Snowy Surprise

 

Well, chalk one up for weird weather here at the Homestead. We just had a 25 year record low, for this time of year, of 18 degrees. It's a drag to have that kind of cold in Oregon when everything is just gearing up for spring. We are just not used to it. Our pipes are exposed, our troughs freeze up, our landscaping dies. Fruit trees that have already budded up

BTWR

How much wood would a wood rat rat if a wood rat could rat wood?

This winter we had an unwanted guest. A Bushy Tailed Wood Rat.
He made himself quite at home in one of our storage rooms.

We had been having a mouse problem all year and it was so common place to have a mouse in the traps it sometimes was a twice daily chore to empty them. Yuk.

Then, suddenly, there was a remarkable decrease in mouse traffic. We optimistically thought it was something we did to keep the mice out, although we had never really pinpointed where they were getting in in the first place. I did see one, last summer, dash in the open door. There were those vents along the roof... Perhaps they were just breeding and thriving in the ecosystem of the building?

Well, after a two or three day period of silence in the "snappy traps" there was a loud commotion in the storage room. Giant chewing noises. Things crashing

Rooster Management

At our other house, we have a flock of Dominique chickens, with a very good rooster.  Good in that he takes great care of his flock.  That is not always a good thing, though.  He tends to attack people, dogs, people walking dogs, small children, me.

Phoebe figured out an interesting way of managing him.  He is surprisingly easy to catch.  One or two quick steps toward him, with an outreached hand to pin him to the ground, and you have him.

 

Coffee Time

Buck, June, Jake and I have, over the years, forged a tradition of "coffee time". It has become a family ritual to sit down, regardless of what we are wrapped up in or where we are and make time to come together and have a moment of pure togetherness. This has even extended to times when we are in different places, states or countries, whether we Skype each other to have coffee in cyberspace together or text a simple "Happy Coffee Time!" on our cell phones.

When we are together, Coffee Time only lasts about 30 minutes, at the end of which

A knit Pickin' Weekend

Mr. B with little turtle

Hi, bloggy folks! This is June here, the daughter of the bunch. We've been having a fun weekend here, and I offered to step in for blogging duties this week.

Something you should know about me is that I'm the most domestic person in the family. I tend to approach everything with a sort of single-minded intensity, and that especially applies to cooking and crafting. My grandmother was the same; she taught me to knit when I was three years old, though I admit that I didn't pursue it really seriously until I got into my teens. When I did, however, I.... got a little excessive.

Lace work with MooMoo the Cow, lifelong companion.

Yeah.

Now, this farm-wife streak has, so far, eluded my mom

Our Trailer

We love our trailer.  We debated getting a pickup, but we both do more driving than hauling.  And we will frequently end up with more than one passenger.  And in the NW, an uncovered bed is not so good for wet weather hauling and a canopy is not so versatile.