Merry Christmas!

Martha helped us pick out, position, and decorate our Christmas tree.

Thanks, Ma Cressman, for the wood oil lamp!
and thanks, Judy and John, for the eggbeater!

Gerard (and his humans) gave a resounding thumbs-up to Grandma Wint's pillowcases.

Roscoe enjoyed his rawhide candy cane,

while Gerard was never far from his catnip toy.

Our very own grinch.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Merry Christmas!

Cat Burglar!

We came home from church Christmas Eve to a very suspicious scene.

Thanks, Grandma Wint, for the catnip toy -- it was clearly a hit! :)

Happy Sheep!

Excitement has been running high among animals and humans alike: we took receipt of fifty bales of hay this week! The shed (where it is all stored) smells delicious, and the animals make good use of the hay, both for munching and for keeping warm.

The sheep seem particularly pleased about this addition to their diet. Mick stuffed the pallets of their shelter full of hay, and they go to town. Here, Fearful finishes up while Lady and Bear are still going strong inside.

Hay? What hay? What makes you think we have been munching hay?

Lady looking sheepish.

A good picture of Fearful! For the longest time, I could only get pictures of her butt.

Meanwhile, the birds have enjoyed our warmer weather, chatting all the way.

And yet another of Mick's projects, a gate for the sheep pen!

Moving Day for the Birds

Mickey proudly displaying his first window. Doesn't it look great?! I didn't know it was possible to build windows, but he took some lumber, some caulk, a piece of acrylic, and voila!

The window in its new home: the bird coop.

(I love how the red shingles match the cabin and the rabbit hutch!)

The gap under the window now has a door and will eventually be the nest box access.

The coop serves as part of the fence for the brand new permanent bird pen.

The gate to the pen is just to the left of the coop.

The birds in their new pen (hungry as usual).

You can see the frenzy of activity! :)

The roomy interior: The roosting pole (to the right of the picture) and the loft where the chickens like to hang out (once they figured out how to get up there).

Speaking of the chickens, they were a little disturbed the first night about being separated from their old home, the tractor. They didn't mind their new pen during the day, but once night fell they stared at the tractor through the fence and growled at it until they figured out how lovely and comfortable their new home is.

Animals in the Snow

We have had a remarkably mild winter so far (for which Mick is grateful!) But we have had a few days of accumulation here and there, and I (Sarah) thought the animals looked so especially pretty in the snow! They manage the snow and the cold much better than I would too.

Bear checks out the water cooler.

Lady and Fearful are off to hunt some food in the wild.

Meanwhile, up in the birds' pen...

The geese really do talk non-stop.

Still taking the time to preen -- whatever would they do without those long necks?

The one-legged maneuver to help keep warm.

The ducks do it too.

When they're really cold and the one-legged thing doesn't work, they sit down.

Happy Winter, everybody!

Stairs!

When we found out that my (Sarah's) grandmother was coming for a visit, Mick decided to use her visit as a deadline for stairs.

We had dug up a particularly large stone in our back yard a few months ago and decided it ought to be our welcome mat stone. I was so impressed how Mick put it all together!

Welcome! :)

Why Mickey Is Tired

One of the exciting things about working 7:30 to 4 is seeing the amazing amount of progress that Mick makes each day.

Windows installed, door partially framed.

Bird coop, roof in progress.

Gambrel for meat processing.

Window trimmed!

Door installed!

This day, Mick came home and handed me a key. At first I had no idea what it was for, and then I realized... we now have two house keys on our key fobs!

Today, the outdoor trim completed on the three front windows and the door, while Mick moves at reverse warp speed!

Thanksgiving on the Hill

For Thanksgiving I (Sarah) wanted to take pictures of things we didn't have last year that I am thankful we have this year.

Soil Fertility in Raised Garden Beds

(from July 2010 to now)

Cider Orchard

(from April 2011 to now)

Trees Cleared

(from April 2011 to now)

Heidi and Marty bought a shed.

Marty and Mick set it up.

I call it a garage, it is huge!

This is one is hard for me to believe, but this time last year we had two animals. Throughout the course of this year, we had something like 46.

Rabbits and a Hutch

Sheep, a Shelter, and a Fence

Roscoe is also thankful for the sheep.

Chickens, Geese, and Ducks

Enjoying apples from our newly discovered wild apple orchard.

A Coop, a Pond, and Fence Posts

A Backyard, including garden beds and blueberries

And the piles of lumber are mostly gone.

(from spring 2011 to now)

And most amazing of all!

(from last Thanksgiving to this one)

Happy Thanksgiving indeed!