Merry Christmas

Just thought I'd bob in here and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. I've been home enjoying some time with my sweetheart the last couple of days and now the boys are home from their gramma's house and nestled "snug in their beds" so all is well with the world.

I did finally manage to finish their presents thought it required a final push worthy of the records book. I'll post more on things soon, but suffice it to say that I had a pretty SHARP idea for this year, one that's cool because it knows how to hold it's TEMPER. Any guesses?

Merry Christmas all
Best wishes.
P~

Oh so cold and snowy.

We've had more than a few inches of snow in the last couple of weeks. In fact, after I finally got my garlic in the ground just before thanksgiving, it snowed. Then the next week got bone chilling cold and snowed, and I do mean bone chilling. When I checked the weather underground website it showed our local weather station reading in the tens (not teens, tens) and the lowest I remember seeing one morning was 3.7 degrees F. Yeah, freaking cold!

On the upside, the chickens did fine with a little help from a heat lamp and timer set-up and a weather stopping clear plastic covering that cuts the wind but still let's them get natural light and fresh air. The greenhouse, well that's a little different story.

I finally got an artificial heating set up in place and it helped for sure. However, I still want to be conscious of how much power I consume to keep everything alive so I have it also on a timer that alternates the heater off and on for an hour at a time through out the night. During the days it will heat up just fine in there, it's the middle of the night that gets me.

Also, thanks to everyone who gave me the great passive heating ideas. I have implemented a couple of them like moving a barrel with compost into the greenhouse to try to generate a little heat and I have water bottles around my actual planters that hold some of the heat from the day in there over-night. The compost hasn't really gotten kicking yet but I'm still working on it. I also just acquired 10 or so 5 gallon barrels that I'm going to fill with water and place in the greenhouse to gather heat during the day. Right now the tomatoes that are still alive, did I mention that I had a devastating freeze kill at the beginning of the big chill? I did... it probably halved the number of plants that I had in there.

All in all, I'd say things are going pretty well though. As always I take the lessons with the triumphs and press on ever forward thankful that (for now) my living is not dependant on this. So then, how are things in your necks of the woods? Cold, maybe hot for my southern Friends? Everyone about ready for the holidays? We're pretty much ready for it here, but I personally am waaaaay behind. Every year I make a handmade present for my boys. This year it took me a long time to even think of something to make and I am just starting this week.

Crunch time!!

All the best!
P~