Oh February, that blasted month in the middle of Winter, after Christmas and New years, where you’re fighting off the Winter blues. Where the weather is frigid and frightful one day, then verging on a Spring teaser the next. It’s that month where Mother Nature can’t decided what to do next, and the longing for Spring sets in.

February is also the month of love. Valentines’s Day brings cookies and cards and chocolates. It means holiday baking is in order, of course! Bring forth your best recipes for sugar cookies, it’s on! I must admit, today consisted of Nat King Cole crooning over the vinyl on my record player, as I danced around the kitchen decorating heart shaped cookies. What can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic! And when the fridge is brimming over with cartons of farm fresh eggs from the ladies, I had to make some kind of a dent in the stash.

 

Along with kitchen dance parties, this weekend was all about me, and I took full advantage. I read an entire novel in 24 hours. I can’t remember the last time I took that much time to read a book I was digging. If it’s not on your list, you need to check out “The River at Night” by Erica Ferencik; I couldn’t put it down! It was just what I needed. I received my first essential oils in the mail, so I took some time to read up on those, and start using them in my daily routine. I am looking forward to learning and growing in this oil journey I’ve started on.  I worked away on my sock (yes singular still), knitting away the afternoons. I am sure to be finishing it up one of these days in the near future, or so I hope.

It was great having such a relaxing weekend but let’s be honest, I’m missing my Oilfield Man. Last weekend my husband Dan was off, so we got to spend some quality time together out exploring in the newly fallen snow we received. We got around two feet of snow over two days and it was so much fun trekking out back and cutting new paths through the bush. We snow-shoed for over 2KM, according to my google Fit app. I was impressed, and even broke a sweat, all bundled up for the elements. We had a great day out exploring in the woods and getting outdoors.

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Everyone on the farm is surviving this sudden onset of ‘Winter Weather’ and all the snow Old Man Winter seems to be sprinkling over us lately. The Donkey Boys may be buried up to the knees, but they’ve kept clear a well worn path from their shelter, to the feeder, to their water bucket. Keeping their hooves cleaned out is an important daily task at chore time, so that the snow doesn’t compact up and under their little hooves.

The Three Little Pigs are keeping toatsy in the Pig Haus this Winter, and venture out only for food and water. Amidst noisy complaints on their end, they eventually snort and grunt their ways out of bed for dinner. Dan has kept a nice clear path for them through the snow to the waterer and back again. Life is tough when you are a miniature pot belly pig and the snow banks are taller than you are!

The chickens have all been keeping well during the cold and snow we have been having. They have even still been gifting us with any where from four to seven eggs a day! We appreciate it ladies, keep up the good work.

Even the ladies have been surviving the cold, getting to come in on the odd evening to spend a few hours sleeping by the wood stove. I am quite alright with their company. They even venture out with us for our snow shoeing adventures. Lily keeps up but Sophie follows along at her own pace.

We are excited to announce we will be adding a new little addition to our four legged family here on the farm. At the end of March we will be welcoming home a new puppy! We are so excited for our little bundle of fluff to arrive. His name is Hank, and he is a Pyrenees/Bernese/Maremma cross. I am sure the ladies are going to teach him the ways and they will be the best of friends.

When time allows, I am still playing away with a couple of quilt quilts I had, practicing and getting to know my machine. I have completed two baby quilts now, and am hanging on to my final kit for a special occasion.

We also have a new home brew we have been working on.  As always, there is something on the farm always being brewed and we enjoy playing around with some new creations. When we visited Ontario in September we brought home a case of Maple Syrup. We wanted to try a Maple wine or, Acerglyn, as it referred to. We bottled our first batch last month and are anxiously awaiting to try it out!

We are patiently awaiting Springs arrival here on the farm as the Winter days blow by. The sun is setting a little later, the sun rises a little earlier and its light is starting to carry with it a little more heat. We will enjoy these last weeks of Winter and look forward to what the Spring will bring with it’s new beginnings!