January Days

Hello, friends.  We actually received some snow last week.  Sadly, it fell after dark, so other than a couple of peeks out the front door, we didn't get to see it falling.  Only an inch, but we'll take it.  The bird feeders have been very busy, which required more suet to be made.  A batch of pinto beans was canned.  Two orders arrived leaking last week.  One contained dish soap, which made a real mess throughout the box of other items.  The box was punctured, but only one bottle was missing product, which they replaced.  The other was a case of 6 olives in glass jars, which was unsecured in a much larger box, and on its side.  Two of the jars lost their brine, and this was refunded, after a bit of perseverance.  Both of these leaks were due to poor packing of the orders, with no protection given to either. 

I forgot to mention that as part of winter preps for the chickens, we hung clear shower curtains around their screened porch area, which is where their food and water are.  It helps keep the wind off them at ground level, and keeps snow out, which they much prefer, and the area drier.  I picked the curtains up at Dollar Tree, and bought cup hooks online, which seem to hold them better in the wind than nails.  I secure them with wood and stones at the bottom.  I'd seen a "tip" online to place a bottle filled with brine solution in their waterer, to keep it from freezing.  As often happens with these tips, it was a failed experiment, at least when it's in the teens. J said he could see it making a few degrees difference, but that's all.  I'll try it again when nights are not quite as cold.  In the meantime, I'm chopping ice and bringing a teapot of hot water out through the day.

Though our tree had hardly dropped any needles, it was getting pretty dry, so we took it down.  This area is where I plan to set up the new grow light station J got me last birthday.  I'm still plugging away at taxes, and would love to have them squared away, before starting a new project.  I went through Swagbucks for two purchases, getting 4% and 16% cash back, which is pretty significant.  We've been managing well through the bitter cold, with only our drinking water line freezing.  We can just use the household water, to run through the Berkey until it's thawed, so it's small stuff indeed.  I feel for all those who have been greatly impacted by the weather.  

You may remember it was a goal of mine to grow enough peas that I had some to can, and was excited it became a reality last year.  Well, it turns out I don't love the home canned peas.  They're certainly edible, but seem to have a duller flavor than the store bought, and are a little mushier.  We'll eat what I've canned, but moving forward, I want to grow enough to eat fresh, but not preserve any. I wasn't a fan of them when I froze them either.  Growing our own food often seems like one big experiment.  Wishing you a beautiful week!