Where's my brush?

The sledding has been a bit rough on my daughter's hair. Yikes! At least she's having fun! We didn't have a sled so one of the feeding troughs kindly volunteered. 

Snowy farm... day 2

At least it's sunny today! Still freezing cold. Still inches and inches of snow with a layer of ice on top. But I did entice a few of the chickens to come out of the coops for a visit.

The little birds enjoyed a breakfast of chicken feed. Obviously finding food under all the snow was hard this morning!

The high temp today is forecast to be 32. But tomorrow it's 38 and 50 by Sunday. Guess the snow will be here for a few more days. I think I speak for a lot of Southerners when I say, "Melt already!".

Snow 2011.... farm version!

We made it to the farm! What a mess. They do not de-ice or plow our roads down here so you travel at your own risk! We made it to Walmart where I found absolutely no milk or anything else I wanted. Shelves cleaned bare. I did manage to pick up a few items to take the farm so we can eat for the next day! The normally 20-minute trip took about 40 minutes. We got stuck spinning out heading into the farm but finally got a little traction and headed down our very, very long driveway (1/2 mile!). We have 6 inches of snow with a crust of ice on top. Not fun to walk on to be sure!All the animals were alive and okay. Thankfully. The sheep had escaped their pasture and either didn't know how to get back or didn't like walking on icy snow.

Thanks to Farmer Cole and my sweet baby girl, the sheep managed to head home for a bite to eat. I wish all children lined up as nicely as my sheep!

The farm was dressed in a beautiful coat of white. My chickens did not cooperate with the photo shoot though. Despite the yummies I tossed outside, they wanted nothing to do with the snow!

They may not like the snow, but they still laid eggs!

It's cold, crunchy, icy, and wet, but I don't care! I'm here and I can take of my little sweeties. The sun has just set and it's freezing out there. Black Ice warnings tonight. No school again tomorrow. At least I can go to bed not worrying about the animals!

 I swore I wouldn't complain about the weather this winter after the horrible summer we had. So I'm not! It's pretty and it's cold but I can handle it. Stay warm and safe wherever you are!

Ice.... Brrrrrr

It dawned on me in the middle of the night why I couldn't upload pictures. I upgraded to IE9 the other day and have had nothing but problems since then! Good thing I also have Chrome.

To my mother-in-law: I know you're reading that wondering what I'm talking about, but don't fret. Just enjoy the pictures! It's computer stuff. :)

My sweet husband braved the roads and made it to the farm yesterday afternoon. With the freezing rain starting and forecast to continue overnight, we decided that driving on snow might be better. He said the roads were slippery and terrible and a normal 20-minute drive took significantly longer. But he made it and took care of my chickens (and the sheep and goats and donkeys and dog of course!).  Besides a little snow in one of the coops, everyone weathered the storm just fine. He gathered what eggs he could see. I don't think he's as proficient at reaching under the chickens for eggs as I am! I paced the floor for a few hours until he made it home and was relieved when he walked in. Thanks, Honey!

The beautiful snow is now covered with a thick layer of ice which makes it pretty but dangerous. School is closed again today and we will spend another wonderful day in front of the fire playing games and eating too much. Usually snow in South Carolina melts by the next day. Our current forecast does not show temps much above freezing for several days, so this may be hanging around awhile!

They got it right this time!

Wow! Now this is SNOW! After several days of build up on the news and two days of packed grocery stores, it began snowing last night and it's still going this morning. We have at least 6-7 inches so far and it's really snowing. Unfortunately the freezing rain is about to start so my children are out trying to enjoy it. Not great packing snow though. Very powdery. For South Carolina, this is a MAJOR snow storm!
We went to the farm yesterday and did what we could to get the animals ready. I wish we lived there! I'm so worried about my chickens! I gave them extra food and put a few waterers in the coops in the hope that they wouldn't freeze. I think they'll be okay today but tomorrow they will need more food and water. If the weather forecast holds true, we will get freezing rain all day and into the night, making for very icy and nasty roads in the morning. Fingers crossed that we can travel tomorrow!
So since I can't take pictures of the farm (which I know is gorgeous this morning!), here are some from my house. Hope it's as beautiful where you are today!

EDITED TO ADD: I can't get the pictures to upload. Will keep trying!

My first delivery!

This morning I took my first delivery of eggs to Corley's Market here in Greenwood. My first commercial account! I told them I'd be back with my camera to take pictures of my sweet eggs in the grocery case once they get them set up. They looked so pretty in their clear carton and cute label. I hope whoever buys them appreciates them!
And guess what? We're expecting a "Major Winter Storm". I admit that I'm a bit of a weather junkie (nerd) so the threat of any kind of winter precipitation gets me excited! The storm is due to arrive tomorrow night and continue through Monday. Up to 6-12 inches of snow and then ice. If we don't lose power, I'll be able to sit in front of a fire enjoying it all.
Today was so windy that my chickens were all hunkered down in the coops. I threw some scratch out for them and the brave babies that came out were blowing all over the place! Bless their hearts.
My hatch is done and I ended up with two chicks. Not great but better than my last hatch which ended up with none. We have a new kitten who is extremely interested in the chicks so I can't raise them on the dining room table like I used to do. Right now they are in our half bath enjoying the beautiful granite countertops, vessel sink and silk curtains!
I started to drift over to some of the hatchery sites to look at chicks but I managed to stop myself! I finally sat down and counted up my chickens. I *think* I have 143 right now. As far as I'm concerned, there's always room for a few more! Right?

Welcome, 2011!

Happy New Year! Doesn't 2011 sound like something from a crazy, futuristic movie? Hard to believe it's the year we're now in.... but it is and I plan to enjoy it!

I've had a wonderful two week break from my computer. My children were home from school. My husband was home from traveling. We spent two unhurried, unplanned, unscheduled weeks just enjoying being together. Christmas was wonderful and New Year's uneventful. So perfect!

We did end up getting some snow on Christmas Day. By some, I mean an inch and by Christmas Day, I mean 11pm at night. But snow is snow in the South and it was exciting nonetheless!

We started the new year with a lot of rain. Today, the second day of the new year, is sunny and 70 degrees! Woo hoo! Feels fantastic out even though I know it won't last.

I just put six Araucauna eggs in lockdown in my incubator. Thought I'd try a new breed. Can't wait to see how they look as chicks!

Tonight we are back to reality. My husband just left for the week on a business trip. The kids have school in the morning. The animals need to be fed and I don't have my husband to sweet talk into it. Who am I kidding? It's wonderful!

Hope you all had an amazing holiday season and are ready for a great 2011!