Dreariness

 My, what a dreary week. We had rain, fog, mist, ice, drizzle, and gray skies even when there wasn’t any precipitation. The snow is melting slowly, which is good. We haven’t had any flooding around here. Yet.

The chicken run is a mud pit. I looked out of the kitchen window and saw all the hens on the windbreak, trying to keep their feet dry. It’s a photographic challenge. I took the picture through the kitchen window, screen and all, which is why it’s a crappy picture. But as soon as I open the garage door, all the hens line up by the gate, waiting for treats.

Man, this weather sucks.

One morning, I decided to wash all the cat blankets. Bingo was nonplussed. No sunshine to lie in for days, and now this. He crawled into the pillowcase of invisibility to wait for spring. Or supper. Whichever is first.

Grumpy Bingo in the Pillowcase of Invisibility

I took a walk in the rain Friday. It was the first time I’d been back to the creek since the big snow. It was slow going. The foot of snow was reduced to three inches of slush, which was, as the saying goes, slick as snot on a doorknob. I took short steps, keeping my weight over my feet and leaning on my walking stick. Deer tracks were everywhere. The fresher tracks had streaks where the hooves dragged through the snow.

Deer prints in the snow

The birch trees were surrounded by a circle of seeds.

Seeds in the snow

Some were bird-shaped birch seeds. Others were tiny ovals with wings. I don’t know what kind of seeds they were. I do not wonder that I pull tiny birch seedling out of the garden all summer long.

Birch (darker and bird-shaped) and unknown seeds

With the snow, ice, and winds, the river birch shed a lot of branches. Terry is already grousing about picking them all up.

Birch branches on the ground

Back at the creek, I was pleased to see that the creek bed was once again full of water, overflowing snow that was previously at the edge of the stream. I was also happy that the creek was not so high that it was in any danger of overflowing the banks.

Water in the creek. White streak under water is snow where the edge of the water used to be.

Not much evidence of animal activity back by the creek except for squirrels and the ubiquitous deer. These squirrel tracks were fresh enough that the little toes were still distinct.

Squirrel prints

On my way back across the field I saw the tracks of a small raptor. In the absence of blood, fur, or feathers, and the distinct talon prints, I inferred that this was a miss. The bird will have to try again.

A pounce that missed

Terry called my attention to a dozen cardinals under the feeder one evening. By the time I got my camera and got downstairs, it was getting dark, and the only picture that turned out was this one of Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal.

Cardinal pair at dinner

I hope we see the sun soon. I’ve forgotten what it looks like.

Winter birds

 We had a dusting of snow Thursday night. Friday morning was below zero again, keeping the snow light and fluffy. When I stepped out as it was getting light to do the chicken chores, I saw delicate bird footprints in the snow, tiny and perfect. I could think of two reasons that the birds were on the sidewalk. When it is very cold, salt does not melt snow. Terry puts sand on the icy patches. He told me that as soon as he did it, the driveway was swarmed with birds picking up gravel for their gizzards. That’s the first reason. Over by the side door, where I go out to feed the chickens, I have noted that the monstrous evening primrose plant (see blogs from last summer) is still scattering seeds all over the place. That’s the second reason.

Tiny footprints in the blue morning light

Even better than footprints was this wing print. I admire how the flight feathers spread out evenly. I couldn’t tell if the bird was landing or taking off, or if this was the result of some sort of confrontation over resources or perhaps a recovery from accidentally hoping off the edge of the step. Can birds be that clumsy? I know I can.

Wing print

Terry put the bird feeders back on the deck. The cats spend hours staring out the windows, lying low on the cat trees in stalking position, apparently unaware that there is glass in between. The birds, meanwhile, have been throwing seeds to the ground, as is their habit. The ground-feeding birds love that!

Festival of Free Food

We have tree sparrows. I had to watch this one for several minutes until I saw the characteristic dark spot on its breast.

Tree sparrow

House finches and juncos are probably the most numerous visitors.

Junco behind a house finch

There are plenty of goldfinches also, although they are harder to spot because they are not gold this time of year.

Not gold goldfinch

A male cardinal inspired me to get my camera, but by the time I got back, he was gone. I got a picture of the female, though.

Ms. Cardinal

This downy woodpecker, ever thrifty, was picking up sunflowers from the ground and stuffing them into this crack on the deck support. She should have been watching her back because after she flew away, that junco hopped over to the post and started pecking out the seeds.

Thrify downy woodpecker stalked by theiving junco

The mourning doves hang around.

