Winter Storm

Hello dear friends, we have had 2 days of quite wild weather!  Yesterday the temperatures rose to about 6 degrees Celsius with the usual melting of snow.  Then by mid afternoon the temperatures started to fall to minus 10 degrees Celsius and the melting snow started to turn to ice.  Then by later in the afternoon the winds started to pick up and by evening we had wind gusts of over 100 kph.  By very early this morning we had received about 15 cm of snow and the strong winds created blizzard conditions.  For the first time in recent memory the roads in our area were closed because of whiteouts.  The end result is that both my husband and I stayed home today.

As much as we love fences and gates these structures do create snow drifts.

There was quite a bit of snow drifting against the dining room wall.

Lots of snow in the secret garden.

It is going to be interesting navigating the snow drift in front of the chicken coop!

The little Christmas trees that flank our front door were moved from their stands and placed safely on the deck to prevent them from becoming airborne in the high winds.  Both trees remained firmly in place but they look like they are covered in fondant!

There is quite a bit of snow in the grove and nestled against the cedar hedge.

There is lots of snow on the kitchen deck and it looks like we have an up-ended chair after the strong winds.

A view from the secret garden looking out.

Although we still have snow squall warnings the weather seems to be improving and hopefully tomorrow will be much better.  Wishing everyone a safe week!

February Stroll

Hello dear friends, today is Family Day in the Province of Ontario and while it is not a holiday for all employers I have taken a day off work today to work on our master bedroom.  It is a cold but beautiful sunny day and we had about 10 cm of light fluffy snow overnight.  For a break I am taking a little walk outside.  As I haven't posted for a while I thought you might enjoy a little stroll in the February sunshine!

I have been saving and drying some grapefruit shells.  I then made a suet out of rendered pork fat and birdseed.  After 24 years at the farm however for the first time our bird feeders have been discovered by red squirrels.  One of the squirrels actually chewed a hole in our poor red barn bird feeder!

The first view on the way out the door is our garden privy which is nestled in the snow.  We normally use the privy to store our trash and recycling but as it can get a little awkward to get to in the snow it is currently closed for the winter.  

Let's start by going through the garden gate.  As we already have a list of projects that need to be tackled this year I am not sure that the "Secret Garden" which is planned for the other side of this gate will happen this year.  

Let's go through, shall we?

Make sure the gate is latched please!

There is Lucy, wondering where we are going.

Let's head to the chicken coop.  Last fall we added two roosters to the coop.  Ben is an Orpington and Jerry is a Bantam.  Several years ago we had a rooster named Henry and enjoyed the ambiance of a crowing rooster but once he passed away we didnt replace him until now.

Willow is on patrol!  She knows exactly where the chicken coop is.

Although it is sunny today it is quite cold.   I couldn't take any good photos as the cold air entering the coop when I opened the door created too much steam!  This is Ben.

Now off to the barn to check on the sheep.  We have several lambs in the barn and all are doing well.

On the way back from the farm we have a view across the grove to the little garden shed.

These skates were purchased at a thrift shop and I painted them with gold paint a few years ago.  For next year I would like to purchase additional pairs and decorate them with faux fur and hang them on the stonework on our portico deck.

Abby loves the snow!  She loves to "help" clear the driveway, mostly by attacking the snow shovel.

A bright and sunny view down our country road.

And our snow covered sign at the road.

I hope everyone enjoyed that quick and refreshing break from painting wood trim.  Thank you so much for visiting!