Deep cold. Last night it went down to- 2F (-18C) or if you want to add windchill which I find a dubious equation at best, it was -10 (-23C), pretty cold then I’d say. Many people have frozen pipes, no water in their houses and are just waiting it out. I know many of you are colder, I have no intention of competing with you, this is cold enough for a New Zealand girl from the beach. We are doing ok, though still hauling buckets of warm water across to the animals. The heated buckets are not keeping up.
The barn is a circus. No-one wants to go outside. Tilly keeps jumping gates from pen to pen. And Mama is still on a slow recovery. Daisy is on the demand for more food. In the early morning when I am used to hearing chickens and pigs and cows and sheep and peafowl and guineas in the barn I am also hearing a whole range of early wake up wild bird calls. All waking up and saying is it warmer yet, do you have food?
The chook house is full of starlings. It is like a scene from a Hitchcock movie, the one he never got around to co writing with Chekhov due to generational and geographical restraints. A hundred terrified starlings wings beating and squawking, flying about my head inside the chicken coop. Throwing themselves at the windows but never OUT the door. Scrabbling at the glass like live crayfish in a pot of hot water.
The chooks raising their eyes heaven ward threatening strikes. That’s it. That’s it! -either you get rid of the starlings or I am walking OFF the set. No more eggs for you (missy) Miss C. 
Below the trees there are many dead starlings, they are just falling off their perches in the cold. Boo keeps bringing them to me saying: Can I have this One. No? Oh well what about this one it is quite dead. I could have this one. You could throw it for me. No? You want that one too? Oh well, thats ok, because I have plenty more.
It was so cold last night Sheila built her bed so high it was practically a throne. a work of art. She is way off the concrete floor of the barn. Snuggled under her blankie.
Yesterday I had my 10.000 words written by 2 pm. A very good lesson for me in not setting my sights too low. It can be done and relatively easily as long as i give myself permission to ignore everything else inside the house. And now I have the pleasure of going back and editing and shoving the text around until it makes sense.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
your friend
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
95 responses to “Still in the deep cold… just a mite chilly!”
Brrr! You are in the Deep Freeze…plenty cold, for sure!
I had a border collie mix named Suzie when I was a child. One winter, we had small birds freezing to death like you describe the starlings (though not in those quantities!). That sweet dog would pick them up gently, and try to put them back on the tabletop feeder my mother kept in the back yard…
Love the fluffy peahen photo!
Oh that is such a sweet image.. lovely wee suzie, hope you all are tucked up warm, I am glad I don’t have to drive out and take children to school.. c
We’re in the low 20’s this morning – warm, compared to you! – so it won’t be too bad. Time to warm the car, though!
Good morning C; wow 10,000 words before 2:00 pm thats amazing thats more than i speak to missy in a week! 21F here in WV. loving it. not much snow though :(v
thats funny all the birds the starlings are considered a pest here in WV. they can be troublesome at times but they can be good pets as well.
Be a blessing mike
As long as you are listening to a thousand words you are doing even better… c
YES Miss C. i do listen well i know which side the butter is on 🙂
Brrr this is getting silly! Did have a bit of a thaw yesterday, but all that did was turn my garden into a mud pile, which the dogs and cats bought in on their paws all over my kitchen floor. Went out this morning to feed the hens, and I can see where Sam (the big dog) has been as all his foot prints are now frozen into the ground! Is it nearly spring yet?
I have the stove going with beef bones to make stock, and about to bake some bread, it is my way of using electricity with a purpose! Going to start a whole new thing (for me) as now I can get raw milk. Have ordered Kefir culture and Buttermilk culture and will also try for Whey and Cottage cheese and butter. Never done any of this before so wish me luck!
I shall send you some of my kefir grains if you like? It is probably cold enough for them to go in the mail.. the BEST one to start with is the farmers cheese, easy peasy and totally delicious.. so when you get your rennet let me know.. I will tell you how.. wonderful that you have the good milk!!
I have ordered Kefir Grains and Buttermilk starter and they are on their way! My only concern is some of the recipes I am reading say that to leave at room temp for x amount of days – and my house is ‘cold’ due to be saving on heating and bundling up with clothes! Hope everything still works! On my list to try are: Cultered Butter and Buttermilk, Creme Fraiche, Whole Milk Buttermilk, Kefir, Whey and Cream Cheese. Then I will go from there. The book I have ‘Nourishing Traditions’ call these the basics and nearly all the recipes call for one or another of these. There is a great section of Fermented Vegetables which I aslo want to try and another on Sprouted Nuts and seeds. Guess it will be a busy winter after all LOL
Fantastic! I am sure it will be fine at your room temperature, we rarely get above 60 and everything still works..
