Snow update

Hilda reports this morning that she saw Ina venture into a drift. She wasn't in it long. Her little feet sank right down into the snow. Still, we are proud of her for trying. No pictures, though. More's the pity.

Happy Holidays

Fun with Photoshop!

Rain! Snow!

Today is the first day of winter not only on the calendar but also outside. We had a good soaking rain in the night Wednesday. Neither Terry nor I heard anything in the night, but the rain gauge showed 1.4” when Terry went out in the morning. We did the Dance of Joy. We got another inch during the day. We did the Dance of Joy again! At 3:30, the rain changed to snow. The winds were fierce. Hilda closed the coop early since the girls were in anyway. They don’t like the wind.

Snow blowing horizontally at 3:42 p.m. Thursday

We didn’t even open the coop this morning because the wind still was blowing hard, although not like yesterday. The coop was a relatively toasty 24°F, about 10° warmer than outside. In addition to keeping the coop warmer, having the door closed seemed like a good idea because of the drift through the chicken run. It comes about half-way up the fence. I’m perplexed about that. Can chickens walk on top of drifts? If so, will they be more inclined to flutter over the fence? Will I have to shovel out the run? Not excited about that! So far, the chickens haven’t cared much for the snow. Last weekend was their first snow experience. The ground was just barely covered. When I opened the door, they ran out as usual, halted abruptly as their little feet hit the cold stuff, and tore back in the coop.  It will be interesting to see how they respond to serious accumulation.

Terry had to shovel out the coop door before I could do my chores.

The drift through the chicken run.

After the chicken chores and breakfast, I helped Terry shovel the driveway. He had pre-treated part of it with an ice-preventing product that claimed to be safe for cement, pets, and plants. The experiment was a huge success. Everywhere he treated shoveled clean. Other areas were glaciated from the rain-to-snow transition. I can hear him out there now chipping away at the icy spots.

It certainly looks like we will be having a white Christmas Observed on Sunday. It remains to be seen if the snow will stick around for Christmas.

Our bird feeder with the north side covered in frozen slush

Snow on the oaks

Oh Christmas tree!

We harvested our first Christmas tree on Friday. It was a Frasier fir, the premium species for Christmas trees. I was never able to afford one when I had to buy it. I always settled for balsams.

It’s a lovely tree, about six feet tall. Terry let me pick from among the trees that he planted in 2005 just after we bought the property. The white pines were too tall for our relatively low ceiling. Besides, I like the shorter fir needles. It’s easier not only to hang the ornaments, but also to see them.

Terry cuts the tree

The cut tree

We wanted to get the tree in on Friday while the weather was sunny and pleasant. Terry spent some time picking dead oak leaves from among the branches so we wouldn’t drag them in the house.

Picking oak leaves from the tree on a sunny and warm afternoon.

We haven’t had a real tree in several years. Della had to inspect the tree when we put it up.

Della inspects the new addition to the living room

We decorated the tree after supper. Jane gave me a new ornament to commemorate our first year with chickens. I hung it next to Piglet and above SpongeBob.

The decorated tree

Our new chicken ornament with Piglet and SpongeBob

The rain forecast for Saturday happened!  We had alternating rain and drizzle all day, adding up to 0.7”. It is a measure of our changing standards that we consider less than an inch a major precipitation event. We’ll take it!

The tree in the dark

 

Christmas in Chicago

I didn’t have any grading to do last Thursday, so Terry and I went downtown. Last year we went after the K-12 schools were out. It was a madhouse. I vowed to go earlier this year.

We took the 9:35 train and arrived at 11:23. I was ravenous by that time. We went directly to Daley Plaza to Christkindlmarket for lunch. Even though it was the least crowded we have ever seen it, we had to stand in line for some minutes to get our food an beverages. Terry went for the beer. I got the currywurst and sauerkraut. Terry won.

Christkindmarket in front of the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza

We were lucky enough to get two seats at a picnic table outside. It was a relatively warm day and not uncomfortable eating al fresco.

Sausage slices  in curry sauce with bread for dipping and a side of sauerkraut

We walked around the booths briefly. There wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before. We got a sugar-coated “pretzel” from a bakery stand. It satisfied my tasted for something sweet, but I wouldn’t get one again. We noticed that the city is skimping on the Christmas tree this year. No ornaments, only lights. It didn’t look like much in the middle of the day.

