Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
A Sunny Winter Day
A Sunny Winter Day
Today was a good day in animal land. The sun finally came out for the afternoon and I must say the farm pets enjoyed it thoroughly. In this picture the mother goat is nearly asleep. The goats are so fair weather that they wont go out of the barn for water when the wind blows, let along when its snowing. The chickens love the goats for some reason and the goats dont seem to mind the chicken ladies too much either.
The donkey boys like the sun to shine too! They were caught several times throughout the day laying down and just soaking it all in. That is, when the mother goat isnt chasing them and stomping her feet in their direction. Funniest thing I have ever seen as that darn goat is afraid of her own shadow but acts very tough when the donkeys are around. You should see a pygmy goat put the sneak on a pair of miniature donkeys. Its almost sad. It really seems to empower her, nutty goat.
A Sunny Winter Day
Winter Station
Winter Station
Though not technically garden offices, the winning entrants in the Winter Stations competition to design shelters on the edge of lakes in Toronto are magnificent examples of microarchitecture. Among them are The Steam Canoe (pictured above) from OCAD University which turns snow into vapour, and (below) In the Belly of a Bear, a sperhical shedlike atmosphere covered in fur by Caitlind RC Brown, Wayne Garrett and Lane Shordee.
You can see more photos and details at dezeen.
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Winter Station
All of The Sudden Its Winter
All of The Sudden Its Winter
Winter has finally come to my neck of the woods and I can honestly tell you that Jack Frost is not high on my list of faves right now. Dang it, I forgot how cold winter is. I thought I was ready but maybe not quite yet. My raised bed garden is looking pretty sad right about now. Part of my heart sings about that and the other part is in a schizophrenic depression. It changes hour by hour.
The chickens werent totally sure the first time they came out into the snow. Funny thing was I couldnt figure out what was wrong with the chickens. Silly us. We were all having a brain malfunction!
We added this little shelf and mini fridge to the chicken house this morning. We figured that with both of us working we would not always be available for egg dispersal. Now we have serve yourself. This also solves the problem of having too many dozen in the fridge inside the house. This will easily hold more than I care to stock. I thought I would let my daughter make a money can for the folks that want to pick up eggs this way.
This ought to work like a dream. There are actually some folks in my town who live rurally and have a full size refrigerator out by the highway. People are welcome to just help themselves. I have always wondered if everyone pays or if they get stiffed with any regularity. I havent had the nerve to ask them yet. I figure this will be somewhat more controlled. Only those we want to know about it will.
And just for fun a cute picture of one of the boys! They are so darn sweet! We play with them every day and every day shows strides in what they learn. No buyers remorse here~
All of The Sudden Its Winter
Winter Reading
Winter Reading
Well here it is. The stack I have been meaning to read. The pile I couldnt wait for winter to be able to dive into. The current bane of my existence. What I mean to say is that I almost always look forward to winter because I am generally burnt out from gardening around the clock all summer. This winter was no exception. I have a confession to make. I havent started most of them yet. A couple I have read and had planned to re-read, like the miniature donkey book, Beekeeping for Dummies and Square Foot Gardening. It never hurts to brush up on your knowledge, right? Except I havent yet and spring is closing in on me. I mean really, its Groundhog Day already and I havent even started. (For those of you that dont already know, I love Groundhog Day. Not sure why but always have. )
I am starting to panic a little and I havent ordered my seeds yet. I havent even looked through and dogeared every page in 30 seed catalogs. What on earth is wrong with me? Maybe I am sick. Ooh, maybe I have Malaria. This really isnt normal for me and it truly baffles me a little. OK, a lot but whos keeping track. I do get over to peruse blogs I love (you all know who you are) but I cant even seem to muster the energy to leave comments which up until recently was something I got out of bed an hour earlier to do.
Winter Reading
Winter Woods Walk
Winter Woods Walk
The first winter storm of the year swept into the Ohio valley with a vengeance last night. When I got up this morning I found all covered in a blanket of white. Most people moan and groan and complain that theyre not ready for the cold. Not me I love the changing seasons and planned my day to get out and enjoy it.
I thought about cross country skiing but the ground is still a bit soft in places and the snow was very heavy and wet. Sometimes those conditions can make skiing more of pain when the slushy stuff sticks to the bottoms of my boards. So I just put on my pack boots and decided to go for a walk.
I tossed my camera in my backpack as I always do but with the gray stark scenery I didnt figure I would get any nice shots.
To my surprise though, after a half hour into my hike the storm clouds abruptly cleared out from the west and an intense sunshine electrified my surroundings. It was really amazing like a light switch had been thrown.
The Clear Fork went from cold steely gray to deep blue. Truly a vibrant contrast to earlier in the day. I spent a few hours in the woods enjoying the day and our first winter snowfall. Once again Im glad I threw in the camera. It always seems the good shots come around when theyre not expected but today I was ready.
Winter Woods Walk