…now they’ll all want electric blankets – starlings too 😉
can you just imagine all of them sitting on an electric blanket, all in neat lines like they do on the telegraph wires.. ha ha ha .. c
Somehow yes I can 🙂
Brrrr, oh no you can keep those temperatures – sorry you have to endure them. Gorgeous pic of Pania and Tui all fluffed up. Really hope Kupa is responding to latest treatment? Hope you warm up to above Freezing point soon. Laura
Kupa is just the same really, but eating his treatment well, his three days are up so we will see, i am tempted to think that the freezing temps are having an effect on him, like Mama he went into this weather not 100 %, though Mama is much better suited up for the deep cold.. c
Stay warm girl!! Will be thinking about you!
Rita
morning rita, at least i don’t have to drive to work in this every morning, that must be a pain.. c
OK, I will stop complaining about our cold here. I don’t like starlings, but when it gets cold enough to freeze them off their perch at night, well, even a confirmed anti starling-ist like me thinks that is just sad. Brrrrrrr… Celi!
It really is only a few a day and I am sure they are better now that they have found the chook house! and all its tasty feed… c
Brrrrrr! Cold indeed…make sure that you are wearing your long woolly knickers, they keep out the cold….good to know that animals are getting along fine
yes they are shuffling through, though i bet a few of them wish they had long johns to wear as well!.. c
Shame about the starlings tho
Time to bring out the long underwear or wear tons of layers!
In this weather I AM the michelin man, I waddle about, but this morning I put some conditioner in my hair and it froze solid, made me laugh, until i could not feel my face.. then i was not sure if I was laughing or not! c
I didn’t even know conditioner COULD freeze. Whoa. Stay warm and safe!
Love the peahen double take!
Christine
Weren’t they clever to offer me that shot!.. c
Kuppa’s tail is growing beautifully! Congratulations on achieving your 10,000 words goal! Keep warm and how was dinner out?
mornning pat, in the end we just went down to the local, which is only a few miles. To go all the way into town (40mins) with our broken down truck which is not that dependable plus has a rubbish heater, so you have to dress for a sleigh, seemed a little silly. We will go this weekend, when it is slightly warmer. c
What’s going on with the starlings? The cold too much for them or…? This seems so odd.
There always seems to be a few who succomb in the bad cold, at least the others have found shelter with the chooks.. c
OK. Never heard of that. Apparently the birds are smart enough to fly out of Minnesota. Your starlings certainly would have been dropping from the sky here this week with temps around zero and windchills in the minus 20 range.
Egad! I’m not complaining anymore about our unusually cold winter weather this year! I feel for all of the outdoor critters. Even the poor starlings. No one should freeze to death. Last year I photographed a group of starlings drinking water from the pool cover, in a snow storm. It was a most beautiful photo… who knew a starling could be photogenic?
That does sound like a fantastic shot, I quite like starlings, they have the most beautiful colours hidden in their plumage.. c
Stay warm. Yes never saw my winter visitors keel over as of yet , last winter I fed 300 lbs of black oil sunflower seeds cracked corn and thistle countless pounds of beef suet so far since Nov. I have purchased 3, 40 lb bags big storm brewing so I had another shot in shoulder so I could shovel the white stuff away but they gave me paperwork good for a year to have the shoulder repaired I am so glad they see my plight I have STUFF to take care of just like you 🙂 Take care and have a great weekend I will pray for temps that reach 35 for you.
The advantage of this cold is that it is too cold for snow!! Poor you with a shoulder, that must ache.. My birds have all the feed from the barn and the chook house but today i am setting up extra feeders, Bird feeders are so expensive, i must work out how to make a few. You are so good feeding that much food to your wild birds, they must flock to your garden.. c
They do and eat all the bugs from spring until frost so this is how I pay them back 🙂 you can use a old frame with screen hung by rope or chain, scatter on ground or even an empty bleach bottle with an opening cut into the front after you wash and dry Starlings here in NH love my suet and bacon grease I freeze and hang in empty onion bag “_
Mom who is suffering like you badly and 78 knew I wanted no gifts for Christmas just to spend time with her chewing over a nice hot yummy meal so she tells me yesterday snow is on the way I bought you a electric thrower to put on the roof so you do not have to do all that shoveling with a bad shoulder and back man oh man and I used to get spanked when I didn’t listen 🙂
your mum sounds great!! what a sense of humour.. c
🙂
I asked if she was trying to kill me standing in we snow with electric appliance lol she says “They are made for it” got to love her she says Ron can hoist it up and I can wrap it in a tarp and leave it up there I know she is trying to help me but I hate the thought of her spending money on Toro machines I could have got one on craig’s list 🙂
Bless her heart..
🙂 I know that is what she said Damn it you are my daughter in horrible pain and I wanted to help I love her but she is like us suffering and putting one foot in front of the other 🙂
Too cold for snow? Isn’t that an old wives tale?
good point emily as i understand it the colder it is the less moisture there is in the air and the less lift from the air to allow it to form as snow and consequently fall lightly to the ground, so to be correct I should be saying the air is too cold and dry for snow today, or something like that. though I need to read up on that again.. c