WINTER SLOW DOWN

The weather was the most exciting aspect of January. Other than the Polar Blast we got though, January was just another slow month on the homestead.

With eleven bodies heating the coop, the girls were fine in the frigid weather. The challenge was keeping them with adequate water. The bottle of salt water I keep in there in the winter only keeps the water thawed down to about 20 degrees F, and then only if the day warms up to 40 F. Two weeks of below freezing weather with daytime temperatures barely getting into the 30’s meant their water container was a solid block of ice. Subsequently, I needed to take a dish of water out to them twice a day.

My logical mind of knowing that the chickens can handle the cold failed me the couple of nights the temperatures dropped down to 11 degrees. We zip-tied the heat lamp in the coop, out of the chicken’s reach, and I felt much better on their behalf.

The only other issue was that Marble’s breathing became noisy. When it didn’t improve on its own, I was worried she had a respiratory infection and gave her a dose of Oregano Oil. She improved after that. I know there are people who shout and fuss about using Oil of Oregano instead of antibiotics. However, animal antibiotics are no longer readily available to the public and I have repeatedly had excellent results using Oregano Oil, so I don’t listen to the nay-sayers and continue to use it.

Amazingly, lonely Calvin survived through the bitter cold. We almost caught him once but he’s a wily thing. I continue to feed and water him. In fact, if I don’t show up with my daily offering, he stands outside the kitchen window and makes his dis-satisfaction known!

I finished another quilt top in January and started cutting out another one. I am determined to plow through the fabric I brought from Wyoming. What I will do with the quilts and tops I am making is a mystery but I’m enjoying creating beautiful things.

The picture doesn’t capture the richness of the colors in this autumn-themed quilt top.