Around here, the weather forecasters have been giddy with announcing that the temps will be warmer, in the 20s, except of course, when they are in the teens and single digits, but that's still better than the minus numbers we've had! February was the coldest February since they started keeping records in 1844. I would hate to think what might have come before that!

We are doing a bit of drifting. There are still heifer chores and calf chores, even a couple of bucket babies yet. No big decisions have been forth coming, so we've decided to just roll with it - pretty much our strategy from the beginning.

Hope your are all having a lovely, sunny day

Yes, all sorts of records broken for a cold February. Now March comes in like a Lion so hoping that means it will change soon to warmth and green. I want to see bare ground with grass growing!

No sun here, but it is warmer today and no drizzle at the moment. Our forecasters also keep predicting weather that is about ten degrees warmer than actually materializes and rain that turns out to be just a steady drizzle. (No ice this far south, yet.) Neither of our ponds has gained anything so far, but the grass is green and my roses are starting to bloom! Wednesday brings another cold front with no promise of sun in the extended forecast.

Today's projects include cleaning/replacing the stubborn grease fittings on several pieces of equipment and trying to clear a ditch that runs through a pasture which has failed to drain this winter. Oh, yes, there is also a leaking pipe leading to a water trough at the barn... A little sun would really help spark my ambition.

February set records in the west as well, records for warmth. The weather guy said last night that when the east has a colder than normal winter, the west has the opposite. Maybe next year we will get slammed and the east will be spared.

Lots of calves on the ground around here. We drove to town this morning and there are little black dots everywhere in several pastures. Black angus and Angus-Hereford crosses are very popular. Cows with black faces and black pigment around their eyes have less problems with pinkeye. Red comes in second, and white last.

It does seem strange to me not to be going out to check for lambs at 1am. I'll miss the babies but don't miss getting up from my warm bed, dressing in barn clothes and boots, and heading out to go down the road in all kinds of weather. Our neighbor had sheep for over 40 years, and I did night duty for about half of them.

The babies are so cute but the work must be too much.

We are in Hershey, PA, for the night. Will head to Philly tomorrow. We will go to the garden show on Thursday so we will have the full day there.

Have a great time Anna!!

I've heard that Hershey, PA smells like chocolate. Is that true?

Decades ago, I lived in Cambridge (Massachusetts) near a NECO Wafer factory.

You could usually tell what flavor they were making if you walked down that block.

Yes, Mary, Hershey does smell like chocolate!

I used to live in Carlisle, PA, west of Hershey and my children were in ballet and they performed Nutcracker every year in Hershey. The smell is heavenly!

Well, the animals of the country are coming more and more into the cities. NJ has had bears and I guess Coyotes too but now even NYC is getting coyotes. New stories about the Urban Coyotes lately. One last week and another last night about the Coyotes spotted about the big city!

It smelled like rain last night. LOL. Probably in the summer it smells like a candy bar.

If the snow would only melt maybe we really could have the grass start to green up again. I want my spring bulbs to bloom and they are all covered under a blanket of snow. I don't think they are even growing yet.

I keep thinking about planting my veggie garden, come on spring!

They are growing but it's all roots at this point. I know what you mean.

Yesterday and today have been nice, sunny, warm, with a light breeze. I did some trimming of old stalks and started trying to make something somewhat orderly of the row of wild roses next to the fence. I never got them trimmed at all last year. Of course that job goes very slowly because they have lots and lots of thorns and I would prefer not to be ripped to shreds and fertilize the flower bed with my blood.

Beautiful weather here the last couple days. At least it makes the fire cleanup a little more tolerable. The SU took a load of tin from the building sides and roof to the salvage yard yesterday, we have another loaded up for him to take this morning, and we'll load up the last for him to take this afternoon. That will take care of those piles. Then we will have the boards with nails in that we'll probably saw up for DS#2 to use in his wood burner this summer to heat his hot water. If he doesn't want it, we'll probably load it all up and take it down to our burn pile and torch it. We have all the wood cleaned up that was scattered out except for what is still frozen in all the piles of "charcoal" and soot. I said that probably won't thaw out till the middle of June. LOL Things are looking better than they were.

Fire cleanup!? Did I miss something?

Fire?? this doesn't sound good....

I think Anna posted about the fire on the Grumpy thread.

Grumpy thread?

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