Snow, cold, snow, cold

It snowed again last night, about three inches. Today, it is picture-postcard beautiful outside, but the wind has picked up and the temperatures have dropped to near or just below zero. Reliably, Chris has plowed us out already. I think last year he only plowed us out four or five times. He’s already done that number since our first snowfall on December 4.

Last night, I laundered our winter coats. They get dirty from the daily wear and also collect a lot of barn grime in the way of hay, feed and other things that find their way into pockets and coat linings. Yesterday when we were at Wal-Mart, I reached into my left-hand coat pocket for a glove and my hand came out gooey. Investigating a bit more I found that a spot had soaked its way through the coat. Ian asked what I was puzzling over just about the time I realized what had caused it. I showed him the wet spot and asked, “What do you suppose broke in my pocket?” He thought for a moment, “An egg!” Yes. The chickens are not laying as many eggs as usual, so rather than six or eight a day we get one or two a week. I had topped up feed and water in their coop, I collected one egg, put it in my pocket while I finished chores and promptly forgot all about it. I probably broke it when I buckled my seatbelt. Ian looked at me smiling and said, “You’re such a farmer!”


Today, Ian’s rerouting and insulating a section of cold water pipe in the downstairs bathroom that tends to freeze when the temps dip. He did the hot water pipes during the Christmas holiday and it’s worked very well. There’s something very sexy about a guy who can do stuff like this. That, coupled with the fact that he likes to do it and is good at it. In another life (and economy) Ian would be very happy buying old houses to renovate and turning them over at a profit. Living in our ongoing renovation project, I am much more focused on the ‘been there, done that’ end of the renovation spectrum!

E-I-E-I-O