rachels.haven's Journal

[rachels.haven]

I'm not sure what's normal for here. Last time I lived here over a winter I was a kid. Everyone says we get one or two good snow storms every year, but nobody quantified "good" for me.

It's not 6" of snow anymore. Despite the temperature taking a nose dive into the single digits, it looks like the ground was not sufficiently warm to keep the snow frozen. Underneath the white exterior now there is a layer of ice, or in some places mud and the snow on the driveway has melted down to less than an inch. The average now is probably more like 3" (1 inch is a dusting, 2" is grass showing but mostly covered, 3" is a small snow cap, just enough to look good...) I think it will all be gone by the end of tomorrow when we go back to the 40's and 50's. I was tempted not to break out my insulated overalls and big boots, but I did. Now it's up to 13 and rising so I'll probably wash them and hang them up for next winter (?).

 

[Bruce]

I don't think winter is over just yet Rachel! Our coldest temps are usually the last couple of weeks of Jan and the first couple of February. I assume that would be true for most of the country.

 

[rachels.haven]

Lol, idk...the two different hay guys said they only get two good snow storms over the winter. That was two. So winter HAS to be over or they have to give back their hay guy licenses, right?

They didn't say anything about tornados though, and we had a few of those. I wonder what that means.

 

[Bruce]

It means you better put in a tornado shelter!!!!

 

[farmerjan]

Lol, idk...the two different hay guys said they only get two good snow storms over the winter. That was two. So winter HAS to be over or they have to give back their hay guy licenses, right?

They didn't say anything about tornados though, and we had a few of those. I wonder what that means.

Sorry, doubt they will have to give back their "hay licenses" and from the looks of it, you will be getting more winter. I don't think of a 3 inch snow as a good snow storm.... I think these "2 snow storms" is really more equal to 1 snow storm so far..... There is some talk about another real "winter storm" coming in mid to late January.... west to east... so you and @Mike CHS will get it before it comes to us here....
Hey... anything is BETTER THAN Mass madness.
Did the house get sold yet up there? Sure hope so for your sake.
How soon is DH appt? Hoping for soon and some promising results.

I think of you everytime I see and pick up some of these "on sale" post Christmas african violets... I am getting addicted... I have a pole that was made for my mom by a friend of theirs years ago that has arms for like 20 plants... I am trying to figure out where it is so I can get it out and see if I can get it set up to have in here for these.... But in the mean time I am trying to find the other shelf sets that I had years ago in CT that hang on the window with trays for the plants to sit on... I may have to go back to the nursery in CT the next time up there and buy them again as they don't seem to have them anywhere in any of the nurserys around here...
It is nice to see some live green in the house though.

 

[Baymule]

You put up your insulated overalls at 13F degrees?? You are a lot tougher than I am! I bring mine out at below freezing. Flannel lined blue jeans too! Hahaha!

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @rachels.haven,

Has your husband seen his eye doctor yet? We don't want his vision to get any worse. <gulp!>

And what's the latest on what happens to Moses? I loved seeing the picture of him and Pepper playing with the toy.

And what about the roaming dogs? Have they been dealt with?

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[rachels.haven]

Hi all,
Sorry for the absence. We got sick with something off of vacation with symptoms remarkably like vaccinated/boosted covid. DH got his test and was negative, but he was nearly better so we may have gone in too late. I got sick first, thought i was doing better, then got sicker, and am still a little off and DH is similar, just about a week later. My brother (who went on a different vacation and we had no contact with) had a similar situation but his unvaccinated wife and baby tested positive. Brother was also vaccinated but not boosted because of a severe rare allergic reaction and he got very sick both at the 2 vaccines and this week (he's apparently severely allergic to covid). His wife and baby got even sicker but appear to be on the mend now. I think the blisters and hives on my brothers eyes and lips are starting to go away. Man, does his body hate covid(No matter how sick I am I don't envy him).

DH's appt is the 28th. I'm anxiously waiting for it.

The roaming dogs have disappeared. Thank goodness. We're working on our own defenses. The problem is, there is a puppy glut right now and the goat herder wants me to take both 3 month old boy puppies and not one and is willing to steeply discount and put on pressure to get them to new homes. So tomorrow I might wind up with two pyr/anatolian/pyr puppies to try my patience and be penned next to the goats. But we'll see. I'd prefer one. I will see if they will sell me JUST one (and not try to give me the other one free). Puppies are naughty butts and pyr and pyr cross puppies appear to be everywhere and cheap because nobody appears to neuter or spay their LGD's. At least they are all working and people don't tolerate crappy dogs here. They tend to disappear...

FarmerJan, I love me my violets too. I got a few violets and streptocarpus from rob's violet barn greenhouse and lyndon lyon greenhouse mail order, then my mom, who works for the contractors who do a big box store's plants, found out about my looking and gave me a ton of dumpster plants-not violets, because stores tend to ruin them or they don't carry them, but other things that were healthy, but timed out, and they don't do clearance. I can't say I would have bought them, and I won't be selling them, and she didn't take "too many" out and those are the rules for the dumpster plants at her work. So now I have "no space" for more orchids, spider plants, and aloes, which means at some point more will probably appear.

I have 32 quail now. I feather sexed the Egyptian Fee ones, and pulled out the genetic anomalies to keep for fun. The Rosetta ones will have to be vent sexed. I keep getting more rabbit cages. I'm up to 3 24" ones and 2 36"grow ou ones...and now the TSC 10 mintues away is now out of 24" ones because I bought them out! Oh no! They will have to try harder to stay in stock. My jumbo eggs are on the way. Good thing they need a brooder and not a cage right away. *Cheaper than a chicken coop, cheaper than a chicken coop, cheaper than a chicken coop...* And it really is.

Anyway, I sold one buck that I intended to. The other is supposed to go this weekend, but going by the weather I doubt it. One Lamancha buck should be going then too. We'll see. Then I will need some more bucks to grow out and I have my eyes on some nice ones.

More alfalfa coming either Friday or soon after as the weather permits so I can work on my little field without feeling too much pressure. I have the seed now. It seems so small compared to the land area, but I've already exceeded the amount in the seeding rate.

Anyway, I need to get going. I'm still dragging a bit and life does not wait!

Kidding is so close!!!

 

[rachels.haven]

I'm lucky I was sick. I almost got a bunch of cute little pigs to help me with extra milk.

 

[rachels.haven]

Moses is still here. I would prefer my sister to come out here to meet him, and we're working on that. I may give in if she's sure and let my parents take him to her. After watching him for 2 weeks, my parents think that if any dog will help my sister, Moses will so he will probably go soon. He's become a sweet, loving, calm, and doting old soul (and also a chow hound) that Pepper likes to beat on mercilessly. I think he'd welcome a change.

Since they're so sure he's going I found a breeder of small poodles that needed to move a litter due to another coming, that aforementioned glut of puppies, and the fact that she had had covid, and found Pepper a new baby gentleman friend. More on that later.