Red chicks and Red Betty

The chicks are only red because they are under a red heatlamp in the garage. They just arrived this morning after their long journey in a little box all the way from Hoover's Hatchery in Iowa. 

I guess time will tell whether I received one or both versions of the Olive Egger hens. The color of their feathers should make it easy to identify them as an Easter Egger/French Cuckoo Maran mix, or a Cream Legbar/Welsummer mix. I am hoping for the second because we just lost the last of our Cream Legbar chickens to some critter. But it really doesn't matter what they are, 10 little chicken mutts are good enough. We just needed some replacements for lost chickens and older hens who aren't laying much anymore.

This past weekend we sold one of our adult goats to Bob and Barton in Norwich. Red Betty is going to a nice new home where she will be spoiled. They have one other goat, and her name is Wilma. Wilma and Betty, friends again. 

Wilma is a Sable Saanen, which means she is not the pure white that is common to the breed. Our Lucille was a Sable Saanen, all black. I am working on the guys to send me a photo. If she is black, the goats have their colors mixed up. Wilma was the redhead.

The Piano Man

We purchased this cool old Cunningham upright piano at the Habitat for Humanity Restore in New Jersey for $200. Of course we had to pay extra to have them deliver it to the house, and then extra again to add it to the moving van coming up to New York.

Tim has been playing it in its untuned, semi-working condition for the past 20 years or so. We finally decided that maybe it was time to get it repaired, since we were already invested in it, and because it would be nearly impossible to find somebody else to love it and move it out of our house.

So along comes Brian the Piano Man from Otsego Piano Works. Who knew someone so competent would be so close to us out here in the sticks?

Now I think this piano is even cooler since I saw it all taken apart. And Brian played it beautifully before he left just to prove what a good job he did.

White and black

I went for a quick birthday visit with Little Sister last weekend. While I was away, Jim the Tree Guy came out and cleaned up the fallen apple tree and a lot of dead and hanging branches on several other trees.

Back in NY, April has been the usual combination of sunny warm/windy cold weather. And then this—14" of heavy wet snow Monday night/Tuesday morning.

The tall tree in the background, a shagbark hickory, lost 2 huge branches while I was taking this photo. Three days after the tree guy cleaned up everything, now we have whole trees down, branches everywhere, AND…no power! Which also means no water.

Three days with no power and no water. 

We got by with bottled water for drinking, gas cooktop for cooking, and the woodstove for heat and for melting snow. Thanks to The Barnwell Inn for the shower! I emptied the refrigerator (which Husband insisted on opening too many times) into 2 big coolers packed with snow and left outside. We even got some dry ice and more bottled water from the Fire Department, but not until last night.

Power came back late last night, but then the internet was down. That's back now. 

In the 60°s this weekend, and then back to cold again. Are there really people who still don't believe in climate change?

2 redheads and bye bye Bella and Little Betty

The Husband loves having pigs. We still have plenty of pork in the freezer, but I couldn't delay the inevitable any longer.

We picked up these 2 little red girls on Saturday from our friend Dan the Amish Farmer. They are still pretty shy, but I am sure they will enjoy the freedom of their own shed and a big weedy backyard to explore.

Yesterday we sold Bella the goat, and 1 of the bottle babies to Lisa from Laurens. She promises to give them both a good home, and they get to share the love with Kid Spott, the boy goat.

Bella was a sweet girl, but the sweet ones are easier to sell, and we need fewer goats!

The baby forest is a swamp, and the big X picture

Our tame little Herkimer Creek sometimes produces offspring—just behind the baby trees is Son of Creek. We see Son fairly frequently. The portion in the front is the dreaded misbehaving child who has only visited their parent twice since we moved here in 2010. In 2011 this was the evil child that flooded our basement through the perimeter drain that empties, theoretically, down there. They ruined all of our precious album covers, and several other not so precious things.

The second picture amuses me. Willie the cat is perfectly posed in the center of the X. Woody is making the same almost-barking face that he has in his portrait by the woodstove. The woodstove is going full blast in April, you can see the fan blades turning. Opposite the woodstove is the air conditioner we had installed last year, 2 whole days after the hottest  summer days had passed. I ran it just to see if it was working, even though it was cooler outside than inside. I hope it works again when it finally does warm up here.

