Brrrrrrr.....

It has been four days now with temperatures not rising above thirty two degrees. In the south this is frigid! We had a little snow storm. It was mostly ice on bridges and roads and school closed. I always love a snow day, especially when there is actually snow on the ground. Kids were definitely sledding. What fun!

I am over it now. The temperatures at night have been in the teens with a wind chill in the single digits. Seriously. Cold. There is still a bit of ice on our driveway and sidewalk and snow on the ground too. Our house is old and drafty, read that no insulation in the walls. So keeping our house warm is not the easiest thing to do. We are layering up and I am trying to keep something in the stove at least once a day. I do believe that I will be making bread again this week!

I have been really concerned about our chickens in this weather. I know that chickens live in much colder climates and do just fine. I have been keeping a close eye on them. We ended up buying a heated dog water bowl for their water. It kept freezing, poor girls. Now we don't have to worry about their availability of water, just if it is clean or not. They have definitely slowed down and aren't very active. What is the use in scratching around when the ground is frozen?

We have had one chicken hardship. Jemima's break broke! I have no idea how. When she was younger her beak cracked. I am assuming that with the cold she pecked on something and there was a weak spot. It scared me to death. I walked out and found a bloody breasted bird. For your information, you could compare a chicken's beak to a cat's claw. If you trim a cat's claw down too far it bleeds. Or like a finger nail when cut to the quick. She is okay and her beak looks fine. It doesn't seem to hinder her eating or drinking. Poor girl. I know that it hurt because of the sounds she was making. The other girls were great didn't peck her a bit! Chickens have a tendency to peck at blood or open wounds. I am proud of them for being so kind.

We have been keeping ourselves busy with the process of installing the wood stove. It is a bit slow going. Or slower than I expected. The concrete hearth is now poured. Micah ordered for where the glass goes. Feet for the stove sorted out. Oh, how I wish the stove would have been up and running this weekend. It would have been wonderful. At least we will be prepared for the next round of wintery weather!

This week we are supposed to get back up into the fifties. I think that it will feel like a summer's day compared to what we are experiencing now. I can't wait!!

Any more thoughts on braving the cold? What did you do while snowed in?