Sweet Local Farm

We got quite a bit of snow yesterday. Much more than the “epic blizzard that wasn’t” from last week. We got home late last night, around 8pm. It was still snowing at the time and as I walked into the house what struck me was how completely quiet the world was. The snow dampens all the everyday noises like traffic and people. We live on a long stretch of country road. There are a handful of small farms, some newer developments, but overall even the suburban style homes have at least an acre of land. Our street is very pretty in every season and all of the houses are unique and well kept. I’m grateful for my little slice of heaven.

I keep going out to check on the chickens. The temperature outside is 16 degrees, but the coop is much warmer. The little thermometer I put by the window reads 29 degrees, but their water, which is directly under the light, doesn’t appear to be frozen.

This is how they were a few minutes ago:

I took the photo from outside so I didn’t disturb them or let in the cold air by opening the door.

While I was outside I captured a few shots of the barn and house in the snow and lit by the still pretty full blue moon:

It keeps snowing and it keeps feeling more and more cozy inside. I’m baking a pumpkin pie to have with some steaming hot cocoa. Mmm.

This time of year people make resolutions. I’m not making a new resolution as much as I am sticking to an old one. Organization!

With a big house, basement, huge garage, barn, and a bunch of people and animals coming and going all the time it is very important to me to stay organized. I use a few different systems to keep me on track. First, Flylady.net. Flylady is a website that breaks your home into manageable zones. Each day the zones are posted on the site along with a list of tasks to complete in each room or area of your home. For example, your entrance and front porch/steps. Clutter and junk-coats, shoes, mail, can accumulate in these areas. Also, you may not think of your entrance when you decide to clean your house. Being prompted by Flylady helps me focus on the areas that I may have overlooked. Some of her suggestions are kinda whack, but I just do what works for me. Try it out!

The other woman I turn to for homekeeping tasks is the domestic goddess herself, Martha. The calendar section of her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, is full of seasonal tasks and suggestions that I do if they apply to my home. For example, the other day it was “clean and organize your utensil drawers”. Truth is, those drawers get dirty and there are tools in there that don’t get used and could be tossed. It took 5 minutes to do. Other than that, I keep a list of major tasks I want to tackle when I have the time.

Ok time to eat pie.

Who needs a grocery store when you’ve got a winter garden! The snow melted a bit so I was able to pull some veggies from the garden. Here is what I harvested today:

Carrots in the snow:

Baby spinach from the greenhouse:

Arugula from the greenhouse:

Kale from outside:

Parsley from the herb spiral:

A couple beets:

A few fat carrots:

A handful of broccoli:

A spring of rosemary and mint also from the herb spiral:

In other news on the farm, the winter birds are here! I’ve counted 7 cardinals, a few bluejays, chickadees, and other birds visiting the feeders. Here is a cardinal:

They gather under the feeder:

Ahh the joys of homeownership. I shoveled out the walk for the first time since we moved to the farm. I had to take a photo to document the experience because I know it will be the first of many, many, many times throughout my life.

Here are a few other snowy pics:

It is about 28 degrees out right now and there is snow on the ground. It is really sunny out and our greenhouse has heated to almost 60 degrees. No electricity or fossil fuels required, just free solar power.

I picked this salad for lunch from the greenhouse today:

Our goats have a cozy, hay filled shed to call their home on these cold winter nights. We feed them in the shed every morning and have it insulated with bales of hay. There is only one problem- the goats don’t sleep in there! For some reason they sleep outside on the cold asphalt under the barn overhang in a corner by the chicken coop. We have gone out to look at them with flashlights at all hours of the night. Now that it is really cold out, I got very concerned.

I posted on the Horsetopia message board and got some great advice.

For example, “We have 3 little pygmy’s. They have fluffed up recently and look like little puffballs with legs. They grow a winter coat. They too have access to an insulated dog house (large one that will fit all 3 comfortably with room to spare) lined with straw but sometimes choose to be outside. Silly goats . If they are warm and don’t appear to be shivering or cold, don’t worry about them too much.
I know we all want our animals to be warm & comfy by our standards, but sometimes, by goat standards, they are warm & comfy just lying in the sun on a bed of straw.”

and

“i live in alberta where it’s not uncommon to get -30 weather. my 5 goats sleep in the barn in cubbies full of straw and wood pallets covered with wood. i have a double door and keep the top half closed. one of my goats doesn’t even go in the barn until it gets fairly cold. i also have two donkeys living in the barn with the goats. they have about 2 feet of straw in there (more if it is -30) and if it is calling for -30 or lower i shut the bottom door overnite. They all get good winter coats but some days you can tell they’re chilly and look kind of miserable. also when it’s colder than normal they get extra hay and cubes. if yours prefer sleeping under the overhang maybe a wooden platform with some straw might be a little comfier so they’re not on frozen ground. i always worry so much with the severe cold but they seem to come out of it just fine. two of the goats are seniors, 3 young goats and two very senior donkeys. my goats also love if i bring out a bucket of really quite hot water to slurp up. their goat “tea”. they do also have a heated water trough. i have also read that if otherwise healthy with a good coat the temps don’t really bother them until it hits about -20. i think it worries me more than it actually affects them.”

So I took this advice, brought them some hot water and built a little hay nest where they like to sleep.

They may not be bothered by the cold, but this will give me some peace of mind.

Birch and Rosey love jumping on the bales of hay and hopping back and forth between them. All that action probably keeps them warm too! They seem happy and warm in their fur coats, so I’m happy.

I awoke to a sunny, sparkling day. Here are some photos I took of the farm:

The greenhouse was warming quickly and the snow was sliding off the roof:

The barn covered in snow:

One of our many birdhouses:

The pretty landscape:

Our little tree: