I am still snowed in. Seems I could get my four-wheel drive down the road, but I would never get back up. So, when Ann comes home this afternoon, I will walk down and meet her, and then we will walk up.
It is sunny and the sky is blue, but it is still cold.
The chickens are insulated with snow. They are just fine.
I just may have to put my Christmas lights back up. I don’t know when we will dig out of here. I am doubting we will see schools opened until mid week. Ann is still in Cherokee with no power, but says it is coming up the road. I hope so.
I kept busy mastering Mario on Wii. I made two batches of cookies, but have will not bake them until tomorrow, and I made a batch of dog biscuits. I baked them, but then I shut the oven off, and they sit in the oven and dry all night. The dogs like them a lot.
I also took bird photos.
We did not get out foot of snow….yet…and it is only spitting some sleet right now. They say we can get one to three inches of icy mix, but we shall see.
Here is some humorous irony. Ann stayed in Cherokee last night so that she could actually get to work. She and a friend got a hotel room across from the casino. They would have stayed in the casino hotel, but it was all booked. Anyway, they went to dinner and then went to settle into their room. Guess what? Power went out. Even the casino lost power, and it was still without power this morning. The casino has generator back up, but it does not have it for its hotel. Their hotel never got the power back either, as of this morning anyway. I think that is funny. I spoke to them a few times last night and they were having the time of their lives.
Here at Possum Manor:
I am cooling some oatmeal for the chickens. I read they like a nice warm bowl of oatmeal on a cold day, and who am I to deny them?
The old coop is buried. Good thing the chickens are in the new and improved coop.
Want to come over for lunch? We could eat out on the deck.
When I woke up this morning, one of the cats was throwing a toy in the air and chasing it. He was having such a good time, until I realized it was a dead bird, and I took it away. Ugh.
Three in the afternoon:
Four hours later:
I think we have about six inches already. One of the cats made the design in the snow. Our electricity popped off once for a second, but it came right back on.
We are supposed to get a massive dumping of snow AGAIN. I have prepared, but do hope we do not lose power like the last time. If we keep power, I have plans to make dog biscuits, oatmeal cookies, soup, and orange marmalade. If we lose power I have plans to not panic, and just relax. Hahahaha Me relax?
If there is power when I get up in the morning, I am going to make a big thermos of hot tea. Then, if we do lose it doing the day, I will still have something warm to drink. I have two full canisters of propane for the grill, so I should be able to cook. I will find a tranquilizer and have it setting out.
I do not worry about food or water or the dogs or cats or chickens. I think I will cope better than I did the last time.
So, if I can blog during the day, I will. If you see nothing tomorrow, you will know I have no power. I think Gena is even suppose to get this storm, and she is four or five hours away.
….to delay school two hours. I like those mornings because they are calmer than the normal rush. Just once I would like to know about the delay before I get up. I watched the scrolling closings at the bottom of the television screen until about 5:20, and when we still were not posted, I got up. I had fed the cats and turned on the coffee pot when the notice appeared. I shut the coffee off and went back to bed.
Brando hates delayed openings because it delays his access to the bed.
I have to remember to make up the bed when I get out, because he does not always wipe his feet.
It was pretty, and the roads were not bad at all.
I keep looking for signs of spring. Ann says I have a few more months; I do not want to hear it. I am planning flowers everywhere!!!!
And lots of it. The almost two feet of snow melted and made the ground spongy. Now we have had a lot of rain, and the ground has had trouble absorbing it. We have become mud farmers once again. We have many layers of road bond on our driveway, but you would not know it. We will need many more.
The dogs bring it in.
The cars get stuck in it.
That is a picture of a rut in the driveway, though it looks like the back of an alligator.
The chickens were getting wet, so I went out and tacked a tarp. I heard the rooster crow this morning, which is no big deal except I had not heard him since we moved them.
This was a good weekend, in spite of the rain. Friday night I slept ten hours, which might go into the book of records. I ran errands, and I made a good dinner. Slept another long night. Today I feel like a million bucks. I went to the gym, made a batch of peanut butter balls, two loaves of low fat banana bread, 10 grain bread, and pizza dough. Ahhh, a good day. I think I might now play Mario on the Wii.
Ann found my video camera on my desk. Yes, I have a messy desk. I think the chickens are enjoying their new coop, but they have been picking on Lil Sprout a bit. I will have to keep my eye on them.
The door to the coop sat under the snow for almost four weeks, which is why it sticks. I am assuming when it dries out, it will be a bit easier to open.
After all these months, the chickens are in their new home. Maria came down at the exact time we were going to move them. I had an elaborate plan as to how to transfer them, but Maria and Ann convinced me that the chickens could be caught easily and carried to the new house. I had my doubts, but they were right. Ann reached in and grabbed one, while Maria and I blocked the others from escaping. Then I would carry the chick to the new house. Baby Lief helped us too.
I cannot find my Flip video, so I took video with my camera. However, the cord I need to transfer them from my phone to my computer is at school. ugh. So videos will have to wait a day.Until then, here are a couple of photos. There is so much light in the coop now that there is almost a glare.
The food and water is now hung so that they cannot poop in them. Honestly, it is one of their hobbies.
That is Sprout in the center. She is as big as the smallest hens now.
They have adjusted already, and they do not have a problem with me going in there every hour on the hour.
Tonight they have all climbed into the nesting box, and rooster is sitting in the opening. Such smart chickens.
We had a great day today and really worked hard. We finished just as it really started to rain, so the photos are a big dark. Tomorrow we have to get some straw and place landscape timbers along the side to keep creatures out. Then Monday we can move the kids in. That alone will make a good video. What a long time this took. We would have finished before Christmas if the weather had held out.
We have an interesting entry into the coop. We could not find some kind of a handle in the odds and ends we have, but we did find a door knob.
We also have protection:
We have a couple of perches…
That is a very sturdy ramp too. The right side opens for cleaning and egg collecting. The floor will have dirt and then straw.
We have already decided on the addition we will build this spring. They will go into this house area and be able to go into a larger box that we will be able to access from the outside. So many plans now that we are experienced. hahahha