New Addition

Today started as a pretty typical day: Sleep in till 8:30; farm paths shoveled, coop cleaned, chickens and rabbits fed by 9:30; breakfast by 10am. By 10:30 we were headed off to a local Reptile Show in a neighboring town. My husband used to be big into the reptile scene and with all the support he gives me towards my farm dreams, I wanted to support his too! Not to mention, I've owned a few of my own. Boy were we in for a surprise!

I wasn't sure what to expect. I had imagined grandeur. He had described some of the events that he had been to before. As we drove to the location, a thought crossed my mined, "Hmm, small town...this could end up being a few breeders with a few dozen or so animals." It ended up being somewhere in between. I was actually quite impressed. There were a couple dozen breeders and a few hundred animals (or more, I'm guessing). We saw all sorts of different species of snakes, bearded dragons, tegus, even some tarantulas. We got to hold a couple of snakes that I found rather appealing, wondering if we would go home with one (not that we had gone to come home with anything....it was just an outing). Then I found the chameleons! I have always wanted a chameleon with their oven mit hands and googley eyes. They are really fascinating creatures. When my husband saw my eyes light up I think he decided then and there that he would get me one. He's good to me. And as you can see above, there he is! Cute little feller, isn't he? I know, I know...he's not a fiber animal, and I'm not quite sure how he fits into the 'farm', but he helps to satisfy that mothering instinct I have. It took a little trickery to get that shot. Although he seems pretty friendly, he is convinced that the camera will eat him and hisses at it like a cat! Now he just needs a name.

Mornings Like These

It's mornings like these that I live for. Our little farm sits perfectly up on top of a hill, providing us with the most gorgeous sun and moon rises and sets. As soon as walked out of the front door with a bucket of fresh water for the chickens I was met with the magenta sunrise just barely peeping over the horizon. I dropped the bucket and scrambled back into the house to grab my camera, then proceeded to snap about a dozen pictures of the sunrise at various stages of it's rebirth that morning. I felt blessed to capture such an intimate moment with mother nature.

These past few weeks have been quite busy. We've had snow.....snow.....and more snow! I'm beginning to wonder if it is ever going to end. I'm told this much snow is atypical for this area. So much for global warming. We have FEET of it. I even had an entire week off of work due to the state of emergency we were under. Today I bought myself two pots of bulb flowers: tulips and hyacinths. They should bloom within the next week I suspect. I placed them on one of my windowsills in attempt to scare off old man winter. I'll let you know if it works! Yes, I'm feeling desperate! I dream of lush gardens of flowers and vegetables, of spring chicks and bunnies. I can't wait to get into the dirt! Oh, and speaking of Mrs. Bun Bun, it appears that she was not pregnant after all. Her due date would have been this past Tuesday.....no babies came. No worries though. I'll breed her again once the weather breaks and I don't have to worry about bringing her inside to give birth. For now I'll just enjoy the amazing fiber they both give me. They're due for a pluckin'.

Rumor has it there's a storm a brewin'. One that could possibly bring a couple feet of snow in the next 48 hours. Funny how the worst of our snow this season seems to be coming up from the south; go figure. I work until 2pm and am hoping that things stay calm enough for me to get home. Somehow an over-nighter in my office just doesn't sound as appealing as my own warm bed with a warm fuzzy dog and snoring husband by my side. Not sure what I've got in the house to sustain us if travel is an impossibility, but I do know one thing for sure...there's plenty of eggs! (as you can see) My hens have been laying like mad! Not sure but this storm might slow things down a bit. They're sure going to be unhappy once they see all that white stuff again. They've really been enjoying these mild days of foraging. I've tried to sit them down and explain that is 'winter' after all. They don't seem to pay me much mind and continue to cluck and crow, irritated that I'm blocking their flow of traffic. Perhaps 2 feet of snow will adjust their attitudes.

Mrs. Bun Buns

Mr. Bun Buns

Long Day

Well I didn't expect to wake up to what I did this morning...Snow! I'm not sure why it surprised me. It is after all winter. I guess the couple sunny days we had tricked my brain into thinking that spring was really on its way. Thoughts of where to put my garden, what to plant, and whether or not to use raised beds or just plow the ground have have been hard on the brain lately. It was barely morning when I headed out to feed the critters. Oh how I long for those longer days, when the sun comes up early and hangs out until after nine at night. Good thing about feeding early...the chickens aren't up yet! That may seem trivial, but they've been stampeding out of the coop most mornings as of lately (for as much as chickens stampede). That door opens and there's no stopping them; wings flapping and all. You'd do well to just get out of the way on mornings like those.

The pup could care less about being out in the snow as you can see. I think he's the only one that truly loves the snow, even with his short haircut. With that last thaw we had, it was getting too hard to keep this Old English Sheepdog clean! So out came the clippers and away went the hair. This may sound silly, but I keep his hair in hopes to spin it one day. I can just see it now:

Nice lady at the market: "My that's a lovely sweater you're wearing!"
Me: "Thank you ma'am."
Nice lady: "Did you make it?"
Me: "Yes ma'am. Spun and knitted it myself."
Nice lady: "Such talent! But some poor sheep must be cold right now."
Me: "No ma'am. I'm wearing my dog."

I might be considered......heaven forbid......"weird". I prefer...."unique". =)