Winter's Arrival

With our Spring-like winter thus far, it was nice to wake up this morning to a light dusting of snow clinging to the landscape of the homestead.  Do not let the clear sky and bright sun rising fool you. Today, for the first time this season our temperatures are falling and it is truly cold.  It was a perfect morning for moving slowly and binge watching a little Mozart in the Jungle.

The girls have been completely non plussed by the ice turned slush on the ground this week.  They love to root around in it to the dirt below.  With frigid temperatures forecast for most of the next week B and I mucked out their indoor pen yesterday and bedded it down with a couple of bales of fresh dry straw.  I have got to say it was good to be back out in the yard doing something physical.  We are months from the growing season, but it was nice to have a big job to get the heart pumping.

There were lots of happy pig sounds when they were let back in and started to spread out and roll in their new straw.  I swear pigs are really just 400 pound dogs!  We will be inseminating Mabel in about two weeks, so once spring truly is here there will be babies on the farm!

A Fierce Entrance

January sure gave us a run for our money with unexpected journeys on a number of fronts.  Thankfully, February seems to have started much more as I would expect for this time of year, with a blizzard.  I am thankful it is happening on a Sunday when we can hunker down at home with candles lit, games played, books to read and the occasional trip outside to keep up with clearing the snowfall.  We have had next to no snow this season, and the white transformation is welcome.  I see sledding in our future!

I began another 365 this year, however due to the events of January, some photos were beautiful and others were quick shots that left something to be desired.  Though they are true to life,  I will not compile them for this post, but moving forward into the year I will summarize them here.

This is also the time of year that garden dreaming begins in earnest.  B listened to an interview on Garden Talk on Friday, and we ordered the book The Market Gardner yesterday, can't wait to get it!

I can not encourage you enough to take a couple of easy steps when you are roasting a chicken.  We always turn right around and put the carcass back into a pot, covered with water and rough cut veggies to cook down into a stock for future use.  It is so simple, further utilizes your food, and saves you money!  Friday B and I made a simple mushroom risotto using the broth from a stock that we made from our Hay Roasted Chicken.  A simply amazing ad lib.  The earthiness of the mushrooms and the hay complimented one another beautifully!

February is certainly making a fierce entrance, I think it is time to make some brownies!

Don't Eat Yellow Snow

Yesterday was the day we had been waiting for for over a week.  It was going to be warm enough that we could crack open the hives and take a peak.  We went out during lunch to begin to assess the situation.  To our excitement as we neared the hives, after trudging through knee deep snow, there was tons of activity.  Our two main hives seem to have maintained astonishingly large numbers through the winter.  Sadly our two smaller hives never became large enough to sustain themselves in the dramatic temperatures that we have had. 

They had two main activities yesterday as you can see from this photo, one was cleaning house.  They began to discard the dead bees from the hive.

The other, and arguably more important activity was getting out to poop!  Poor things.  It has been too consistently cold for them to get out and relieve themselves.  If you notice in the photos above, the snow is littered with little amber spots.  This my friends is bee poop.  You could sense their exuberance at the relief!

As we were checking each hive, they were all around us saying hi and it was as good a boost as the warm 42 degrees to our attitudes.

It appears that there is still some honey left for them to eat, but we also have ordered some fondant to supplement their feeding through the rest of the winter.  I ran to the store in the afternoon to pick up some pine shavings to replace what was in the quilt.  After B got home from work it was just twilight and we ran out to get that task done.  I wish that I had my camera with me, of course in my haste to get out before we lost the light, I forgot it in the house.  I can assure you it was a sight to see.  Aside from the little dots littering the snow for 50 feet around, a three foot circumference around the hive was completely saturated with amber.  I was going to try to catch it this morning, but the freezing rain started about 4 am and by the time it was light enough, snowball sized snowflakes were falling.  The sight around the hives gave completely new meaning to the old phrase 'don't eat yellow snow!'

