February 6, 2023

It’s still the winter season and I’m not going to be fooled by the Palouse’s habit of having teaser days of sun and not so cold. 

Although I do have to admit my gardening genes are getting antsy. I have gone through the seeds and found I only need to get spinach seed. Seed packets contain way more seed than I use in a season & so expensive to waste any-sad as one just can’t throw them away. I plant to share with the DD and as a last resort I feed really old seed to birds or chickens, providing it’s safe to do so. Of course veg seed is OK to do that, but some flower seed would not be so.

The two chickens we have left are laying again, but since one of them is the      G-grand’s old lady (“stripe-head” a 6 year old’s name for the baby chick she was 4 years ago) the eggs are mostly from the younger hen. The ladies have to be caged in the small pen as something killed the other younger hen right in back. We had been letting them out when we were home, but apparently even that was not safe. In good weather I use my Egloo pen and can move them around on grass, but in winter use the wooden house with small outside pen that is heavy to move. Can’t move anyway when snow on ground and the wooden one stays warmer as have a small light on when really cold. I hope to get some bantam hens this spring; then will get some fertilized eggs and hatch chicks of our own. Bantams make wonderful moms and although the eggs are smaller are just as useful as bigger ones. No roosters in town, but lots of folks around in the countryside have them so can get fertile eggs.

I’m working on a few of knitted projects: hot water bottle cover, shawl & linen top; just finished a crochet afghan; finished a CASA quilt, started on one of my many UFO quilt tops (need to put on some border blocks to make it bigger & then sandwich & quilt); plus I’m up for the hostess slot in my fiber group-I’m teaching/demonstrating how to make braided rugs (from wool, fabric, plastic bag, or other material strips). It will be fun meeting as is per usual.