Standing Guard

It was a beautiful day with a bright blue winter sky. I was so relieved to get all the kids back to school/daycare today and have a lunch hour to myself.  Passing by this sentry guarding the special path, I thought it was so beautiful - standing strong, tall, and proud.  I am happy to be outside. 

Old Dogs vs. Ava

 Charlotte and Emily are old dogs.  They sleep all the time and they hardly ever get into trouble.  Ava is a young dog.  She runs and chases and climbs. She is forever getting into trouble.  This is why Ian spent this morning installing hot wire on the top of her fence line.  So far, so good.  She zapped herself twice almost immediately and then spend the rest of the day laying on the compost pile in the goat paddock giving the fence the stink eye.  Please, please let this have put an end to Ava jumping the gates into the back and front yards.

Going on a Rabbit Hunt

 Going on a rabbit hunt.  Gonna catch a BIG one!  Nice day.  I'm not scared.

But look! Prints! Poop!

But no bunnies.  Rabbits 1: Us: 0.

Donuts vs Floss

Did you know nowadays dentists give kids gift certificates to the local donut shop?  When I was a kid, dentists gave out floss.  Just saying.

Scream-worthy Soup

Sometimes the leftovers in the fridge are just screaming to be made into soup.  I heard the scream and I made it happen.  I present today's leftover special: leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pork, zucchini, chickpeas, lentils, garlic, carrots, and ham bone broth.  Hot soup on a cold day is always a winner.  So is a cleaned out fridge!

Apple Infused Experiment

One of the best things about having three ravenous little munchkins is that they will eat pretty much any baked good.  They are never picky about cake.  Today's experimental concoction was an apple oat loaf made with our honey and crab apple sauce.  I also threw in sliced almonds, whole oats and lots of warm wintry spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamon).  I smeared the top with some homemade dulche de leche as icing.  Yum!  I love that I can bake and never have to worry about eating it all.  Cake around here is gone before the dishes are even done!

 

It's My Garden & I'll Sow if I Want To

There are three ways to know that it is almost February.

(1) The ducks start laying eggs again.  Today we found the first duck egg of 2022. Woohoo!

(2) Ava breaks her aviation strength tether and we have to spend $40 on a new one.  Ugh Ava.  She is back to being tethered because not only does she refuse to stay with the goats but she has begun to jump the gate into the front yard and I am terrified that she will go on the road and be hit by a car.  Ian and I will be installing hotwire on top of her fence line to keep her in the goat paddock but until then she will be tethered for her own safety.

(3) Ian swears that it is too early to plant anything but I say, NOPE!  It's my garden and I'll sow if I want to!  In go the eggplant, rosemary and lavender. Sowing seeds makes my heart happy.

Monday's Microgreens Minimize Moaning

Liam has been moaning about being tired of baby spinach on his school sandwiches so I suggested he switch to microgreens instead.  Apparently this time Mama actually had a good idea! He collected all the supplies from the basement storage room and got everything set up and sorted out.  Liam will be eating transformed school sandwiches in about ten days!

 

A Sorely Neglected Ferment

I am a bad kombucha keeper.  I present my SCOBY as evidence.  It was at least three inches thick.  I can't even admit to you how long I "forgot" about this batch ("ignored" - aka pretended to forget - might be more accurate).  I am sorry kombucha.  I will do better.

A Saturday Snowshoe

After being trapped in the house all week with the extreme cold weather, we got outside today to stretch our muscles.  We tromped through the woods and it was glorious.

Here's to hoping you got outside today too!

Icy Ava Loves the Cold

It is still frigid outside.  So, so cold.  My fingers, toes, and nose froze during evening chores tonight. Yet, who refused to go inside after supper? Ava, of course. Why she so loves this icy arctic weather is beyond me. I am considering moving south.

Closed Up Coop But Still Cold

Our feathered friends have been ravenous lately.  When I topped up their food tonight, they swarmed the feeder like they hadn’t eaten in weeks!  They must be burning lots of energy trying to keep warm.  They haven’t been allowed outside in a few days due to the extremely cold weather.  Even inside their closed up coop with a heat lamp, their eggs are still freezing!  Hope it warms up soon.

 

Lovely Lashes

Seamus has the most beautiful eyelashes, especially when they are frosty.  He takes after his Uncle Shawn for sure!

Cosy Coop

It is freezing out but at least it is warm and cosy in the chicken coop!

Snowmageddon 2022

We got a huge dump of snow today - from nothing to over knee high in less than twelve hours.  Two marathon sessions of shovelling and snow blowing later, we can once again access our front door, barns, and driveway.  I am sure glad I mucked out the barns yesterday.  The next barn cleaning session will be much more challenging trudging through knee deep snow!

An Odd Place

I was able to sneak in a quick forest walk during Seamus' tutoring session today.  Shea Woods is an odd place.  I saw a bathtub, living room, tree house worthy of Peter-Pan, and a very weird hanging oven mitt of some sort wrapped in duct tape.  I also saw a huge hibernating porcupine - though this seems more fitting for the forest than the other stuff.  What else have you seen in Shea Woods?!  At this point not much will surprise me.

Ms. Porcupine is high up in the tree in the top centre of the photo.

A GG-rific Birthday

Alistair was thoroughly celebrated today for the big accomplishment of turning three!  

Alistair took his birthday party on the road, heading to Kingston to bring the party to GG.  With the big boys heading back to school on Monday, it might be a while before we can visit her again so we took advantage of some quality GG time while everyone is guaranteed healthy and COVID-free.  Celebrating Ali's special day with GG was a big deal for the boys and everyone had an amazing time.

After epic car naps...

The party continued back home with the Grandmas and extra special ice cream sundaes with heaps of sprinkles and a cherry on top!

And, of course, more presents!

Wishing our littlest dragon the very happiest of third birthdays.  We hope you have so many more birthday celebrations that one day you get to celebrate the third birthdays of your own great grandchildren!  We love you Ali.