Mourning dove

A tree sparrow moved over to the patio, either to get out of the wind or to eat gravel or weed seeds. I don’t judge.

Tree sparrow digging around in a weed on the patio

Later in the day, I saw the male cardinal fly into the orchard and land in an apple tree. The red of the cardinal against the white snow is cliché, but I still love seeing it.

Coming in for a landing

Getting his balance

The predicted “heat wave” blew in overnight. It was 23° when I got up today. I shoveled the snow off the dust bath and opened the lid. It took numerous tries to get the coop door open. It was iced up in several places, which I found one at a time. I’ll be wiser next time, now that I know the spots.

I threw down some scratch grains to encourage the girls to come out. Goldie is looking a lot better now that Brownie is not around to pester her anymore. The feathers on her back and face have grown in nicely.

Goldie with her feathers grown back

Silvia spotted the dust bath as soon as she came out of the coop and was in it immediately. Soon afterward, all three of the golden Wyandottes hopped in. That was mighty crowded. Did I have my camera? I did not. When I got back, only Silvia and Bonnie were in the bath, but both were making the most of it. Look at the gravel fly!

Silvia and Bonnie in the dust bath

Awhile later, two Wynadottes and Silvia were in the bath.

Rub a dub dub, three hens in a tub--look at all the gravel out on the snow!

By 11:00, everyone had had enough of the dust bath and/or the cold and retreated to the perch in the coop. With more freezing rain on the way, I put the cover back on.

My mother left behind a quantity of crème de menthe and crème de cacao. My guess is that she had them for grasshopper pie. I figured I’d better learn to make it so I could use up the booze. I used the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. If it’s White food, Betty will never steer you wrong. It’s a strange recipe that begins by melting marshmallows into milk. I was expecting something like Rice Krispie treat goo, but it was totally different. The marshmallows just dissolved, making a slightly thick liquid. I slowly added the two liqueurs and green food coloring, then folded it into a whole lot of whipped cream. Into an Oreo crust, and Bob’s your uncle!

Grasshopper pie, containing no actual grasshoppers

It's a very fluffy pie. I would prefer it to be more the texture of ice cream. Also, the Oreo crust was too hard. Perhaps I should not have baked it. I only made it with Oreos because I had them on hand. Maybe a standard chocolate cookie crust would be better. Obviously, further research is needed. God knows I’ve got a lot of liqueurs left!

So cold!

Following the snow storm, the sun came out and the temperature plummeted. We were below zero, 10 or 12 below in the morning, from Saturday to today. It got up to 17° this afternoon, so I put on shorts. Just kidding. Not taking off the long underpants yet! The world looks even more pristine and sparkly with the sun shining. I love fresh snow. The forecast, according to Terry, says it will be in the 40s before long and might rain. That will turn the snow all gray and dirty, which will not be so cheerful, even if it is warmer.

Sparkly, clean world

The girls have been cooped up all this time. I ran the snowblower in the run again today but did not feel it was warm enough to open the door. My thumbs were frozen before I finished. Maybe tomorrow. They don’t seem to mind it too much. They continue to lay well—six eggs today!

Cooped up

I was lucky enough to have no meetings or appointments during this deep freeze. I have hunkered down at home and comforted myself with Fortifying Winter Food. Cinnamon rolls, of course.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast

And pot roast in the slow cooker to fill the house with good buck-up-it’s-not-so-bad pot roast smells all day.

Pot roast with potatoes, shallots, and carrots

A bright, clean, snowy world, baked goods, and braised meat—these are things I love about winter!

Finn and Gerri

Winter Storm Finn was a fizzle. We were all geared up for 7” of snow Tuesday and got maybe 2 or 3. With no precipitation forecast on Wednesday, I shoveled out the run a little and uncovered the dust bath. Silvia was soon bathing vigorously while Luella waited for a chance to jump in too.

Silvia dust bathing

Winter Storm Gerri was a different thing. I cannot remember the last time we had an all-day snow. I suppose we have about a foot of snow by now. We are in a crisis at the moment, or at least Terry is, because we have no satellite signal for the TV. Terry has been out a couple of times clearing snow off the satellite dish, to no avail. Life in the country.

It was a heavy, wet snow that stuck to the trees, turning the world into a winter wonderland. I’m glad we’re having winter weather in the winter. It makes me feel less like the End of Days is upon us because of climate change.

The fifth oak

River birches in the snow

The boys spent their snow day sleeping in the study window. Oh wait. That’s how they spend every day.

Snoozing in the study

When I went out to do the chicken chores, the snow was already deep, and the shade shelters had blown over.

