Category: The Mountain Farmlet

A moment in time

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Saturday was an epic day.  I was able to slowly, and carefully, walk the whole trail at the Mountain Farmlet.  I won’t say my knee didn’t hurt, but I didn’t swell up either.  Then on the way home we saw this…

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It was a promise of rain on the way that was delivered overnight.  We are not  in the deep freeze, and life is getting more comfortable!

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How was your weekend?

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By the way,  I went to the specialist and I have arthritis in my knee.  No surprises there I guess.   I have it in my fingers and elsewhere, though thankfully not so painfully.  The Dr gave me several options;  I chose a shot and some exercises to do, with a return appointment scheduled for the end of February.  By the way, I am happy to tell you that a shot in your knee is way less painful than one in your thumb joint!  😉

 

Life goes on…

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Where do I start?

If you live in the east or the deep south, then you know what COLD is.  Me?  I never experienced anything colder than 30 degrees till we moved here, and now we are getting lows in the single digits.  The lowest so far was 4 degrees, and with a little wind chill added it was well below zero.

Now I know it is far worse for many and I wouldn’t bring it up, but our part of the country is known for its heat, humidity, and sultry atmosphere… practically Jurassic in summer and maybe a frost or two in winter.

To make it worse, the weatherman either lies or doesn’t know what he’s up against, you know I jest here, but on the serious side, he predicted an overnight low of about 17 degrees and when we woke up I had over two inches of ice on the goose’s water buckets!  It had actually dropped to 6 deg. overnight.  Perhaps that beautiful crystal clear night sky had a lot to do with it?  Well, actually, I am certain of it.

Our plumbing in the south is not made for this weather.  We are keeping the pipes from bursting here by letting the water drizzle out overnight.  No pressure expansion from freezing water this way.  However, up at the Mountain Farmlet we did not have that option.  Can’t let it run 24/7 now can we?

We did cut the water to the house, left the spigot open, and this worked until our first 5 degree night.  Last weekend we found that the main had burst at ground level, and under the house of course!  The water will remain off for the duration of this weird cold, and the rent-a-potty will be back till further notice.  Sadly,  it is simply too cold to safely do much of any work up there at the moment, so we are going up to check doors and windows, fill the kitty feeder, make sure their water is still full and unfrozen in the heated water dish, and that the kitties are OK.  In case you’re wondering, we have made friends with another neighbor who has agreed to look in on them in our coldest of weather, and to make sure the raccoons haven’t raided their food again!  😯

So how does the lady of the Farmlet stay warm when out feeding and watering her charges?

Fleece long johns, two fleece robes, an old London Fog rain coat, fleece gloves, a thick velvet neck scarf, and the infamous Crazy Chicken Lady hood.  😉

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How I’m surviving the cold, or, how old ladies do selfies.  😉

NOTE:  If the cold *water  er, weather is forcing you to leave a sink running, and the sound of it drives you crazy, as it does me, then you might try this trick:

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Take an old pair of panty hose, cut off one leg and tie it to the spigot.  Voilà!  No nagging dripping sounds to keep you up all night.  😉  Hint:  adjust the end to find the most quiet position at the drain. 

Hey, whatever works, right?

*(Thank you, Sweetie!  😉 )

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Oh, the knee?  Still racked up, and I don’t go back the Dr. till next Tuesday.  😐  However, I have purchased a cane to assist me in getting around.  It is much more comfortable than the staff, and affords me courtesies in public I never knew existed!  😀

Injured, and trying to mend.

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Wondering where I’ve been?

Well, I am out of commission.  Somehow I have (re)injured my knee and I can’t stand for very long to do much of anything (cooking/cleaning) because it swells up so bad inside that I can feel it out the back of my knee and up my thigh.  I also can’t sit for too long to rest it because then it freezes up and I am positively crippled upon standing again!