A Nudge

As suddenly as our 7 inches of snow fell on Monday the temperatures rose to 40 degrees yesterday with hopes of the same for today.  We haven't seen temperatures like these since late fall. Then, it felt crisp and cool and had the promise of holidays, hot apple cider, and enjoying the indoors.  In contrast, after what is proving to be one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record and certainly since we moved here 13 years ago, we are more than ready to spend more time outside.  It was a joy simply walking up our long winding drive with the trash cans in tow.  Funny the simple pleasures; the black top shining through for the first time in months, walking outside with only a light sweater.  I found myself breathing deeper, relaxing and basking in the sun.   Though it seems the thaw will only be about two days before we are plunged back into sloppy winter storm conditions followed again by cold temperatures, it reminds me of how truly lucky we are to be able to experience the seasons with all of their ups and downs.  They only make us that more appreciative.  This thaw comes at a perfect time giving me that boost, a little reminder of the blooms ahead, and nudges me gently forward through the final months of winter.

The Snow Igloo

B and Charles have spent the last few weeks making an igloo in the snow.  Last weekend they finished it.  Once they had hollowed the whole thing out, they added a couple of skylights using sledding disks.

When the excavation was complete, and since snow is every couple of days here this winter, B used a piece of cardboard and made a form around the opening and then used the snow blower to direct snow over it to fill it in and make a proper igloo opening.

Once this process was complete, B bedded down the floor inside with straw, and made an area for a small fire pit inside.  I hope to take more pictures of the inside soon, but this happened to my camera due to some exuberant boys playing in the wrong area. 

So, I'll post more pictures once we get that situation fixed.  To give you an idea of the scale of the thing, Charles is on top and B is inside excavating here.

Random 5 Friday

1.  This morning's sunrise over the lake made the early morning school carpool, so worth it!

2.  We got to 17 degrees yesterday, and the weather person called it a warm up.  Yup, it has been that kind of winter.

3.  We booked a short weekend trip with a ski and splash package in a couple of weeks.  A little reward for the kids since we ignored them for their patience during the great basement clean out of '14 the last few weeks.  Everyone is excited and we are looking forward to finally teaching the kids how to snow ski, hopefully it will be slightly warmer.

4.  I am looking for a new book.  The last few that I have read have been fairly entertaining, but not great.  Any suggestions??

5.  This week I was fortunate enough to be able to register for two upcoming events that I am so excited about.  The first is a slow money event discussing how to invest and gain investors in programs revolving around promoting healthy food choices an education in our community.  Secondly, is the TedX Manhattan--"changing the way we eat"  viewing party in our area.  I am enthusiastic that the insight gained from these events will help us in our efforts locally!

participating in Random 5 Friday, won't you play along?

Making Lemonade

When life gives you lemons constant snow, ice, and windchill...

make lemonade a warm wool blanket.

How are you passing these cold gray days?

A Lighter House

The day began with blowing and drifting, and quickly turned to sun and 32 degrees.  

Taking advantage of the much needed vitamin D we have spent some necessary time outside.

**The snow has been blown.

**The outside Christmas lights have been taken down.

**The porch been completely cleared and re-organized.

**The bird feeders all replenished.

**The kids have begun building a snow igloo.

It feels so good to be active outside.  Even once inside the breaks of bright sun through the windows makes my heart skip a beat.  It is hard to believe how very little sunshine we have had this winter! We are taking every advantage today since the deep freeze returns to us tomorrow.

We haven't neglected our inside tasks this weekend either.  Beginning after soccer yesterday we purged three truck loads of both ours and the previous owners junk from our basement. Some to recycle, some to trash, much to donate.  Everything remaining is now finding a new home in labeled buckets on shelves.  Old work benches and built in shelving are now emerging as our wine, honey and charcuterie supply center.  A work in progress, but oh so close.  Best of all?  We seem to have found a nice balance of work and rest with our tasks.  Work some, read or knit some, play some, then work some more.  

The house feels lighter, and is giving off a new energy.  A great start to 2014, and hopefully a force that will propel us into our ever growing farm to do list.

