Punxsutawney Phil Must Have Been Right

   Well, spring is here and it snowed 6 inches over night. I guess the groundhog was right., 6 more weeks of winter. The wind is blowing and the snow is still falling, off and on. According to weather maps, places where it's usually still cold are warmer than we are up here.
   The chicks out grew their box and are now in a bigger box. Actually, they are in a big plastic box because I have smart chickens. They were working on a jail break. I guess it was really a cardboard box break. It seems they aren't really chicks at all, they are chucks. They danced in their water like ducks, got the cardboard nice and soggy and then started to peck and scratch a hole in the bottom. At least it was the bottom and not the side. At the rate the chicks are growing and the way the weather is cooperating, on day I'll wake up and find eggs in their box. I kind of feel like a Ma and Pa Kettle movie.
   Spending this much time with the chicks, I see they have personalities. The 15 chickens we had before seemed unusually stupid, but then, that could have been because we started out with too many chickens. One of the Golden chicks is much bigger than the other 3. I'm still assuming it's a female, but what do I know? It stands up big and tall and acts like it's in charge. Another of the Goldens is much smaller than the rest and is everybody's friend. We call this one Penny.
   The Polish chicks are starting to look really deranged with their feathers coming in on their cone heads. They seem to be trouble makers and I'm pretty sure they were the ones that started the jail break. I've named them Phyllis and Albert after Phyllis Diller and Albert Einstein because of their hair.
Since I still don't know if they are male or female, I have Phillip and Alberta as back up names. I'm kind of leaning toward them both being little roosters. I really hope they are out of the house before then.
   Tim's grandfather raised roosters, the really pretty kind with the bright colors and nice long tail feathers. One winter, his grandmother found a hurt dove and nursed it back to health. It lived in the basement most of the time. Tim and I went to visit his grandparents one time and we slept in the basement. It was a good place to have the guest/everything else room since it was in Kansas. Anyway, one morning this terrible noise woke us up. We just couldn't figure out what it was. We knew it wasn't one of the roosters because we knew what they sound like. We ask Tim's grandma what it was and she said it was the dove. It stopped making dove noise a long time ago and now, it just did it imitation of a rooster crowing.
   I've started cutting up old and outgrown jeans for the quilts I'm making for the grand kids. I've decided straight denim quilts would be too heavy for the kids, since I really don't want to squish them, so I need to go and buy some heavyish bright and kiddish material to go with the denim. Why not start another project when I haven't finished all the others? I do have the towels folded, so I'm good. I'll take pictures of the many crafts as I finish them.

Snow? Fancy That

   It's that time of year again. You know, that white stuff falling from the sky, that keeps me stuck in the house. Still, it's pretty. Cold. Wet. Gray, gloomy sky. There was a very brief period of sun earlier this afternoon. Then it was blinding. I do have a good view of it all from my rocking chair by the window. Hot chocolate, crafts, something to read, TV to watch and a computer to play on and I'm all set.
   Chip is watching the snow fall. He really likes watching snow, rain and hail. Jake is curled up in Chip's bed, oozing over the sides.
   We had our first wild turkey today. Well, 3 of us had our first wild turkey today. Tim and I didn't think it was too bad, but I don't think Amy was impressed. I fixed it as a soup/stew with sage dumplings that called for partridge and not turkey. Partridge, turkey, they're both birds. Besides that, and the most important reason, is I had the ingredients the recipe called for. The breasts from the turkey are in the freezer for another meal.
   Our snow is suppose to wash away later this week with lots of rain. The usual will happen then. It will freeze and then snow on top of it and then it will be a really nice sheet of ice to slip and slide on.
   My custom made leg brace should be finished next week, so I can learn how to walk in snow with it on and with no left ankle movement.  And, because I couldn't just have a plain old boring white leg brace, I chose to have a purple one with yellow, green and orange butterflies and neon yellow velcro straps. If I have to wear a leg brace, I might as well have fun with the colors. It does have a section of tan leather that goes down the front of my leg. Could be it's because I grew up in the '70's or it could be, I'm just weird. Personally, I think a glow in the dark brace would be neat to have.
   Thanksgiving is this week, and I really hope the 21 pound turkey thaws out. There will be 6 of us and besides the turkey and the rest of the fixings, my mother-in-law is bringing a ham and a duck. Don't ask me why. I guess so we can be really stuffed. She is also bringing the desert. I hope pumpkin pie is on the menu.
   I hope everyone has a good and safe Thanksgiving. Black Friday, I will be home, I hope, but you never know.
  

Another Sunny Day In Paradise

   Last night, the rain came down in sheets and the winds blew fairly hard just for kicks.
   At 3:20AM, the rain was still coming down. At 3:30 AM, it turned to snow. With strong winds still. The flakes were so big and wet, they just went "splat" against anything they hit.
   We had 4 inches of snow and then it decided to drizzle all day long after the snow stopped about noon. The news is calling this winter part 2.
   To be very honest, I'd much rather have our rain and snow instead of tornadoes and flooding.
   Poor Jake hates getting his feet wet and muddy and there is no place for him to walk.

    Chip comes in frozen from playing in the snow, even though the temperatures never got down to freezing. I know snow is cold.
   Our poor new trees were covered in snow. I hope this doesn't kill them. I don't think it will. It's a good thing they didn't have any blossoms yet.
   Chris, the llama, was having a high old time running in the snow. He probably ran back and forth along the fence just to drive Jake and Chip crazy.
   I do feel sorry for him and the sheep since they were sheared last week. It never fails, shear your critter and the weather turns cold.
   I remember many times after I sheared my angora goats, the weather would turn cold again. One goat,

Q-Tip wore a green sweat shirt because she got so

cold.

   The birds are out in mass today, too. Probably a good time for finding worms.

   More rain is expected for most of this week. Still, it could be worse.

  

Another Bright Sunny Spring In Elk, Washington, With Pictures To Prove It



Snow yesterday

    Here it is, spring time in Elk, WA. We had snow all day yesterday, but little stuck. he most on the ground yesterday was an inch.
   Last night it was snowing,again, still and we had about 2 -3  inches fall at that time.
   This morning, on our nice, bright spring morning, we had fog and just a tad bit of snow left.
   Everywhere you go, people are talking about how they would love to see some sun and see the end of the rain and snow.
   We have had about 8 inches of precipitation so far this year. Last year, about this time, we had almost 6 inches.
   All this moisture does make nice green fields and tons of wildflowers. Just a little sun would be nice to go out and enjoy them. Once again, rumor has it, that this weekend is suppose to be nice. Almost up to 60. Woo hoo!!

Snow last night

Fog and a little snow this morning

Fog and what's left of the snow