One thing about the cold temperatures we’ve been having; we’re drinking a lot more tea!
While there are a few favourites we try to keep on hand all the time, the girls and I also love to try new teas. Sometimes, though, the price tag that comes with some of the ones we’d like to try … well, I just can’t justify spending that kind of money on some dried leaves, ya know?
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I took this screen shot at about noon. That was two hours ago.
It is currently -17C, with a “RealFeel” of -31C.
I’m glad I thought to check the temperatures before I headed out this morning, as the beautiful sunny day made it seem deceptively pleasant out there. And it was – on the south side of the house. As soon as I came around the corner to put out deer and bird feed, I got blasted with the wind from the north. It was blowing the deer feed away, as I poured it out of my bucket! At that time, it was -16C with a wind chill of -30C.
Which kind of changes my plans for the day.
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So, things have been a bit quiet here at The Re-Farmer.
There is a reason for that.
A cold has slowly been working its way through all of us. Even my husband is starting to get it, despite our efforts to keep it away from him.
Sick or not, stuff still needs to get done. Today, that included a trip into town.
Continue readingToday, I finished up the sets of gift jars filled with the flavored salts we’d made earlier. I found the most adorable mini mason jar mugs to use.
Using 2 cups of Kosher salt to make these, I was able to fill three mini jars in each flavor, and have some left over for our own use. :-)
Recipes:
Rosemary Lemon
Scarborough Fair Garlic
Mushroom
Raspberry Wine
Bacon
So, the outside cats have been using the cat cave put together to help conserve their body heat. Overall, they seemed to adapt to it rather quickly.
Of course, they also explored it quite a bit, and every now and then, we’d look out the bathroom window and see a cat sitting on top of it. Especially Ferdinand.
The problem is, the only thing supporting the blanket was a sheet of Styrofoam insulation, which would bounce under their weight.
Not anymore! Continue reading
When I was deboning the turkey and cleaning up from our family dinner the other day, I made sure to label the various containers as I put them away. Post-it Notes are quite handy for that! One was a bowl of leftovers to go to the outside cats, the next day. Feeling silly, I also drew a quick picture of a cat on it.
The next morning, it had kittens.
The Re-Farmer
Wow.
Well, here it is.
One year ago today, I made the very first post on this blog.
At this point, my husband and younger daughter had already been at the farm for over a week. My older daughter and I were purging and packing like crazy until we could join them.
What a year it’s been!
Thank you to those who felt this little window into our lives was worth visiting, following and commenting on!
The Re-Farmer
The outside cats are certainly entertaining.
First, they tried to kill my husband this morning. !!! As he went out to feed them this morning, they were all at the door. The usual tripping hazard! As he started to step down from the concrete stairs at the door, Doom Guy dashed under his foot. He moved to avoid stepping on him, and ended up stepping on one of the glazed bricks that are along the side of the entryway.
It was slippery.
Down he went! Continue reading
Today was a day for visiting.
We even got a visit from my brother’s dog, this morning. :-)
I think we need to add “dog” to the list of critters we’ve been feeding – he does seem to enjoy the cat kibble! :-D
Then it was time for me to go and visit my mother. Continue reading
Today was very much a kitchen day for me. We roasted three chickens yesterday, ate most of one for supper, then I de-boned all three, saving the bones and skin to make a stock.
Since I was tending the stock for so many hours (which will be a separate post), I took advantage of the time and started working on cleaning the kitchen. You know, the pull out the microwave, clear everything off the counters, wash the knife blocks, kind of cleaning.
Our 20 gallon fish tank is in the kitchen, and I decided to do a complete water change on that. Which meant taking the plants, and our three lonely fish, out completely.
That is the last neon tetra of the 10 I bought, last year. :-( The algae eaters were sold to me as Siamese algae eaters, but that’s not what they are at all. I believe these ones are Chinese algae eaters. We had a pair or Siamese algae eaters when we moved, but when we found we couldn’t set up our 90 gallon tank right away, I quickly picked up the 20 gallon tank we are using now, and transferred our plants and fish. Sadly, the Siamese algae eaters did not survive. They survived the drive over, but in the time it took to get the small tank, I think their water just got too cold. I do want to pick up more; they eat a different kind of algae than the other types of algae eaters. Plus, I want to get more neon tetras again.
My goal had been to set up the 90 gallon tank with enough plants to not need to use an aerator at all. With the number of plants I have now, we are able to do that with the 20 gallon tank. I do have the portable aerator, just in case, but haven’t needed it in months.
Unfortunately, a piece broke when I was disassembling the filter for our 90 gallon tank in preparation for the move. It’s a connector for a hose. I figured I could just pick up a new part after the move, but no one carries the brand out here. It’s not even available on their website. I can do without an aerator (though we do have one), but not without a filter. A filtration system for that size of tank is not cheap, so it’s not like we’ll be able to replace it anytime soon.
So the big tank, on its stand, sits in the corner of the living room, taking up space. :-( My older daughter and I were talking about what to do with it. We might just put a board across the top, then cover it with a cloth, so it looks better. :-/ I’m sure there’s a piece of plywood we could use, somewhere around here! :-D
Meanwhile, our little fishies are now back in their home, with fresh water and re-arranged decor. :-D
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 