Fast & Easy Cold Weather Comfort Food

What to do when the weather is bitter and the kids Christmas break is extended by a couple of days?  It takes a village for moms to entertain stir crazy kids who can not go out to play in the snow.  On Monday, I had a couple of friends and their kids over for lunch and more importantly mental health play time for the moms and kids alike.  As an illustration of just how cold it has been, one of my friends provided a loaf of crusty bread to go with the soup.  It sat in her car for 10 minutes and when she handed it to me it had frozen solid!  Talk about flash freezing!

Since I was working in the morning, I made creamy tomato soup on Sunday, and then just added the finishing touches when it was served on Monday afternoon.  I spent some time on pinterest and found a couple of recipes but, ultimately, this one came from what I had in hand and what sounded good.  I must say, it is a keeper!

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Lg onion, finely diced
3 Cloves prepared garlic (if using raw, I'd use 1 Lg clove)
1 C. prosecco
1 C. water
1 Qt. canned tomatoes (I used our roasted ones, if you have time to roast them first it really adds!)
2 C. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
pesto

Directions:
 In a dutch oven heat olive oil, and saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook until aromatic.  Then splash in the prosecco and water and cook until reduced by 1/3 to 1/2.  Add tomatoes and heavy cream and blend with an immersion blender.  Once smooth (or desired consistency), add salt and pepper to taste and stir in honey.  Simmer until ready to eat, or refrigerate for re-heating.  When serving add a dollop of your favorite pesto to the center and serve with crusty bread.

Ole' Man Winter's Identity Crisis

Poor ole' man winter, I guess he was just jealous of the glorious fall and decided to start a month early.  In the almost thirteen years that we have lived here, this is the earliest winter.  We have complained in the last couple of years about the sparse snow, but it seems that the early results are in and winter may just pack us a punch this year.

The talk for the last several days, after the chaos of Sunday's light snows, has been of the cold.  In the forecasts over the past week, last night supposed to be the coldest, then moderating to more seasonal 31-32 degrees over the weekend.  That has changed just a bit.  The coldest air will actually be today.  We are waking up to a balmy 13 degrees, and should top out around noon closing in on zero.  Then the winds pick up giving us an evening and overnight of 25 below zero windchills, some forecasters have even mentioned 30 below...pishaw!  We will recover some from the desperate cold, making it back into the twenties in time for some lake effect snow Friday and Saturday.  No longer are we expecting those 'seasonal' temps.  

 But truly, what is seasonal when ole' man winter has an identity crisis and decides to take over?   Stay safe!!

Six Words

Winter, it's been real; now springtime.

Cold Sunsets and Kale Brussels

Driving home from soccer tonight, I had to take a little detour to capture this amazing sunset.  I need to just keep my camera with me all of the time!  It is especially helpful when you pull off the side of the road quickly and put on your hazards.  Once the police officer who happened to be the oncoming car saw me with my window down and the camera, he just cruised on by.  The yellows and golds tonight transported me to the Sahara in summer, amazing since it's winter here.  But thankfully a balmy 40 degrees to melt the last of the weeks ice before the bottom officially drops out later tonight.  We have wind chills well below zero to look forward to the next couple of days.

This truly frigid air that is pending prompted us to make the decision to do the final harvest of our Flower Sprouts ~ Kale/Brussels hybrid.  So in the dusk, we headed outside to pick sprouts.  We planted them in August, and they have been in the garden all winter, and unprotected, AND they are simply beautiful as well as deliciously sweet.  Proof positive that we have had a trend of extremely moderate winter weather to spoil us, allowing us to reap some reward from this concerning pattern.  I hope that if these changed seasons keep up that it does not dull our senses to the reasons behind environmental changes.  We have heard speculation that the Great Lakes area was predicted to become the next great wine region.  If this keeps up, we may need to plant grapes.

Silent Sunday~ Winter Coats

Whispered Promise

After last weeks snow, and then thaw,
yesterday's snow, and then deep freeze,
it seems that winter, if only for the moment,
is here.  Tonight's frozen sunset captures
a sleeping garden, a hibernating compost,
and a whispered promise, Spring.