Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Today's update

...in alphabetical order, bolded, italicized and in color - just for fun.

BARN: Pipes frozen:

Despite precautions taken to protect the pipes and outside spigot, it didn't work. So....I got to lug this baby up to the barn today. It was very heavy:

Not that I'm complaining or anything. Who wouldn't love doing this?

BUCKETS: I filled two buckets with water prior to the freeze and put them in the storage room in the barn, where the temperature, so far, has stayed above freezing. This kept me from having to lug that container up the hill twice this morning:

The heated water buckets I got last year are gifts from heaven:

Though it concerns me that the donkeys keep uncovering the cord to theirs no matter how much straw I try to hide it under.

CHICKENS: I put a heat lamp in the coop last night:

Our low hit 14 degrees and I was nervous this would be too chilly for them. It was probably unnecessary, but we just aren't used to this kind of cold. The chickens enjoyed it.

That said, nobody wanted to come out of the coop this morning:

Well, except for Dottie:

I finally managed to convince the others to step outside by showing them I'd brought some fresh hay for their run:

Dang spoiled birds.

EGGS: I actually had to buy these eggs last night:

Sigh. This is the first time in a year I've had to purchase eggs. I'm getting only one egg every 2 to 3 days right now from my girls, which just isn't enough for my holiday baking.

HILL: This is the hill that I lugged that big, old jug of water up this morning:

Again, not complaining. Just sayin'.

THANKSGIVING: I wish everyone a very, very happy one.
We're going to my mom's. We'll be 14 people. My contribution to the meal is bread and dessert. I've baked 3 different kinds of rolls (Earth bread, Indian Maiden bread and biscuits):

and tomorrow I'll make chocolate mousse (yes, yes, there will be pumpkin pie, too).

So, there it is. Update complete.

29 comments:

  1. We'll be 12 at Simply Country Farm with snow on the ground outside! I'm in charge of stuffing . . . that's it. Oh I'll lend a hand with peeling potatoes.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Danni!

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  2. Use a piece of PVC pipe to cover the cord so they can't unplug the cord, chew it or swing the bucket around with it. Yes, I speak from past experience. :)

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  3. Ohhh so cold!!! Glad that everyone stayed warm (except maybe you)... Have a happy turkey day!!!

    ~The Monster Crew

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  4. Ahh...you made Indian Maiden Rolls. I need to try that sometime soon. They look great! Must try your Earth Bread too.

    We are very cold here today. Supposed to get down to 20 tonight. Snow on the ground from a few days ago. So far, no frozen pipes here.

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  5. Oh sweet,you have very lucky chickens.... We are on the other end of the scale here in Sunny Qld, Australia, My chickens sometimes suffer from slight heat exhaustion, I often put the hose sprinkler on in the coop to cool them down, so far the start of this summer has been quite mild.
    I have just discovered your carrot tonic! Sounds delish!!! I'm really interested in actually watching then drink it. Thanks for sharing. Hope your all keeping nice and warm now...

    Karen :)

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  6. So, how much do store-bought eggs cost out your way? I bet that's a tough bill to pay when you're used to your own.

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  7. Hi Danni.
    Do you have a plastic sled? That is what I use to transport water, feed and any other weighty objects over the snow. If you can find a sled that is more rectangular in shape as opposed to an oval shape, you will be able to fit more inside of it and rectangular objects (like your water container) will fit better.
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Lisa

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  8. HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIEND!

    And it is okay to complain about lugging that big ol' jug of water up that cold, snowy hill. We still know you are very thankful for your crew...you are most definitively not a whiner....so knock yourself out from time to time :)

    Hang in there and thanks for the updates and the great pics....

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  9. Safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving to your whole family!

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  10. Sorry about the weather - obviously, we feel your pain, but we're more used to it.

    Be safe, stay warm and enjoy your many blessings. I am thankful you choose to share them with us.

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  11. you have perfect thanksgiving weather! have a really fun day! your bread looks great!

