The Calm

 December has certainly ushered in some frigid weather.  But then, many of are aware of that, as you, too, are experiencing a wintry blast - many with lots of snow.  We had few flurries yesterday, but that is all.

The sky was moody, grey, and cloudy... a perfect day for getting our house back to normal working order.  It was a day of catching up with cleaning, laundry, ironing, and some mending for one of the kids.  It's always good after a busy holiday weekend to return to the calm and routine of normal life.  Seriously... I love the mundane!

Good morning, Beatrix!  Did you have a snuggly warm night beneath your heat lamp?

It was 12 degrees yesterday morning when we reached the barn.  When it's that cold out, morning chores are just a little more difficult.  Manure freezes solid to the dry lot and we must use a pick-axe to loosen piles so that we can pick them up with a manure rake.  The ground is hard and frozen.

It always amazes me that the horses don't seem to ever mind the cold.  They have all grown thick winter coats.

A little extra hay helps to keep these four toasty warm.  And, the donkeys have a heat lamp in their house for a little extra warmth.

The pond is partially frozen.   Luckily, for the ducks, aerators in the middle of the pond prevent it from completely freezing in the wintertime.  

Finally, after months and months of battling a tenacious, invasive weed, our old perennial garden is weed-free and covered with a layer of compost.   

Years ago, I planted this garden -

 and for years it was quite lovely each summer.

Then, one year, it was overtaken by a very nasty weed that spread by a tuberous root system. 

 I weeded and weeded to no avail.  For the past two summers, Hubbs has burned the weeds and worked the soil with a roto-tiller in order to kill and remove all of the weeds.  Finally, after two years' labor, we believer that this garden is finally weed-free.

Planting this garden will be my big project for the coming spring.  I've been combing through seed catalogs for unique flowers to plant in this area.  I plan to turn this garden into my cutting bed for next summer.  Dreams of next year's gardens help to make the colder months more tolerable.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon wrapping and labeling soaps.  I have about a hundred bars of soap that I will put up on tomorrow's (Wednesday's) blog.  In the past, they have sold out very quickly - so, if you are still looking for Christmas gifts - email me tomorrow morning and let me know which bars you want.   I have several more batches which will be ready in January as well.