
Happy Groundhog day!
Feliz Día de Land Beaver!
Merry Whistle-Pig Day!
Good
Imbolc, to you and all of your kin.
Last night,
Groundhog Eve, if you will, we had an unexpected and welcome encounter with
nature, when there was a neighborhood power outage.
Sudden darkness. What a thrill! We scrambled around, opening our smart phones, which was not very
natural, but it was seriously very dark and we needed a bit of help to find matches and candles. Once we had enough candle power going, the fun began in earnest. We wanted it to last all night. We wanted it to be widespread. We wanted school to be canceled! What we got was a little less than an hour of being in the same room, enjoying the same amusements, and time to reflect on our anti-zombie fortifications.

So, it seems we are in for six more weeks of winter. Well. Not much to complain about, here. Goodness. We've hardly had any winter to speak of. It's been all blue skies, and cool nights, breezes, beach side burritos, and flowers blooming. Personally, I would welcome the break from yard maintenance provided by a nice deep snowfall, but the most we can hope for is rainfall. Rain would be nice.
Not for Zleda, though. She looks frightful in the rain, when all her fluff gets muddy, and droops. But, rain or shine, she loves to be afield.

Here comes Puff, with her daughter, Kamen, a step behind. All the chicas are out, and loving our
barely winter weather.

Photographing chickens? Not really very easy. They are on the move. So even though this is a bit out of focus, I love the
poultry in motion, of She-Bot, the mini bot, dashing across the green.
Well, Chango. What do you think? Spring won't be here for quite some time. And you will have to endure these days as best you can. Nights, well... those will pass with you sleeping between my feet, curled 'round yourself, snoring.
And you, Benjamin Franklin Thunder Cat, Cowboy and Explorer? How much more of this can one kitty take?

No more
bobcat attacks, thank goodness. Hopefully, this is the result of our new security measures, and the effects will be lasting.
Bobcats and coyotes are more nature than I want at the Bird House Farm.
The chicas are happy, and calmer, too, now that Son of Zoltar has been relocated. I was very sad to let go of our last little rooster. He was nice enough to us people, but he was getting really abusive with Betty. She was becoming a battered and fretful hen.
These days, our most exciting chica events are about finding their eggs. They do lay in their box, but they also find new crannies and spaces where they like to nest. So, some days we get to enjoy an egg hunt. Even the youngest chicas are laying, now. The three baby hens are called Penny, and Little Debbie,
and Little Debbie. The Debbies look just exactly alike. The sweeties-pies.
Little Debbie, is that your tiny, brown egg?

Today we will bake something in honor of the long winter ahead.
Does anyone, please, have a chocolate-beet cake recipe?
Or zucchini-chocolate cake, please?
This sweetie pie is Penny, as shiny, coppery, and small as a lucky penny. She is the chic-petite daughter of Zoltar and Zelda.

Still filling in her feathers, but her limp is almost imperceptible. I need to find the picture Maria drew of Kamen battling the bobcat, and all the other chicas cheering for their fearless sister.

Puff, with stuff in her fluff. She seems to kind of take after me, and is never quite as tidy as her sister hens.

Weazie Ratty-Rat doesn't mind winter, as long as her house can stay in the garage, where she is warmer. In summer she will enjoy cooler nights sleeping on the porch.
Sanka's new bunny loft is still the best in luxury lodging. She is as happy as ever.
Many of our trees are blooming, and we planted a
guacamole tree. I don't know how long it will be before we are picking avocados, but I know it will be worth the wait. My copy of
Free-Range Chicken Gardens arrived, and I have been enjoying it, very much. I'll share my thoughts soon. And hey, you still have time
to enter the Timber Press contest, and win a book, seeds, and chicas of your own.
What have you done lately, today, to enjoy nature, to relish your own climate, season, and local weather? After school today, we will enjoy some more of this Groundhog Day, and our delight in making something of nothing. I hope you find reasons to celebrate, too.