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  12. And Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Danni. :)

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  13. I sssooooo envy anyone sitting down at your mom's table today..enjoy your Thanksgiving!! It truly sounds like a feast:)

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving and pass the Peanuts! :)

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  15. Your breads look so wonderful. I can almost smell them. Indian Maiden - I've never heard of that. What a delectable, baked feast you'll be bringing.
    Question: How are you getting up your driveway hill? Will you need to harness a couple of donkeys to pull you up and out?
    Wolfi, the city dog, heard us mention Roxy's name. He is sitting by the door waiting. Me too.

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  16. I can feel the COLDDD! No snow here yet, thank goodness!

    You need the donkey boys to assist you with the work around there!! You should train them! :) Hey, I've trained the cats to shake hands! And one of the chickens, Ginger, comes in and eats stinkbugs off our inside windows every day. (We are overrun w/ stinkbugs!) Ginger also raids the catfood bowls... Next, I'm going to train Ginger to clean up all the dry catfood that she spills on the kichen floor...

    Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at Critter Farm from Razzberry Corner!!!

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  17. Happy Thanksgiving! And I hope ya got yer thermal drawers on!

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  18. We too are buying eggs right now with the girls molting..:O(..um organic eggs are going for 5.00 a dozen!! OUCH... we too have the heat lamps set up in the chicken pen.. and we have the heater on in the goat barn... did I mention I am not a cold weather person... I am ready for spring!! LOL...we like ya'll don't do cold well here, we just don't get that much of it...Thank Heaven!! Knocking on wood on all the water pipes!

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  19. I hope I don't have to deal with that cold again this year Danni!! I didn't move to the south to freeze to death! It got down to 16 degrees last year and I was NO happy!! hahaha!
    Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you avoided slippery roads.

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  20. We don't have water in our barn. Thanks for some great ideas! I am going to share this with hubby and look into a heated bucket, as we do have power in the barn.

    It may be stating the obvious, but do you have supplemental lighting for your girls during the winter? We have an incandescent bulb on a timer in the coop to make sure they get 16 hours of daylight every day. They keep laying through the winter. But probably you already know that! :)

    It gets very cold here and winter, but our chickens do fine with heat lamps and an insulated coop. When it gets really frigid, I make them hot oatmeal every day! They like it with peas or cranberries in it (speaking of spoiled chickens!)

    Your birds are beautiful!

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  21. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Well, with all those goodies and your family, I'm sure you did. I'm amazed at how cold it is up there. I hope it thaws out soon.--Inger

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  22. Mmmmm... I love the baking season. I want to get started soon but I think I am a bit early for Christmas yet... just a few more weeks!

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  23. Hope your THanksgiving was wonderful, Danni!! SEnd us some cold down here, we're still in the 80s! Much love from our household to yours and all the inhabitants of house and barn :)


    Robbyn and Jack

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  24. freezing temps-sorry...I had no idea what farmers in colder parts of the country went through until we had our first snow since 1978 last year and we had to do ice chores. Those water buckets about killed me.
    The breads look delish, and now that you said it, you may have to post the chocolate mousse recipe.

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  25. My husband would love to marry you. He does the lugging and I do the whining but when he is out of town--I am the lone duck. Your barn storage is so neat! Your chickens are so well cared for and they look so snuggly in their coop :)
    Amy

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  26. Oh boy, I do NOT miss the frozen pipe event in the barn. I used to have to fill dozens (I'm not kidding) of buckets with water a couple of times a night and those babies are heavy! Horses drink a lot!! Oh, and I am complaining. *smile* I've never heard of heated water buckets. Sweet. Your girls certainly look happy & cozy under their heat lamp. The weather has warmed up a bit up here, hope you're getting some of it down there, too.

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  27. Good for Dottie! I can sympathize about the decreasing egg supply. Same thing is going on here.

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  28. I am not the slightest bit jealous. Last November I was hauling water for one horse and 3 chickens. I My husband was traveling for work and I'd had him leave our truck at PDX since he had to leave at 3am and would not fly in until midnight at the end of the week. So, there were no trips to get heat lamps for my chickens. I hauled warm water out to them every 2 hours during daylight.

    Then, the next big freeze we had that winter had me hauling water for 8 chickens, 7 goats and 2 horses. Our farm was up on Chehalem Mtn, so steep terrain. I'm pretty sure I built muscles from all the water hauling then.

    So, I envy you not at all at the moment. You have my deepest sympathies during your cold snap.

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