Work = Warmth

This morning I could see my breath in the house, which means it's too cold. My daughter and I went out to check on the chickens after breakfast, and their water was frozen solid. I guess this is the point in the year when we're going to have to start checking their water early every morning. After visiting the animals we came back inside and started a fire.

A few weeks ago, Cold Antler Farm's Jenna was blogging about "farmer's heat". Let me tell you, it exists. All I had to do this morning was feed the chickens, check on their litter, refill their water, and rake up their run. Just those few things warmed me up enough to tolerate the cold outside. Mind you, these few things only take 10 minutes max to get through and are nothing compared to my daily chores when we first moved in a few months ago. It seems like you can produce more "farmer's heat" in the summer when there's more to do, which is a pity, because who needs more heat in the summer? We need more chores in the winter!

Now, I know it's not quite winter yet, but in our neck of the woods there really are only two seasons. Summer and winter. Our summers may not be as hot and humid as it is down south and our winters may not be as harsh as the far northern states, but we don't have any seasons in between. It is freezing cold and snowing from November until May and tank top/air-conditioning weather from June until October. No kidding.

In any case, our winter chores will double one we bring our wool-producing rabbits home in a few weeks.

And on a side note:
Cami and I were watching Amazing Race at my parents house last week and one challenge(?) was to guide a rabbit to jump a course of hurdles. Now whenever she sees a picture of a rabbit her response is automatically, "Jump! Jump!" followed by a little jolt mimicking the jumping action. She's absolutely obsessed with jumping animals now. Thanks Amazing Race.

Well... I'm out to finally paint the door of the rabbit shed so I can share some finished product pictures with you. Between the rain and a mild case of food poisoning, I haven't gotten around to it until now. That's life. Enjoy the sunshine if you've got it!


- Sarah