A wee bit of winter

Winter seems to be coming and going this year. We have unusual high temps in the 50's, then drop back down to 12. But winter was here this week and it causes us to shift our gears a bit. A crisp white layer over the mounds of mud gives you a new outlook.

I have been watching this lone shiitake mushroom for a few weeks. He thought it was spring there for a while. He never grew any larger than a nub before the cold hit.

The rest on the mushroom logs, much like my foe the groundhog, have gone to hibernation.

The greenhouse has been tucked in under row covers for the season. This helps keep our fresh vegetables still coming to the table all winter. The right hand row is vegetables that while cold tolerant, are still the first to wave the white flag when the single digits hits. So rather than use another row cover for food that may not make it, we are chowing down  like goats. This will also give me a workable bed to be planted  come February 1st.

Of course snow means I resume my constant post of greenhouse snow cleaner. Once again I will repeat -if purchasing a greenhouse in an area that gets snow, get the Gothic style. You will thank me later when your not up every two hours at night during a snow storm cleaning the thing off so it doesn't collapse or rip the plastic. I can never seem to get the last little bit of snow off the top beam even with my 12 foot extension brush and a step ladder. Rrrrghhh.

 The glass ends of the greenhouse always make the most interesting artwork

Every bodies favorite place during the winter months is the feed bin. Even the two legged animals seem to up the calories in a cold snap. Funny thing is we eat the same grains. I just keep ours tucked away in the house. Makes us look more civilized.

We can keep extra blocks of ice for the ice box, right outside. And yes we still need ice for the ice box since it is on our enclosed back porch which never freezes. But we only need a block once a week this time of year. I mainly do this to keep the milk really cold. Unfooled around with milk goes bad much quicker if it is not stored at a cold temperature. I found that out the hard way. Lets just say there have been many soured milk dishes here on the homestead.

 My snow wolf is having a ball. She just loves this time of year. She finally gets to use all that stinking fur that coats every square inch of the inside of my house. This dog is built for cold.

 This one, not so much. She is built for a blanket. And warm meals. And anything else she wants. Hey, when your 112 you should get what you want too.

They are calling for above freezing temperatures by the weekend. Ugh, I guess it will be back to the mud.