Baby, its cold outside!

So winter is dwindling down, hopefully.  But recently we had a spring-teaser.  Meaning we had a few days of fabulously warm, warm by February standards, few days.  We hit the mid 40’s for a few days.  Then WHAM!  Cold and snow.  The snow came first.  (see post below) Then a day later, a blisteringly COLD morning was upon us.

I mean so cold that you don’t even want to look at the thermostat.  Partially because the mercury is probably frozen, but also, because it’s too darn cold to go out and look.

Here are a few pictures of this blisteringly cold morning.  Cold, yes.  But boy oh boy, it sure was beautiful!

 

 

It was so cold.

Even the flag was frosted and frozen.  It was crunchy!

 

 

We will “unthaw” some day.

Hugs from the frozen wasteland, aka the Farm.

Will spring ever make it to the Farm??

I can not recall a winter past that I have wanted for SPRING as bad as I do this year. 

Why?  I really am not sure.  Our winter hasn’t been unusually harsh.  Cold, yup, you bet.  Snowy, we’ve had our share.  Windy, yeah, we’ve had more wind than normal.  Sunshine, lots!

But oh how I long for Spring.

Oh, and it never seems to fail, that upon a wonderful warming, and temps that might break 40, and the snow starts to turn to spot s grass….. WHAM!!!! More bleeping snow!  This is the view out of office window.  Umm… about a week ago or so.  (This was taken on a Thursday. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were well in to the mid 40’s.  Beautiful.  Sunshine.  Even had a window or two cracked for the smell of fresh air and growing grass. 

Then WHAM!  More snow.  Not just an inch or so.   Oh no.  Mother Nature is a cruel cruel woman, with an evil sense of humor.  We received enough snow that Hubby had to bust out the tractor and PLOW!    Oh and of special note:  This has happened 3, count ‘em 3, times since mid February.

Spring, my dear friend, where have you gone?  Are you lost and unable to find your way to Michigan?  I would gladly send you bus fare.  Please come soon.  I don’t think momma can handle much more “white.”  She desperately needs some green in her view.

Hugs from the land of never ending winter, aka The Farm.

What came first, the chicken or the egg??

That is the million dollar question.  However, on the Farm, the baby chick comes first.  Usually delivered by the wonderful USPS from our wonderful friends at Murray McMurray Hatchery.

Wonderful.  Small.  Fuzzy. Babies. Chicks that is, should be arriving at the Farm sometime mid April.  I made the final selections today.  And the winners are???

The Barred Rock                     and             Silver Laced Wyandotte         Both are “brown” egg layers.  Very hardy, a plus for our winters.  Good setters, mean nice clean eggs.  YUM!

And the Americana for a little egg fun.  (These are the “Easter” egg layers.  Their shell color can range from mauve to pinkish, light green to olive, and sometimes a blueish color.)

The following haven’t been ordered, YET!  They are on the list, I’m just not sure.  Cool only goes so far.  But, man, these are cool!

These are the “Crested Golden Polish,” the “Black Cochin,” and “Partridge Cochin.”  Cool?  YOU BETCHA.  Big not great in the egg laying department.  :(

So the next time your having your breakfast, look down at those eggs and think “I wonder what type of chicken laid these eggs?”

Hugs- from the Farm

What chicken lives here?

I read a wonderful bi-monthly publication called "MaryJane's Farm" that does wonderful snipits of unusual farm things.

One of their latest focuses was on all things chicken. Chicken breeds. Chicken feeds. Chicken houses. Breeding chickens. Butchering chickens. Well you get the point.

One of the neat things they focused on was housing. How much room? How big are the nesting boxes? What temperature should it be maintained at? blah blah blah..... What I loved the most was some of this houses they showcased.

Like this one from http://www.myamishgoods.com/. They focus on sustainable living. But they build some of the neatest chicken house.

So I want to know what kind of cool chickens live here??

I think I want one. I think I want a BIG barn to match. I think my chickens deserve an uber cool house.

Thoughts and changes

So, I've been doing this blog thing for a while now. What started out as a way to keep in touch with family about the happenings around the farm and with the little dude is due for a change.

I love to talk about the family. I love to talk about the farm. I love to talk about the "builds" my hubby is working on. I love to talk about the critters. I love to talk about the fruits of my labors, the gardens.

I read many blogs on a daily and/weekly basis that share some pretty wonderful thoughts. Some are simply a few lines daily, for inspiration. While others showcase a complete "how to" of a project/recipe/concept. While reading many of these authors, I often think "I knew that" or "wow that idea needs to be shared" or "huh, who woulda thought" and sometimes "ohh that made me think in a way I haven't before." And sometimes, its simply "I've known that/done that/made that/thought that for years" but just never shared the idea.

So I've decided to change it up a bit. I want to start sharing some of the great things I (we) love. Whether its a great new recipe for something decadent, a garden idea to fabulous to keep to myself, a baby chicken that I think everyone should raise, a design idea/item/concept so wonderful I want to shout it from the rooftop, or just some crazy piece of junk I couldn't resist at a tag sale. I will continue to post pictures and the happenings of the farm, because that's who we are and what we do, and we want to share them with all of you.

So dear friends and family, get ready for a wide variety of fun headed your direction.
Hugs, M

Oh the weather outside......

I was thinking the other day about when I was young. When I didn't care about how cold my toes were. When it didn't seem to matter that it was only 12 degrees outside, oh and that the wind was blowing at gale forces. And cheeks so red from the cold that you looked as though you got into Grandmas rouge. Do you remember those days??

Now I have a little dude that doesn't seem to care what the temp outside is. Or that its so cold the birds don't even want to come out to play. He wants to be out.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that he is an "outside" kid. And not one that is glue to the TV or some game system.

So, with all of that said, Daddy put on his overalls and Mucks and proceeded to build a sledding hill. Bravo, Daddy!

All the Presidents Men

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt & Abraham Lincoln

Affectionately known as Georgie, Tommy, Teddy and Abe.

(Is that similar to Jim, Johnny, Jack, and Jose'?)

This place just oozes patriotism!

It was an honor to be there!

Hugs, M