Snow Deep

I am late writing my blog this week not because of any great tragedy but just because sometimes you have one of those weeks that just sucks the life out of you. Our fourteen year old car died, then my husband injured his back and so it was up to me to carry on with all of the household tasks. We don't have a herd of cows to feed or milk but boy oh boy, was it a hard going week doing all of the chores, inside and out by myself. Consequently, I am now nursing a cold and still doing most of the bending and heavy lifting. His back is healing but I am worried he will re injure it and we will be back where we started. There are no sick days when you have animals to care for in winter, even small animals.

During this time I have realized that in two feet of snow tending small animals with the wrong setup is as difficult as tending a large herd of animals in the right setup Sometime before we had too much snow we thought it a good idea to move our rabbit tractors farther from the house so they would be out of the wind and the rabbits could eat from the greens of our lawn. Fast forward to this incredibly snowy winter where now we have to trek through deep snow every time we give them water or food which should be a simple task. It is only 80 feet from the front door but when you do a bunch of trips in a day through deep snow or very slippery ice, while you are not feeling well, it seems very far! Lesson learned. Next time, put them closer to the main house or pathways so you don't have to kill yourself getting to them. Okay, I wasn't serious about the urge to retire this lifestyle and move to a condo in the sky. That was a moment of weakness, besides it wouldn't be long before I would have a bee colony living on my balcony and chickens living in the bathtub.

The chickens are much easier to tend but in this very cold weather I do have to refill their waterer more often with warm water because it freezes so quickly. They are laying eggs very well, and have settled down since we removed those trouble making roosters. They have been hanging out in their outdoor, covered area electing not to venture too much into the snow, where I have been hanging an occasional bunch of greens so they have something to do and so they are getting something good to eat. Picture a swaying lettuce head on a string and then chickens pecking at it, causing it to sway more, resembling some sort of kid's game.

The wood shelter and some wood stacked outside

The woodpile, while under a magnificent shelter, is too far from the house and up an incline making it a long trek up often icy pathways to get wood every morning and night. I have started loading up an old sled and pulling it down the hill but when you are sick or working on your own, it all adds up to a lot of work.  When the weather was good I swore this year we would keep a good stored pile on our porch and we did do that for a couple of months but as the winter has gone on that idea has been abandoned as it tends to get wet in that area so we have been taking it down in smaller batches and stacking it inside, beside the front door creating a huge mess when added to the chicken dung, mud, water, snow, hay, wood shavings and salt brought in on boots and waterers for the animals. I have mostly made my peace with the fact that that area of my house is basically a stinking mud pit but I do try and sweep and mop every few days to keep it under control.

Today I am feeling much better, my husband's back is allowing him to help out with many household tasks and he was able to construct a rabbit killing device which is important because we really need to process those rabbits and get some meat on the table. Also, the two doe rabbits are due to kindle in about five days so we have to remove the current offspring so the doe doesn't attack them to make way for her new brood.

In February I have to start preparing the house to put it on the market in the spring so I am busy making lists of supplies and jobs that I need to do. I also need to start seedlings indoors so they can be set out in the hoop houses the very moment spring comes. It has been a hard month and now I am just constantly reminding myself that we are three quarters of the way through the worst of the winter months. I love winter, I really do but we are tired. I am glad we don't have more animals and am starting to wonder if semi-free range rabbits were such a good idea, but I think that is only because I am sick and tomorrow will seem brighter and more cheerful.

My son surprised us with bringing in a very large load of wood which he loaded onto the sled,  and pulled down the hill and then stacked  inside. This was no small pile. I cannot even express how proud I am of this. I am proud not only that he can do it, but because he wanted to contribute and enjoyed taking initiative and the exertion that comes from hauling wood. Most things I ask him to do are followed with an eye roll, complaints or sarcasm. I have complained a lot this past week about being tired and sick and wondering why we have all of these animals and questioning this lifestyle but then my son reminded me through his action that there are important reasons to do everything we are doing, we are teaching him the value of self sufficiency, caring for animals and the joy of doing a good job and that is pretty valuable if you ask me. Did I mention we are thinking of getting goats in the spring?

Our Wonderful Wood Shelter in easier times