekend we’ll be here Thursday night so we can hook up with the company coming out to replace all the tires on the backhoe. It will be a nice 3 day weekend out here, and we’re really looking forward to it.

The bees are doing great. I am so proud of them for making it through this most bizarre winter. Today they were really busy cleaning out the hive and dragging the dead bodies out. I’m sure they are looking forward to spring. I hope it’s right around the corner.

Bee Free,
Penny

When we went to bed last night we were under the distinct impression that we would wake up to some “snow showers”. When we woke up this morning, we found we had accumlated between 7 - 8 inches of snow showers! It was quite a surprise. And it continues to fall as I am writing this. The weather people are telling us to expect sleet this afternoon. I hope they are as wrong about that as they were the snow showers. Snow is so much easier to deal with than ice is…..

The snow is absolutely gorgeous and I snapped a few pictures when we headed out for fire wood and to clean off the bee hive entrances. It apparently sleeted first, as the hive entrances were encased in ice under all the snow. We dug them out - and the girls are snuggled down so tightly they didn’t even venture down to see what all the noise was about. I hope they stay warm.

Well, we would normally head back to town today, but it’s looking like we’ll be stuck here at the homestead over night. We should be able to dig out by tomorrow and get on the road. Hey, there are certainly worse places to be than here!

Bee Free,
Penny

You may recall that last week I mentioned that Bernie and Tex were working on making us some andirons that circulate heat for our fireplace. Well, they did - and those andirons produce more heat than I would have thought possible. These are certainly not the prettiest andirons you will ever see, but I’m here to tell you they work! I put some pictures of them up on the website, and included some pictures of the modifications we had to make. If you are using a fireplace and looking for a way to get more heat out of it, I highly recommend making these. I estimate they spent about 4 hours making them and they are a heat generating machine!

I also started a Homestead Pictures - II project on the BackToBasicLiving website. I really had to do that as Homestead Pictures - I was getting rather lengthy!

And finally, we checked in on the bees and they seem to be holding up really well in all this cold weather. We saw a few of the girls out and about. They were cleaning house and dragging out the poor little dead bees that didn’t fair very well in all this cold weather. I put a picture on the website of the girls around one of the hives. Scroll to the bottom and click the picture dated 2/24/07 to enlarge it and you can see the girls around the entrance, and the dead bees just outside of it.

It’s only Saturday, but I wanted to get the pictures up for you to see. I can’t wait to sell our home in town and get out to our homestead full time. I plan to keep you busy looking at pictures of all our projects and reading my words of wisdom and wit on homesteading.

Bee Free,
Penny