Rain

 I am so late with this week’s post that it is almost next week! I’m having the kind of week I hoped never to have in my retirement. Meetings, social engagements, rushing around, going to bed late, getting up early. Heck’s a-poppin’! The cleaning ladies have just left, so I have some time at last to sit down in a clean house and catch up on all that has fallen by the wayside in the last four days.

Terry’s birthday was Sunday. I made pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I planned to make carrot cake, but neglected to consider that I was out of carrots. Terry likes pumpkin bars just as well. I was down to the last nubbin of nutmeg from a rather large tube of whole nutmeg that I bought about a hundred years ago. I had the foresight to buy another jar. When I opened the new jar, I found one of the most ridiculous uses of plastic ever—a shaker top with holes that were less than half the diameter of the nutmeg. Note that there was a firmly glued seal on top of the jar which meant the shaker top did not even function to hold the nuts in for shipping. It is as if the manufacturer thinks we need MORE plastic in the world. I think not.

This week's nomination for most ridiculous use of plastic

It has been a rainy week. It’s gloomy, true, but we need the precip. It’s good to see the ground thawing and the grass turning green. Rumor has it that there is cold weather and possibly snow this weekend. Nothing is a surprise in March. After the first inch of rain, some large animal woke up and had a nocturnal foraging trip to the bird feeder. Terry had some choice words about the hole that was left behind. The animal apparently didn't have the brains to figure out that there weren't any more seeds below the surface.

Hole beneath the bird feeder

He intended to fill it in, but found that the birds scratching around for sunflower seeds were doing a pretty good job leveling the ground.

Birds working to fill the hole in

The whole chicken run is a mud pit. I took this picture awhile ago when there was still some snow outside the fence. The muddy feet that are visible on the chickens has not changed. It looks like they are weary black socks. Of course, muddy feet mean muddy eggs. It wipes right off, but still seems like a lot of work compared to bringing in clean eggs. It’s an attitude problem on our part.

Chickens with muddy feet

In another three weeks or so, depending on the temperature, we can move the girls down to the apple orchard. It makes me a little sad because I have gotten completely spoiled by the automatic coop door. Once they are in coop 2, I will be constrained to let them out in the morning and put them to bed every night. The weather will be nicer, though. It’s not such a bad job. I enjoy having a little walk outside at sunset, at least until the mosquitoes hatch.

It won’t be long until spring!