Cold and Snowy

It's snowing here now, and we're supposed to get somewhere between 3-6" I think.  It could be more, could be less, and there have been so many different forecasts I've sort of given up trying to predict how much we'll get.  I do know though, that tomorrow is going to be very cold (wind chills near zero) for our area, so as soon as I got home from work this evening I got to work outside making sure everyone was ready for the cold and snow.

I started with the chickens.  I moved their water and feed inside the coop, and made sure their windows of the coop were covered so the wind wouldn't whip through.  I used thick, clear plastic, which will block the wind and let in light. 





















Then I fed the sheep their grain and extra hay, and I re-bedded their shelter.  

They don't need anything fancy for a shelter, since our winters aren't normally too extreme.  They have a three-sided shelter which is plenty to keep them out of the weather.  Most times they'd rather be out in the weather than in the shelter anyways.  I used to use the deep bedding method, which was adding dry straw any time the bedding got wet or soiled. It would build up underneath, but was always dry on top.  After having to fork out lots of wet, decomposing straw, I've decided to put down stall mats and not let the pack get so thick anymore.  I haven't gotten stall mats yet, so I've just been cleaning out the straw when it gets dirty, so it's not very thick. 

Then the goats got extra hay (I give the ruminants extra hay in the cold because as it digests in their rumen, it provides heat to help them stay warm) and bedding in their little shelter.  Ida was nosy about the camera.

After they were all taken care of, I brought all of the rabbits inside the barn.  It'll be much easier for me to feed and water them, and it'll be more comfortable for them.  The barn isn't heated or anything, but it stays much warmer in there than it is outside.  They all went into temporary cages and will be there for a day or two until the weather returns to a more normal temperature. 

I let my buck, Rocky, run around for a while inside the barn. He's so funny, he was very much interested in one of my does (KS2, for my records), so I went ahead and bred her.  I'll bring her back inside the barn before she kindles, so the kits will be warm enough.  

My other doe (KS1) was bred on Christmas Day.  Hopefully she took and we'll have some kits in a few weeks.

I have a rooster that doesn't come into the coop, instead he roosts out in a tree in the sheep pasture.  He was out there again tonight, and since it was dark when I got finished with chores, I decided to try to catch him.  He was up SO high I had to shake the little tree to get him to fly down.  Then I turned my headlamp off, hoping it'd be easier to catch him with no light.  After a few minutes of chasing following him around the sheep pasture, he finally went into the shelter and I caught him.  He's going to spend the night in the barn, along with the rabbits and Tucker, my barn cat. 

So we're all ready for the snow.  Bring it on!  It'd be really great if there was so much snow work got cancelled.  Most likely there won't be, and I'll have to go in anyways.  A girl can dream though...

A New Rug

We used some of our Christmas money to buy a new rug for the living room.  We got this one at Walmart for $70, and I love it.  Our other one was a boring light brown sisal rug, which I really liked when we first bought it, but after 4.5 years here it was getting worn and gross looking.  This new one is a Better Homes & Gardens brand, and a year subscription to the magazine comes with it. Bonus!  We also bought some new pillows for the couch.  I'd like to spice up this room a bit, since it looks a little bland to me.  I think I'll pick some colors out of the rug to paint the walls, and maybe do some sort of curtains for the windows. 

I've got all these great ideas for the house, but it seems the budget is the limiting factor...that's life I guess! 

Christmas Day!

We had a great day and it went by so quickly.  Breakfast was some bacon and sausage from the local butcher shop, with some Jamaican Blue coffee (love that stuff).  Then we did some present opening, some relaxing, and then dinner with David's dad and brother. I entered a drawing at the butcher shop and won a free ham, so that was dinner!  We also had some delicious mashed potatoes (courtesy of David), macaroni and cheese, sourdough rolls, and the best lima beans I've ever had.  We got some smoked bacon ends from the butcher shop, so we cooked those with the lima beans, and the result was amazing. 

Here are some pictures to sum up the day!

(the box was too big to wrap, so David decorated the box)

I got a Snuggie!

Santa brought Kylee a game called Beat the Parents...a trivia game that pits parents against kids.  It was fun!

It was a great day, and I'm already looking forward to next Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Eve! We're getting ready to go to David's granddad's house for the annual Christmas Eve get together.  David is making mashed potatoes, and made sourdough rolls and eggnog, plus lots of cookies.  There's going to be lots of other good food there too.  I can't wait!

We finally got some Christmas lights on the house!

While I was putting lights on the porch, I saw two little Carolina Wrens snuggled together.  They're there every night.  I guess it makes a nice little bed for them. 

There's not a whole lot else to say today!  Merry Christmas!!

Handsewn Owl Pincushions

My mom made a gaggle  flock parliament (had to Google that one) of these cute little owl pincushions, and they're for sale!  Each one is unique, but there are 2 fabric choices, pink or green. 

They're $5 each, plus shipping.  Shipping will depend on if you want them mailed priority or first class.  If you'd like one (or more), please send me an email at aggieterpkatie@yahoo.com.  Just specify number, and whether you'd like pink or green. I'll choose the individual owl, so the pattern may be slightly different than the owls shown in the picture.

There's still time to order for Christmas, especially with Priority shipping!

Snowy Sunday

Yesterday was the Christmas craft show.  I managed to take one picture before my camera batteries died.  Oops!  It was a successful show, but I still have soap, coffee cozies, lip balms, lotion bars, and some felted ornaments for sale. 
















Today it snowed!  And I think we also got some sleet mixed in there too.  I love taking pictures of the sheep when it snows.  All but the lamb were covered with snow, so I guess the lamb was the only one who wanted to go in the shelter.

 

Barley looks so pretty in the snow. 

Whatcha doin?

Bean

The chickens weren't thrilled.  Some of them have never seen snow. One young rooster flew from the coop door about 10' out, then stood there for a few minutes and flew back to the coop.

The rabbits seem cozy.

I would have taken a picture of the goats, but they are goats and they refused to come out of their shelter.  Smart girls. 

Craft Show Saturday!

Tomorrow is the Heck With the Malls craft show in Centreville, MD.  I'm finally ready!  I laid everything out on the table today to take inventory and make sure I had everything together.  Devin is coming with me as my helper.  He came last year too and was a big help.  As much as I am looking forward to the craft show, I'll be glad when it's over so we can start our Christmas decorating at home.  Plus, I really need to knit some things that aren't craft-show related, so it'll be nice to have it behind me.  If you're in town tomorrow, come on by!