Not talking about the weather

There is nothing more to say about the weather that I haven't already said. So I won't.

Let the pictures tell the story. These from today.

1) Woody slept peacefully on his bed for most of the day. Then he and Cyrus went a bit crazy, so they beat up each other and my sofa. Then Woody fell asleep on the beat-up sofa.

2) Willie was sleeping in his new(ish) wooly cat cave back behind the woodstove. Sleeping until I got close enough to take his picture. 

3) Cyrus was in front of the woodstove soaking up the warmth. Then Woody got up from the good bed, and Cyrus stole his spot. 

The woodstove got a little crazy itself. It is currently 81° in the living room. Maybe that explains all the sleepy children. I might have to open a window. (Don't look at that white stuff on the ground. It's not about the weather.)

The last blast after the last last blast

It ain't over 'til it's over.

It's not unusual to have frigid windy snowy days in late March, it's just unusual to have so many of them with beautiful sunny springy days in between.

Perhaps it was too early to put the tropical print seat cushion back out on the chair. The wind blew it over, and Cyrus left his mark just so I would know it was his. 

Don on the Hill and I just sat out there last week and had a beer to celebrate the arrival of the beer-drinking, goat-cheese-and-crackers days of spring—mosquitoes and all!

No worries. IPAs are in the fridge waiting for the next warm spell. I am very sure it will be here soon.
 

Bird song

Just last week we had what could be our last blast of winter. Still more cold weather to take us through March for sure, and probably April, but the birds have started singing, and that means spring is on the way.

In addition to the usual winter visitors at the bird feeder: woodpeckers (downy, hairy, red-bellied) and nuthatches, chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, juncos—we are now getting sparrows, blackbirds, grackles, finches, and, just yesterday, the first lonely robin. Don't let me forget that darn squirrel (named Steve after our "friend" Steve dumped him here!)

This little guy looking through the fence>>> was playing with his big daddy Walter (on stage in the blurry background) until Woody and I walked by. I couldn't get the camera out fast enough to catch his bouncy dance across the yard to come visit.

March winds do blow

You will all be pleased to know, or at least I am, that in spite of the crazy wind and snow yesterday, Miss Tara of the TFJ managed to find her way back to beautiful Upstate New York. Just a little reminder from Mother Nature that it is not yet spring.

While I was out walking dogs the day before the snow, when we still had some snow, I saw some mysterious footprints. Melting snow sometimes makes footprints appear larger. Hard to get a good pic when Cyrus was making his own right on top.

The mysterious part is that there was a pattern of 4 little feet all together. And repeating every foot or so, another group of 4. They don't look like bunny prints, so what critter was doing that little dance out there? They are all covered up now. I'll never know.

Mean words and margaritas

I may have texted a few mean words to Miss Tara when leaving The Freeman's Journal on Tuesday night. There were only 3 of us left here in the cold to get the newspaper off to press while she was off vacationing in sunny California. Not only did she feel the need to let me hear the margaritas blending in the background, but she had the nerve to send me this photo at 8:45 p.m. as I was walking out to my car. >>>

We got a decent little snowstorm yesterday which covered up all of the recently uncovered grass. At least it made the house look really pretty! Today, the sun is out and the grass and mud are making a comeback. 

Just in time for Tara's return to the North Country, an even bigger March snow is expected on Saturday. Don't you go planning on staying there longer, Missy!  The 3 of us at TFJ need you back!

 

One year later

It was 1 year ago that the WoodMan was diagnosed with a tumor on his spleen and given, best guess, 6 months to live. We had the option of euthanizing him right then and there, or doing surgery (not recommended), or taking him home.

We chose the third (only) option.

Woody celebrated his extended life by napping on the sofa for a bit, and then talking a nice walk through the swampy yard on a gorgeous spring-like day. He is certainly not acting like a 13- or 14- year-old "sick" dog.

We took a moment to visit the goats through the fence, although only the kids were brave enough to meet him face-to-face.