Great balls "O" fire..........

Saturday arrived, the sun was up and we hit the ground the running as the weather station had predicted  storms were on the way!  By tomorrow the winds would be whipping us senseless and the snow would be flying.  But today it was glorious and warm and there was a laundry list a mile long.  

At 7:30 am with coffee cups in hand we made a wood run to Middlefield.  Home by 9:00 am for a refill and wood stacked.  

By 9:30 am Farm Supply store here I come for a water heater for the chickens.  This lugging water to the chickens two and three times a day was getting old.  I plunked down the $50 for a water heater and returned home.  Cleaned the coop and put in new bedding and straw for insulation.  Ran more extension cords to the Coop Med and fired up the heater.  The water slide will be going in next month!  It was 50 degrees outside, the heater worked!  I happy danced while the chickens made tea....

Ran back to the house and announced I was off to Home Depot to buy a screen door for the side of the house.  I have wanted this storm door for years and this was the perfect weather window to buy it and install it.  Butch announced he wanted to go along........ add another hour to the trip, nuts! 

We stopped at the doggie beach to sprinkle Zeus at his favorite place in the whole world.  A sunny day, warm day in January seemed a fitting good bye.  Thought I was over the loss but alas tears filled my eyes as we said our final good byes and he gently rolled away in the waves.  

We wiped our faces dry and headed to Home Depot.  Scored the door and drill bits.  Yes, I paid another $24 for a set of drill bits because I would have lost another two hours tracking down the bits needed to install the door.  Home by 4:30 p.m. and daylight was fading.  Also the wind started picking up.  

Nothing like unwrapping large sheets of metal from large flat cardboard boxes in a windstorm!  All tools assembled, directions gripped between my teeth, cordless drill tucked in my pants and pencil behind my ear, the door was going up before the snow hit, i missed the weather window on wind.  After an hour it was clear I could be in Boston if the wind caught me just right.  I would need help....... I would rather light my hair on fire than ask my beloved husband for help, it just never goes well.  But we were under the gun and the wind was blowing strong enough we couldn't hear each yelling.  I did hear one statement....... WE COULD HAVE PAID TO HAVE IT INSTALLED!   Well that is just stupid; I yelled back, isn't this fun?  I LOVE THIS STUFF!  It was great! 

The battery on the drill needed charging so I ran to the studio and grabbed the extra battery.  Ran back, handed over the battery and said;  I need to check the chickens as it's getting dark.  Half the girls had headed to the roost, the other half were lolly gagging around.  Fine.  I opened the egg gathering door to collect the daily eggs and smelled burning feathers.  

BATINA!  Your butts on fire!  I finally did it, I had managed to light a chicken on fire with the heat lamp!  With this wind she would be toast in 30 seconds!   I moved her away from the lamp and she jumped right back over to the heat lamp.  What to do..... the temperature was still in the 40's so I just unplugged the light made sure Batina's butt was out and ran back to the door with the man who was still drilling and cursing. 

  

By 8:30 p.m. I was gleefully running in and out and slamming of the storm door!  It worked, only had one big dent and scratch from Popeye over zealously driving screws into the door jam..... grrrr.... 

Sunday the temperature had dropped and the winds were still fierce but the snow had not arrived.  Sunday morning we hunted and gathered for the week.  Butch went up to Ashtabula to take his Mom's Christmas tree down (ours is still up and now needs a good dusting, I don't do trees in the house.)  staying home I made soup, baked bread, assembled the big bowl of salad greens for the week, made an applesauce cake and moved the heat lamp in the coop.  

This morning the storm arrived as predicted.  Temps in the teens and wind chill in negative territory, 

-14, really?  The chickens are making tea at 7:00 am, nobody was on fire and all seemed quite cozy.  

A walk around the yard to admire everyone's top hats.  

Dinner is made for the week and I am finally off to the studio....... saints be praised! 

new carved mugs......