​Snow day!

Snow day!

2/26/2019

Yesterday was a Snow Day! I have to capitalize this because we don’t get much snow around here. Stereo-typically, when there is snow in the Willamette Valley, we, like most of our fellow people around here, freak out. So Josh did not drive his work truck in 45 min to his job site and stayed home with me instead. The school districts are terrified to have been the ones that caused traffic accidents or mayhem, so the schools were closed. This allowed us to have an unexpected day free.

When you have a farm, you both work and the kids are all in school, an unexpected day free is like a pearl in an oyster! We started the day by making a list and prioritizing it. This included things like Josh cleaning his guns that he had taken hunting the day before, and me starting an instant pot of bones. I don’t particularly care for bone broth, and it doesn’t agree with me, but Josh and the kids seem to get health benefits from it. A snow day is definitely a good day for bone broth soup.

Next we (FINALLY!) got the blood drawn on our goats. This process went much smoother this time thanks to some tips I got from my friend Ginger. (Don’t be lazy, shave their necks first! Total time saver and poke saver in the long run!) I will mail that off today and we will hopefully officially know whether Chrysanthemum is pregnant by the end of the week! We did some other work in the barn and around the house.

Emma has been in Hawaii for the past 10 days with her Grandma and Aunt who live there. She missed the snow, but got sun and snorkeling so I think that is much better. She had her birthday in Hawaii this year. It was so weird not having her here for that! All the phone calls and facetimes and text messages in the world cannot make up for having your baby far away on her birthday!

Emma is our chicken whisperer. Every day while in Hawaii, she needed me to go check all the chickens over to make sure none were hurt at least twice a day, and to send her a picture of the eggs I collected each evening so she can see which Hens were laying. She texted or called about taking care of the animals every evening to make sure no one forgot anything. I think if it were me, in between snorkeling and laying on the beach with a drink in my hand, I wouldn’t have time for that. She sure loves her chickens.

As I have mentioned before in previous posts (see HERE), we have been in the market for either buying or salvaging a new chicken coop for months. Emma has been living under the daily threat of us getting rid of chickens due to the squalor that they have been putting up with. Imagine my joy when I found an AWESOME Chicken coop for us for only $150!!! It had just popped up on Craigslist and I jumped at the find! Someone seriously did not know what they had! It came with 2 free feeders, a free dog igloo that will be perfect for baby goats, and 3 free hens that may or may not be laying (I know, I know, we need more chickens like we need a hole in the head). Despite the snow, Josh and I made the 50 mile trek and picked it up. We got it home just at dusk last night. Since the functionality of the tail lights were definitely questionable, I am glad we made it before dark. It will also be the best gift for my little chicken mommy for her birthday! This summer we will paint some flowers on it and put a pink flamingo or 2 out front. For the price, I couldn't be happier, and when we are done with it, it is easily hauled away.