Winter chores

It is finally feeling like winter here in Central Indiana. 11 degrees and snow is falling - I love it. 

The freezing temps do cause a bit of a problem, though. Yesterday, we noticed the chickens hadn't come out all day. Their food is in the coop because the moisture ruins it, but their water is outside sitting on a cinder block that has a 100 watt light bulb inside to keep it from freezing. I put their water in the coop to see if they were thirsty and they all swarmed. So, I decided to leave it in there for the night. 

Well that wasn't a great idea, because this morning it was frozen solid. I am so glad I cleaned my bath tub, wouldn't want to clean a chicken waterer (that they kicked a ton of wood chips into, and poop. Yay!) in a dirty tub, right?  That was fun to clean up. 

Once I got the water cleaned up, I suited up in my favorite Berne coveralls (I highly recommend them, so cozy!), got my chisel and hammer and went to unstick the coop door. With no trees, we get weather from all directions. The snow and ice froze the door shut. 

Don't mind the unpacked box on the floor from when we moved. Almost 4 months ago... Ha!  It's an old sewing machine I don't use and haven't figured out where to put it. On top of it is a cabinet shelf I haven't found a place for. The rest of my house really is unpacked, I swear!

I tried to talk the ladies into coming out of the coop, but they weren't having it. I guess they will come out when they are thirsty enough. Keeping water in the coop isn't a good idea for a couple reasons. One, it will freeze. 😁 Two, it will release moisture into the air that will also freeze and can cause respiratory problems, frost bite, etc for the chickens. 

One thing about all this that makes me really happy - all throughout this morning chores, I enjoyed it. You know you're on the right path, doing the right thing when you love what you're doing, even when it's not sunshine and green grass. Not that I had any doubt, I knew this was the right life for me, for us.  

On the mend

Oh goodness!  Between holidays, traveling, and illness it has been hard to sneak a post in. We all still have a lingering cold and cough but I think we are finally on the mend. I hope we don't catch anything else for a long time!

This picture of Miss Kitty is a good representation of what has been happening with me. Resting!  If I don't, my cold will turn into bronchitis. I am still not out of the woods, but I am hoping all the tea, vitamins, and rest will keep it at bay. 

On Instagram, I shared some pictures of our learning space. I am hoping to get those into an actual post within the next day or so. 

Hats

We have at least 10 hats around here. That's 2+ hats per person!  However when it's cold out and time to go outside, someone is always missing one. That was the case today.

I have had a wool sweater for a few years that I picked up at goodwill. I've made so many things from it!  Wool longies for Kaybug when she was in diapers from the sleeves, bean bags from the main body, and now... A hat from the turtle neck.  And I still have more sweater left! 

It's not the most round, perfect hat, but it keeps the ears and head warm!  All I did was cut the turtle neck part of the sweater off, needle felted a heart on it, and sewed up the top. Voila!  Instant hat! I can't wait to give it to her!

Kaybug's favorite winter story

We have a lot of books (understatement?), and I feel like leaving them out all the time can be overwhelming for little kids - and can turn into a big mess!  So I rotate books out every so often, especially for holidays and season changes.

We have our all-year-round favorites like "The Great Gracie Chase", "Goodnight Moon", etc. But for winter, this book has been a favorite among all three kids at some point. Most recently being Kaybug. 

She requests I read it nearly every day for nap, and I'm happy to be a part of it, occasionally changing "Sam" to "Kaybug" which always gets a smile. 

It is called "You Can Do It, Sam" by Amy Hest. The story is about a bear and his mama who bake cakes and then deliver them to their friends on Plum Street. Sam - the very brave bear that he is, walks to each door "all by himself". It's such a sweet story, and always makes me want to run to the kitchen to do the same. If you are looking for a good book to put under the tree for your little ones, Kaybug would like to recommend this one.