The Christmas tree with lights only. The lights are on, but it's hard to tell.

Also at Daley Plaza, the Eternal Flame veteran memorial and pigeon warmer.

We walked to State St. and looked at the windows at the store formerly known as Marshall Field’s (it’s Macy’s now, but will always be Marshall Field’s in my heart). There were only a few windows decorated this year. The theme seemed to be assorted Christmas traditions through time. Lame. Were the windows really better when I was a child, or is that just false memories?

The holiday trumpets outside the store formerly known as Marshall Field's

Terry looks at the "Magic of Christmas" window

We went to the 8^th floor to see the tree in the Walnut Room. We finally saw the Tiffany ceiling this year. Once I saw it, I wondered how I had missed it all these years. Still, Terry had to ask a store employee where it was before we could find it.

The tree in the Walnut Room. The stars on the tree flash off and on.

Tiffany ceiling

We went up to Michigan Avenue and down the Magnificent Mile. The only store we went in was Crate and Barrel. They did not have any 9.5” bread pans. In fact, there was nothing there that I couldn’t live without.

A bridge over the Chicago River near the site of Fort Dearborn. The Wrigley building is on the left; Tribune Tower is on the right. When the bridge was built, it included a bas relief (front left) depicting white men slaughtering native Americans. I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It didn’t seem very far to the Hancock building this year. I think it was because the weather was so pleasant for a walk. It can be quite a hike in a cold wind. We went to the Signature Lounge for our second beer of the afternoon. At $7.50 a pop, the drinks were not cheap, but it is essentially the same price as admission to the observation deck, and you get a beer. Also, the view from the Ladies’ Room is awesome. Terry says there is no window in the Men’s. How sad for them.

Terry gazes pensively into the distance in the Signature Lounge, 96th floor of the Hancock Building.

The north shore

View from the Ladies' room

We took a brief tour through Millennium Park. We got to the skating rink just in time to watch the Zamboni groom the ice. We visited the video faces. Terry inspected the trees.

The Zamboni grooms the ice in front of the Bean

Terry in front of the video face in Millenium Park

By pure chance, we got back to the train station at 3:50, timing for the 4:05 back to Harvard.  It was a fun day.

Why I love chickens

Sorry. I have not only let two weeks lapse without a post but also not taken any new pictures. I meant to take my camera with me for Thanksgiving at my brother’s house. The road to hell….

I’ve been thinking of all the things I enjoy about having chickens. I like being outside at the crack of dawn to let the girls out. Twice this weekend, Hilda and I had a lovely walk around the property after the chicken chores were done. There is something extremely satisfying about lifting a warm egg from a nest box. The hens are always busy and always entertaining to watch as they run in and out of the coop, cooing, squawking, scratching in the dirt, running here and there, and chasing each other over tasty morsels. If I am contemplating making something with eggs and find I don’t have enough, I don’t have to go to the store; I only have to wait until later in the day. I have mentioned the superior taste and quality of our eggs before, but it bears repeating.

I made waffles this morning to use up some buttermilk. Left to my own devices, I would always make pancakes. My husband maintains that pancakes “are too filling.” (I can talk about him because he never reads this.) In my world view, pancakes and waffles are exactly the same except that waffles are more of a pain in the neck to make because the eggs have to be separated and the whites whipped to soft peaks. Furthermore, they have to be cooked in the waffle iron two at a time instead of six on the griddle like pancakes. Well. The things we do for love. Admittedly, leftover waffles heat up better in the toaster than pancakes. But pancakes can be microwaved. Either is a fine thing to have in the freezer.

I hadn’t made waffles since we moved and certainly not since we had fresh eggs. My first discovery was a happy one—the fresh egg whites whipped in half the time (in the spirit of disclosure, I did not time it, but I also didn’t feel like my arm was going to fall off before I was done). My second discovery was not so good—the waffle iron, hot pot, convection oven, and microwave cannot be operated all at once without tripping the circuit breaker. By the time the breaker was reset, I had completely forgotten about the bread in the oven. However, when I did remember, the oven had only lost 25°F. No harm done.

Other that cooking, baking, walking, and taking care of chickens, the rest of my weekend was spent madly cranking out video clips for my partially online class. We’re down to the wire, and there’s no way I can get through genetic engineering and immunity in an hour tomorrow night. Next weekend should be more relaxing.