Morning in the chicken run

The snow had drifted a good way up the coop door. I didn’t want all that moisture in the coop, so I shoveled it away before going in.

Drift up the coop door

Jane just gave us an electric snowblower that she hadn’t used in a long time. I plugged it in at the coop and cleared a little bit of the run. The chickens squawked in the coop (“Jesus Christ! It’s a snowblower!”)

Snowblower in the run

I put out some scratch grains, but only Bonnie and Frankie came out for it. When I went in the coop to do the chores, several other of the girls ran out, although I don’t know if they ate anything. Their primary motivation was to get away from me. My pal Silvia hung around wanting attention.

Even with the snow cleared, there was little interest in leaving the coop for treats

I took the snowblower to the deck next. The deck is such a pain in the neck (literally) to shovel because you have to heave the snow over the railing. The snowblower was a vast improvement. I didn’t have a watch, but I’m sure I was done in 10 or 15 minutes with no damage to my back. The electric snowblower isn’t awfully powerful, so I can’t wait until the snow stops falling, like Terry does with big snowblower on the driveway. We don’t know when the snow will stop (no TV). It is supposed to get cold, and I’m not optimistic that I’ll be able to do anything with frozen blocks of snow in the morning. We’ll see.

Snowblowing the deck

Dreary New Year

 The New Year has started drearily. No rain. No snow. Just low-hanging gray clouds. It is as if even the sky can’t get motivated to do anything. What chance do I have? The fun part of winter is over, and we have only to hunker down until spring. Every day, the weather forecasters promise sunshine. Every day, this is a lie. Today, for example, started like this:

The clear sky is a thin bright stripe on the horizon

See the bright stripe on the horizon? That’s the “clear sky” for this morning. Sometimes the clouds break up for a brief moment. When I was out doing the chicken chores at 9:00, there was a fair expanse of blue to the north. Alas, the southern sky was still cloudy. The sun filtered through with anemic, watery light.

A momentary glimpse of blue

As I write this, the clouds have pushed the blue away, and I suspect that’s how it’s going to be for the remainder of the day.

Meanwhile, because there is no precipitation in the forecast, I uncovered the dust bath. The chickens, at least, are having a happy day. Frankie jumped in right away and started kicking up gravel. Dottie at the larger pebbles to recharge her gizzard.

Frankie in the dust bath--three others circle, looking for their chance

Bonnie hopped in after Frankie left.

Bonnie is up next

From my perspective, the best part was seeing the girls’ perfectly healthy legs. I hope we have put leg mites behind us forever.

A beautiful, mite-free leg!

Another thing that makes me happy about chickens is their fluffy butts. They look so soft and warm. The down sways back and forth when the chickens run, adding to the overall comedy of that activity. It’s the little things this time of year.

Luella's fluffy butt

The cats also seem to be feeling the post-holiday let-down. Bingo prefers to lounge in the living room.

Bingo naps on "his" recliner

Banjo spends much of his day in the “half pipe” cat tree in the study, wishing for morning sun.

Banjo in the half pipe

Bingo likes to burrow into things. He can often be found underneath the pillowcase that we put over the cat bed in a futile attempt to keep the cat fur off the bed and on the much-easier-to-wash pillowcase. One day, he had trouble finding the opening of the pillowcase and had to content himself with burrowing under the bed itself.

Not as good as inside the pillowcase, but it will have to do.

Two days later, he was able to get in the pillowcase. Banjo came over to sit on him, put his front paws around his neck, and groom his head. Bromance. So cute.

Banjo grooms Bingo. It will only be fun until someone bites an ear.

For a long time, I only bought Crisco in stick form. I use it in pie crust along with butter. Crisco makes the crust flakier for reasons I once knew. Butter makes it taste good. Anyway, the stick was easier to measure than the can. I don’t bake pies very often, so I keep the stick Crisco in the freezer. I bought a can because I have a ceramic baking dish that cannot be buttered or sprayed with nonstick oil sprays (because of additives and whatnot). Oil was acceptable, but I found it too messy.

So Crisco. When I was a kid, Mom kept the Crisco at room temperature. Since then, the trans-fats have been removed. I don’t know what that does to Crisco’s stability at room temperature. I searched the label for storage instructions to no avail. I did, however, find this: “Not intended for use as a spread.”

Not intended...

The language is interesting. It does not say, “Use as a spread is prohibited.” Instead, it seems to imply that although the makers of Crisco didn’t mean for it to be a spread, if you want to slather it on your morning toast, knock yourself out.

I keep my Crisco in the refrigerator. I do not put it on toast.