Butt cold

 It has been butt cold here lately. I’m not sure where that expression comes from, but maybe it is a shortened version of “freezing-my-butt cold.” The girls don’t like these low temperatures (high teens to mid-twenties) one little bit, especially when the winter wind ruffles their feathers. The kennel in the run is a favorite hangout. Silvia and Bonnie were there yesterday.

Silvia: Girl, it is butt cold this morning.
Bonnie: No shit! Butt cold.

Trudy was even further back.

Trudy (in back): I don't even want to talk about it.

Chickens hunker down just like humans do. Dottie is in the typical neck-pulled-in hunker here.

Dottie: No doubt about it. Butt cold.

I made Greek yogurt yesterday, which is nothing fancier than regular yogurt with some of the whey strained off. Whey is good for chickens, as it contains probiotics that keep their crops healthy. They also love it! I didn’t need to worry about the whey freezing because the hens sucked it all up right away. I was pleased to see Lucky right in there with the other girls. No one pecked at her, so that’s progress.

Clockwise from Lucky (head in bowl), Goldie, Frankie, Dottie, and Silvia
Goldie: No whey!
Frankie: Whey!

I was busy baking last week. The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County do a fundraiser at a Christmas tree farm every year. They sell cookies in the warming hut. I made three batches of chocolate chip cookies with no nuts, as that is the top seller, according to the woman in charge. Apparently kids these days grow up without the finer things, such as nuts in cookies. The world is going to hell in a handcart, I tell you!

Three batches of chocolate chip cookies

Due to health regulations, the cookies had to be packed up in zip-top bags. It was a lot of plastic, but it can’t be helped. This is what 72 two-cookie bags look like.

72 bags of cookies, 2 in each bag

We had a small—one might even say miniscule—Thanksgiving this year. My therapist suggested that I might be less grumpy about the holidays (which one tends to be after one is orphaned) if I did something different. Terry and I went to Jane’s for a change of scenery. Not so many ghosts there. Terry watched football while Jane and I did a jigsaw puzzle. It was very much like a normal Sunday afternoon, except for the menu. Jane made a turkey breast, gravy, cranberries, and mashed potatoes. I brought Brussels sprouts, dressing, and pumpkin pie. I’ll have a proper Thanksgiving Observed for a crowd at a later date.

Pumpkin pie

Now it’s December. Christmas and New Year’s is right around the corner! Best of all, we have less than 20 days before the days start getting longer. Can’t wait.