Last of the Winter Days

It is lightly snowing outside, overcast and the temperature is about ten below zero. At one time in my life I would have been extremely frustrated and impatient during the final days of winter. Today I feel more mature, experienced, serene. I know that this is the last of the cold days. I know that these are the last of the mellow days where my big decisions are what to make for dinner. Should I make purple potato rolls, potato salad or potato soup? (we still have about twenty pounds of shriveled eye growing purple potatoes). The highlights of my day are probably now, my computer time, while Noah watches a National Geographic show on Whales, and Avery takes her morning nap. I also look forward to getting out and collecting eggs, throwing scraps to everyone and visiting with the girls/does while they finish up their morning meal. These days are numbered, and I relish them. As much as I will love seeing our new goat babies, watching the snow melt away until we can see the ground again, and all the excitement of planting time. I get overwhelmed just thinking of it all.

Thankfully, there is nothing I can really do about any of it now,other than do a little research and make some decisions. How much of what kind of seed to start. Should we get some Broad Breasted White turkeys or try another heritage breed. When should we order our first chicks? Should we buy an incubator to hatch eggs or wait till a hen goes broody. These are all enjoyable decisions to ponder and make. Soon we will be taking care of new babies, caring for lots of starts and just going crazy over not ever wanting to come inside to do things like make dinner. In fact unless it is a rainy day it drives me crazy to be indoors from about May until October. Which means I'm going crazy a lot because it is hard to be outside all the time with small children...and when we make three meals a day from scratch. So, for today I'll be enjoying the slow pace, and making soup or bread or whatever.

On a side note, I've been thinking about how our property does not see the sun in December or January. If we ever buy another piece of property it will be completely south facing. But for now, I appreciate how much more the absence of sun helps us savor the sun when we have it. I notice when the sun hits our property in the morning and I know about exactly when it is going to come in our kitchen window and when it will be shining on our living room floor. Here is a picture of the kids enjoying afternoon play time in the sun