I am currently living on 100mg Celebrex and hobbling about on Bob’s walking stick.  The tree is still up, the chores are piling up, and I am fed up!   😦   I am calling the Dr as soon as I press the publish button.

On a humorous note:  We went to see the newest Peter Jackson Hobbit extravaganza and I was worried they wouldn’t let me in with my rather large walking stick.  Bob laughed and quipped:

They will just think you are in character.  What you need is a wizards cap and cape!

He was right, no one really noticed me and my “weapon”.  😉

On other topics, so far 2014 is coming in on frigid winds and ice-cold temperatures. It is 10:30 in the morning and our current temperature is 21 degrees.  Over the next few days we will continue to get below freezing temperatures and the temperatures will stay well below freezing even for the highs.

The worst of it will be Monday with a high of 20 degrees and a low of 5 deg, and Tuesday is not much better with 23 H and a 12 L.  You know this California expat is still not used to this kind of winter weather!

I have express ordered a heated water bowl for the Mountain Farmlet.  I would have just picked one up at the local pet store or the Co-op… but this is the Deep South and they don’t really stock them here.

How are you surviving the cold where you are?

Thankful

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Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving we had goose.  Yes, I finally did it.  We were thankful for food on the table.

Our plan was to put it in the smoker and 6 to 7 hours later have a wonderful savory feast.  Our plans were interrupted when Bob found a starving and dehydrated opossum trapped in the smoker.   We haven’t a clue how long he had been in there.

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Apparently, having gotten in through the little adjustable air vent on the firebox, he then got into the smoking chamber.  In doing so, he dislodged the small grate and trapped himself.  (We walked away and gave him a chance to get out.  When we came back he was gone.) 

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Weak and filthy with soot, we are certain he was thankful too. 

Having no time to pressure wash the smoker and disinfect it I had to go to plan B.  Roasting the goose in the oven.  I hate doing that because of all the greasy mess and smoke, but I tried it a different way!  Dragging down the big, blue, enamel, roasting pan that once belonged to Bob’s mother, I put the goose in, put the lid on, and Voila!  No greasy smoking mess!  I am thankful.  😉

Bob came in later in the afternoon and smelled the goose in the oven…

Oh man, this smells so good!  I’m glad we had to prepare the goose in the oven because it smells like the holidays when I was a kid!

He was thankful for the memories of holiday gatherings and his family.

Fast forward to yesterday…

Which found us at the Mountain Farmlet and working feverishly.  Bob was inside doing demo, and I was outside moving and storing the (possibly) useable planks of lumber from the demo.  In between I finished cleaning out the sheds, and then went walkabout in the woods.

I took myself directly to the bridge to look at the creek.  The creek and the bridge define the southernmost tip of our property.  While I was there, the neighbor lady came over and introduced herself.  We talked for almost an hour and got to know quite a bit about each other.  She seems so nice, and I look forward to being up there full time and having her as a friend.

We have a ‘date’, she and I, to go down into the creek bed and explore, “when it isn’t too hot and there won’t be snakes.”    She’s never been down to the creek!  We have to do this, and when we go I will make sure she won’t have to go bush-whacking like I did to get there.  There was lots of *saw vine. YIKES!  No wonder she’s never been down to see it!  😀

I went down and followed the creek for quite a ways in both directions.  It was lovely.  Here is what I found…

Later, I went into the woods and forging off of our trail this is what I found.  If you are not Lori of Day by Day the Farmgirl Way you may not appreciate the significance of these last photos.  😉

Evidence of life

I was told by the Octogenarian that the deer no longer come here.  Well, they do!  You just need to know the signs.  Thank you for teaching me, Lori.

So thankful!

*NOTE:   The locals call this plant Saw Vine, but it goes by Cat Briar, greenbrier vine, or its botanical name of Smilax bona-nox.  To see where it grows look HERE.

Saw vine information can be linked to by clicking on its name above, but an awesome image of the plant can be found on Steven Schwartzman’s Portraits of Wildflowers  by clicking HERE