Happy New Year

Hello everyone, 

Long time no post, sorry about that, just too many irons in the fire simultaneously. It is so cold outside it turned my letters blue for this post.  

Little birds outside need you to take care of them for the winter, remember to put fruit and/or seeds out for them each day and water. They will pay you back by eating lots of bugs around your home in the summer. 

We are doing just fine and I hope this will find each of you doing well.

 

We lost little Ginger Rose in Dec. last year. Her immune system was fighting itself and it took her to skin and bones. She is with Nita and Larry now. 

We also lost "Lucky" a parakeet we had rescued 10 years ago now. He was sitting in his huge food bowl, looked like he was taking a "nap". We placed him under the bushes in our yard where flowers will be each spring and summer. 

We got a couple of days ago, rain, thunder, lightening, and hail all in one day. Two days later it was snowing again, about 1-1/2 inches. Before all that, we were in the high 60s outside, and a couple of weeks before all this, it was so cold, below 0 here where we are located, it has been a wild winter here in W.V. I never have heard the house "pop" so loud, it even scared the dogs. 

Our 5 chickens are being taken care of outside also. They stayed nice and warm during this awful cold. Warm the right way for outside chickens. They had dry hay to stand on in the covered pen area, and a wind break was much needed the way the wind was blowing. Inside their shed, it was warmer and we do have an overhead heater that you don't even know is on unless you take your glove off and put your hand right under and on the heating part, can hardly feel any heat, but is just enough to keep the hens from getting frostbite on their cones. When it gets so cold their feathers turn blue, you can find them in their shed on the roost under the heater. Out of 5 hens, all but one has quit laying this time of the year, but we keep getting a huge brown egg from one hen each day. Oh yes, we have cedar chips for the floor in the shed. Keeps them warm also. 

Love and Prayers, 

 Margo

First Snow

Morning Everyone, 

Well, I have been saying it for many months now. When the first snow comes I am going to organize the kitchen pantry. Well, the day before yesterday it snowed here in W.V. So I got to work and cleaned it out and now it is almost empty compared to what it was before. Extra food stuff went downstairs for storage in cabinets. Before it looked like a rock slide. I could not find what I needed and therefore kept buying food. Oh what a mess, now cleaned up. 

I felt so good yesterday that I scrubbed all the floors in the house. Now nice and shiny and smelling good. Spot cleaning was a thing for a long time, but now it is nice and clean all over for a while. 

Yesterday was dog bath and clip day, also a day to do all the laundry and doggie beds and blankets, they have a bunch of stuff all now nice and clean. I think my diet is now starting to work, I have more energy and am able to do lots more, now today I am looking for things to do, and think I will head back downstairs and work on unpacking some more.  Bird cages are now clean also, everyone is happy but my body needs more exercise. 😅

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day and week.

Love and Prayers,

 Margo

Copper Head

Copper Head Snakes, 

Yes, ya just never know where you will run into one of them. 

Vince was headed out after dark to shut up the chickens, and on the path 

to the shed, there was this snake. If not for the corner porch light that 

come on he would have walked right into the thing. 

 

I have never seen one before, so took a pic and showed the neighbor down the street and he took one look and said "Copper Head", Poison stay away from them. 

     

Night Shot

Daylight

Watch your step even in your own backyard in West Virginia. 

Love and Prayers,

Margo

Cool Morning

Hello everyone, 

Wow! This morning we woke to a cool 53 degrees. I am loving it although had to get my jacket to go outside. 😇 The air feels like the start of "Fall" already. Not too soon for me though. This summer has been so hot and humid and rainy off and on so bad I could not get out and enjoy the summer at all. How I do miss the cool summers of Alaska. Perhaps mid-70s and if it got hot it would hit into the 80s which did not happen that much. 

We have not hit the triple digits this summer, but it seems to have been doing that all over the lower 48 this year. We hit into the high 90s this summer and the humidity is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hard to breathe in that kind of weather for me with asthma. So mostly I stayed inside this year. I am also bothered pretty bad with swelling of hands and feet, and legs with humidity. So pretty much miserable all summer this year. 

Evey the puppies don't want to be out in the weather either, they want back in right away. So we all just live inside or do what we have to outside and then recover inside. 

Love and Prayers, 

Margo