We have all been sick here

Along with the baby who came down with a funky staph infection and then gave it to me we have had some issues with the boys school and sports and holiday preparations things have gotten quite behind here.

Also since it is winter time there is not much to talk about gardenings wise
the house plants I brought in the from garden are almost all dead (except the lime tree and bannana tree) they jsut cannot tolerate the dry air with the dramatic temperature changes that happen with wood heat

Our wood stove is going strong and heats the house quite nicely

Our first really serious cold snap is going on right now our current noon time temperature is negative 4 degrees with some nasty wind chills

Our chickens and pigs (the 2 that are left) are surviving alright outside the 2 pigs need to be slaughtered but I have a strange feeling that might have to wait till March because if things keep going this way it will be too cold to do the job outside

The chickens have not started laying eggs yet but they are happy to be inside the shelter of the hen house We have to get a timed light out there for them so they will lay eggs daily (currently not enough light to encourage them to lay)

Thanksgiving went marvelously we had far too much food but it was a great day with tons of leftovers that are now long gone

Nik had his 4th birthday on December 3rd with a small party that weekend

and now we are preparing for Christmas

I wish I had more money right now I found these great Christmas lights that use less energy than the old ones these are huge LED lights but this year they are just out of our budget

Another reason I have not been on here much is

I forgot my password

very embarassing

I am also working on getting cub scouts and boy scouts going strong again in our area

I need to get a new picture taken of our land the leaves on that tree are LONG gone it is now bare with a good 6 inches of snow on the ground

and I never did get around to planting my bulbs

I wonder if I can plant garlic in the spring?? hmmm something new to look into