There and Back Again

J wearing his new glasses (I didn't get a pic of C in his yet)

We have had a long winter and were so excited for spring. The SAD (seasonal affective disorder) really hit me this winter and man, it was rough. I was constantly tired. I just tried to be as active as possible and read many a great book. The daffodils popped up and said "Welcome back, Spring!" We also started a new session at our homeschool co-op. I'm leading a class on Vikings, in which both J and C joined. We are enjoying it. The weather had been warming up somewhat and I had been looking forward to getting out in the garden and to the two private gardens I work on.

Our daffodil hill as you round the corner to our house

Ramps are up!

Poor things.

Then, another snowstorm. Come on! We got a total of 10 inches! Mike and the boys went out in the snow for more sledding and play while I got hot herbal tea and dinner ready.

Chicken feet 

A flock of eight turkeys that have been visiting us

Mike's "new" project

Experiments with ice (J filled up a water balloon and sat it outside  to freeze)

The guys were wiped out after all that! We had a great dinner and then watched The Hobbit on DVD we just bought. Mike when to the store the day it was released! We really like it and are looking forward to the next two.
I am excited now that the storm is over and we're getting closer to real spring. We're getting dozens of strawberry plants for the garden and baby turkeys in two weeks! We hope to get our bees and more chickens (and maybe a few baby ducks?) soon too. Hope you all had a beautiful equinoz and wishing you a blessed Easter/Ostara!

To Winter

To Winter by William Blake

O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors:
The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark
Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs,
Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car.
He hears me not, but o'er the yawning deep
Rides heavy; his storms are unchain'd, sheath'd
In ribbed steel; I dare not lift mine eyes,
For he hath rear'd his sceptre o'er the world.

Lo! now the direful monster, whose 1000 skin clings
To his strong bones, strides o'er the groaning rocks:
He withers all in silence, and in his hand
Unclothes the earth, and freezes up frail life.

He takes his seat upon the cliffs,--the mariner
Cries in vain. Poor little wretch, that deal'st
With storms!--till heaven smiles, and the monster
Is driv'n yelling to his caves beneath mount Hecla.

All About Magnets

  C initiated our study of magnets this week. He has tested many things to see if they are magnetic. We have a collection of several types of magnets and he and J tested every one.

Holding hematite magnet under the table to test  magnetic pull.

We have enjoyed reading The Magic School Bus: Amazing Magnetism and More Power to You: The Science of Batteries and Magnets. We plan to do more experiments with our magnets the rest of this week. We need to get iron fillings (mentioned in the Magic School Bus book) and neodymium magnets to further our studies.

Snowbirds

Sorry for the silence here, but we have been enjoying our winter snow and planning our spring to-do list. On the list, order more seeds (here, here and here ), more homeschool books and supplies, chicks and ducklings order (maybe quail too?), work to do on the upstairs loft, and beekeeping supplies. We may get rabbits this year too. We haven't decided whether or not to get turkeys again.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from recent days:

The birds are quite grateful for the birdseed we offer (and the shelter from the storm. We have been enjoying all the visitors to the feeder. We have had chickadees, titmice, sparrows, finches, cardinals, and a few others visiting the feeders. It's funny to watch the traffic jam and they each vie for space!

Taking turns at the feeder

Ice sculptures

Our pond (still mostly frozen)

Another visitor

The boys have been playing in the snow, building snowmen and sledding. It really feels like winter!

Warm blessings to all. xo

RIP, Rowan

 My favorite rooster, Rowan, died last night in the snowstorm. He hadn't been himself the last few days, so we were keeping an eye on him. When I went to lock up the chicken coop last night he wasn't up there, so (in the snowstorm) I searched all over the farm for him. I went out an hour later and searched again, with no luck. Mike found him this morning under my potting shed.

Rest in peace, Rowan. You were a damn fine rooster. The best. You will be missed, sweet fella.

Neither Rain, Snow, Sleet...

This is the picture we awoke to today. We were expected to get up to 12 inches, but the storm changed direction and we barely got 3 inches. There was a period of white-out conditions, but it did not last long. For awhile, it was looking like we would be getting a lot of snow. We're just a bit disappointed! Oh well. We were prepared to lose power, but did not experience any problems, including Mike was able to get home from work. He was prepared to stay all night at work (he works at a hotel), if the weather was really bad.

During the snowstorm

The day before, we were doing farm chores, including some pruning and stream clean-up. The young orchard trees got pampered with attention to prepare them for spring. Now, if the dang deer will leave them alone! We cleaned out several areas in the stream where the leaves had piled up and enjoyed playing outside while the weather was mild. The chickens enjoyed the nice day, too.

Mike pruning and weighting branches on our young orchard trees

Birdie, Rusty (the bantam rooster) and Lucifer

Glinda, one of our Speckled Sussex hens

Lucifer giving me the evil eye

 The beginning of week we had ran for three days straight and our streams are roaring. It's quite a wonderful, powerful sound. Definitely going to hook up a micro-hydro system!

the creek that runs in front of our house

the creek that runs down the side yard

our little pond

 Bright blessings on your week. XO

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Hubby