Protective Pine
Now that the ground is starting to freeze it’s time for me to start putting pine boughs on all my plants that can use a little extra protection during the cold winters.
I have lots of small pine trees along the edges of my back field that need to be cut down so they don’t start taking over the open areas. They provide a nice supply of branches for all my plants. When I lived in Ohio I’d get a supply of pine boughs from our Christmas tree farm for free.
I was able to get all my small hydrangeas protected and my newly planted roses. Pine boughs have always provided just right amount of warmth for my plants that don’t appreciate the cold as much as others.
What do you use to protect your slightly more tender plants?
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Quote of the Day: Brett L. Markham
“Home food production is an important proficiency that contributes positively to the physical and financial health of the family. Along with this, it provides and important physiological and spiritual boost by reaffirming our connection with nature and nature’s laws, reconnecting us with our ancestral roots, and providing the feeling of competence that comes from ensuring the supply of a basic necessity – food.”
Brett L. Markham (Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre)
Today is the day for our piggos to go to Iceland. It’s a somber day, not a day we look forward to and a day that is difficult to talk about. In fact it takes a week or two of preparing yourself mentally for what happens on this day. It’s not easy, but we feel like it best honors our pigs and the lives we tried to let them live. It brings us peace knowing that they don’t have to take a trailer ride or spend the night in a strange place. They can have a peaceful end in the place they feel at home. Peaceful for them, not peaceful for us.
We are happy knowing that they led happy piggy lives, rooting and wallowing, running and eating, snorting and being with another of their kind. It was especially nice that the last week has been warm so they could spend their last days happily rooting in the woods, exactly what pigs relish doing.
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Friday Favorite: FaceTime
Technology is pretty amazing, it can enhance our lives in so many ways. I mentioned earlier that we did the 12 days of Maine Christmas with our nieces & nephew. Their FaceTime wasn’t working for a few days, not we’re back up and running. It’s so much better to be able to watch all of them trying to guess what’s inside the box.
Being able to video chat is one of the great things about the times we live in. It’s so nice to be able to see someone face to face while talking. The introvert in my hates talking on the phone, but I don’t mind video chatting at all.
Do you use video chat to keep in contact with loved ones far away?
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The Snow Can Fly
We’ve already had two big snowstorms this year. One dumped 16-18 inches, the other dumped 12-14 inches. We were totally unprepared for the first one and didn’t even realize there was going to be that much snow. That was way back on November 2nd. The second snowstorm hit on Thanksgiving morning and delayed our travel to Ohio until the afternoon. Unfortunately for both of these storms our plow truck was out of commission.
The poor thing was in the shop getting a new fuel system and getting the carb rebuilt. With a truck as old as this one, finding parts can be a challenge. Luckily we have a great mechanic that likes a challenge.
Earlier this week, we finally picked up the old red truck and it’s running like a top. Hopefully the plow will go on this weekend and we’ll actually be ready for our next snowstorm. We’re also hoping to get some snow this weekend because we want to feature this fabulous vehicle on our Christmas cards.
Have you had any weather recently that you’ve been totally unprepared for?
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Sending Holiday Cheer
I love Christmas card, I love to get them and I love to send them. We have yet to get our photos taken for our personal cards, but I’ve been working hard on the Christmas cards I mail out for work. I usually mail out around 500 for that and roughly 100 for ourselves personally. The result is that I spend a lot of time during the month of December working on them.
This year I printed our cards for work, I found a sweet little nativity stamp on Esty to use on them. I took them to Ohio and my nieces helped me fold them and stuff them into envelopes. All I have left to do is address and stamp them and then I move on to our personal cards. I’m waiting for a snow so I can take the photo I’ve been planning. My mailbox is starting to fill up with cards from family and friends as well. I’m always happy to see how much everyone’s kids have grown, Christmas cards are one of the beautiful things about the holiday season!
Do you send out cards to family & friends? Do you enjoy receiving cards?
