New Year ... Fresh Start

It's a new year and though 2017 I hardly wrote on this blog, I thought I'd try again for a fresh start in 2018. And not every post has to be a "book". (That's what I'm prone to doing once I get writing.) 

I know blogs aren't a "popular thing" anymore as many people, including myself, have turned to Instagram and/or Facebook. But they have their limitations. And FB can have drama & often people don't see everything you post due to their "filters", which is fine, unless you're trying to keep people updated on what's happening on the farm or promote your business. Well, enough on that subject. 

I wrote the above a few days ago, but then it got "crazy" again, so I didn't publish it on here. So, I'm taking a few moments before work to finish this blog post. 

My alarm went off at 3AM this morning. Yes, 3:00AM! Though, I didn't actually roll out of bed until 3:30. My brother offered to take me to work today, since he's working too. But, that meant leaving at 4:30AM. So, I got dressed, let out the dogs, fed them, heated up breakfast that I'd made yesterday. Then, put on snowpants, hat, 2 pairs of gloves, face mask, coat and warm boots. Loaded up the sled with a small bucket of water, container of whole corn, whole oats, black oil sunflower seeds & cat food; and a bin of food scraps & empty rubber dishes to put the food in. By the time I got down to the chicken yard (after shoveling a path on the deck & starting the car), it was 4:15. So, I quickly checked the heated water bowls, and gave every coop a scoop of the whole grains. The whole grain keep the chickens warmer as they digest it, since it was around zero degrees and the "high" is supposed to be like -2*F, low -10 tonight. I kept the coops closed today (also on Monday when it was like -9*F in the morning and the "high" was 3*F above). Plus, there's supposed to be more snow and wind, making the wind chill this weekend very frigid. Chickens can survive without heat, but if there's a draft or lots of wind, that's what can easily chill them. As it was, Thursday was a "warmer" day, just very snow. Some of the chickens came out of the coops, but didn't find their way back to the coop in the evening. So, last night, I had to put them to bed, at least 12 of them. 

Anyways, not every coop got food scraps, since I ran out of time. As it was, we were like 5 minutes later than Joel wanted to leave and the roads were still snowy and slushy. So, we had to go slower than normal. 

I got to work around 5AM, and though my plan was to just do some database & paperwork for a few hours, I decided to snow-blow, as it'd be easier than shoveling several inches. And since several years ago, Mom & I had a snow shoveling job, I'm quite familiar with operating a snowblower. 1 hr 15 minutes I came inside & even though it was probably below zero, I was actually quite warm. Leggings, pants and snowpants, then 5 layers consisting of 2 long sleeve blouses, a short-sleeve scrub top, a hoodie & my heavy L.L. Bean coat that I've had for at least 10 years. Plus, insulated L.L.Bean gloves inside L.L. Bean mittens, a hat & thermal socks inside L.L. Bean boots. No, this isn't an advertisement for L.L.Bean, but they do have great winter clothing that keeps me warm. 

Well, it's now 7:30 & I better get stop writing my blog & do some database before I start my "day job". Oh, and I did all that without eating any breakfast, until I sat down to write this blog post. 

To "wet your appetite", I plan on writing soon about Thursday's adventure! It was an unexpected surprise and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Especially since, just a year or two ago, I would have probably been too nervous to do it.