Melting
We got so warm yesterday that the snow went mushy and the ice started melting. It will be a short respite, but we take it when we can. The air was full of the sounds of sliding snow and dripping water. 
Sheila is still snow locked though, the snow is deep outside her gate and pigs do not like to tromp through deep snow. 
The Kunekune have no such problems though, Tane chugs through the snow like a noisy little train.
Years and years ago Our John and his brother rescued two very old slate black boards from a school about to be demolished. Yesterday we brought one up from the basement for the new list board in the cloak room. Another one will go up by the breakfast bar for house lists.
So while the lemongrass steamed itself into oil for soaps, I began to make the Big List. I love black boards. Almost as much as I love lists. When the summer toilers begin to arrive they can check the board for what they are to do. And in the meantime I will note all the winter maintanence that needs to be done before the summer.
The bright tulips are blooming in the glasshouse.. nice glasshouse!
And the kittens are blooming in the barn. I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm,
celi
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I love lists too! Especially crossing off what I have done LOL. Been warm here too and today is supposed to get to 60 – not going to be fooled though into thinking Spring is anywhere near close yet.
Love the picture of the cats, head to tail in a chain of mischief.
they are getting very big..are they any good at catching mice?
I am imagening all the cats and kittens lining up at the varendah door, each with a mouse for Celi!
We are wilting here – swap you 3 days of sun and heat for three days of cool fluffy snow. That ice puddle still looks frigid brrrr! Laura
Lists are essential to an organised life, even though I never seem to have mine when I get into the shops! I love that word “tromps” and “chugs” is pretty good, too. You will find a couple of Farmy friends on my blog today: https://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/leading-role-for-a-dog-wordle-198/
love,
ViV
Viv, I am learning to write my list in my phone. I delete the items as they go in the trolly! Paper lists were always getting lost.
That sounds very techy-adept!
Viv, my daughter is a geek and I am constantly told “Mum, you need to know how to do XXXX!” She is usually 125 miles away from me when these lessons are happening. My cell phone has a notebook and that is where I keep the lists.
I can’t even use my out-of-the-ark cell phone properly. I only have it for emergencies!
That was how I began. When I returned to work after my husband died, I was travelling cross country with only cows and sheep for company so ‘Madame Tech’ insisted I got a phone in case of emergency It took tike to discover the real reason… You can read about it here: http://grannymar.com/2009/05/15/conversations/
I had the last laugh!!
You surely did. Loved the story!
I love the boards! We have a small one in our kitchen but really small 🙂 I have to watch out for such a big one 🙂
I am a list maker and love to cross off the chores at the end of each day.
We are melting in Southwest France. I think this is the end of our winter. If true, we got off easy.
Getting slightly warmer can only be a good thing – life must have been unbelievably hard for the original settlers 🙂
I often think of the settlers, freezing cold in the winter, huddled about a fire in the evenings,chapped hands and faces, things like blankets and warm coats must have been prized possessions.. they much have really looked after their clothes.. c
I think I would definitely have been sleeping in the barn 😉
When the clothes were past wearing the best of the fabric was used to make quilts, nothing was wasted. We have plenty to learn from them.
Good morning, c, and best wishes to the farmy on this bright and beautiful morning. We finally have a day without rain! >
I could hear the trickling and plip plopping of melting snow and ice as I read this. Tima and Tane are tough and resilient as are the cats. Those hair coats must be fabulously insulating!
Lists on a real chalkboard! with chalk in assorted colours… and a felt eraser… swooon! Still snowing here.
Love the chalkboard. Looks like a spring day, a productive one too!
I love the bloomin’ kittens!
Kittens chasing tails is an old, old form of entertainment that they and we never get tired of!
Nancy
Beautiful chalkboard. We still have a few chalkboards in the classrooms at my school, but most teachers these days prefer a white board. The end of an era. When I was still in the classroom, the chalk made my hands dry and I was always finding (or the kids would point it out) smudges of it on my clothes when I brushed up against the board. Chalk butt is what we called it, I think..ha I see that Tima is letting Tane break a path for her in the snow. Smart piggie is she. It will be 75 F and sunny here this afternoon. A good day for being outside working in the yard. Gorgeous tulips. That’s good for the psyche having that beautiful color.. I adore tulips. Have a good day, C.
Hi Kim, I didn’t know that the smudges all over my clothes were called chalk butt, cute.
What stunning weather you are having.. 75! Though all in all i think we have had a mild winter.. and these little warm ups are so nice.. c
As I went through the blog looking for my favorite post a couple weeks ago, I found pictures of Marmalade as a tiny, scruffy ball of ginger looking a little worse for wear. I can’t believe she’s a mommy now, and to such big healthy kittens!
She has done a marvellous job and she is getting fat too. She and her kittens ares tons of fun in the barn.
We are finally getting some much needed rain . It did not rain at all in January.
That must be such a relief!… c
It is , we had a drought for three years and I can’t wait for it to end.
Still looks frigid to me, but I’m glad you’re having a warm up. Am behind on my reading and am enjoying my tour of the farm today!
morning greg! Sunday is a good day to day catch up! c
As always – such a wonderful post! The photo of the tulips is nothing short of spectacular !!
Oh the tulips bright deep red. Love ’em almost as much as those dear kittens. You just can’t be depressed with kittens playing.
I love Tulips! (almost as much as poppies), thank you for the timely reminder to get the catalogue out and get bulb planning! I have an old exercise book full of lists, and a sort of index at the back to organise them all. I kept all Manchild’s unused school exercise books and pages, there is paper there that will last me years of planning and list making. I don’t waste paper or rags just like the old timers. The comment a bout recycling cloth – my latest project is a rag wrapped coiled rope basket, its a bit wonky but I like the effect. Cute kitty train too, kitty pics always make me smile but Tane is still my sneaky favourite, I hope he is the next calendar.
You say “pigs do not like to tromp through deep snow”… I knew they were smart but now I know that they are smarter than *we* are! 😉
All the kitties playing tail games is so cute!! I could sit for hours and watch kitties play! The tulips are beautiful ~ spring is around the corner! and Tima and Tane just marching out to the drum!!
The snow may be deep and chilly but the colors of the photos with all those ginger kitties -is that Egoli kitten sitting, red tulips and walls, and beautiful timber are uplifting. Love the original chalkboards, they have such character.
I’m a list fiend too, but I use scrap paper, the backs of things, old envelopes. If it was on a chalk board I wouldn’t be able to take it shopping with me! I do love those old boards too, and every house needs a To Do list in a prominent place… Where did you buy your lemongrass still? I’m thinking about the future, when I might have frangipani and gardenia flowers to spare, and making scented oils from those…
The lemongrass is in pots in the glasshouse. The still I bought on the internet – it was Johns christmas present last year.. oh frangipani oil.. that would be amazing c
I shall have to read up on whether it’s achievable. I know you can get gardenia oil, so that should be possible… Maybe I’ll be able to let you know one day!
Rats. I can’t distil either frangipani or gardenia, the flowers are too fragile to stand up to the process. All I can do is extract an absolute, which requires huge quantities of flowers, solvent, alcohol and heaps of time. It also doesn’t give me any nice hydrosols to use for laundry waters afterwards…. Never mind. I might still do a spot of enfleurage, which would consist of infusing the flowers in warm coconut oil, taking them out, replacing with others and so on, till your coconut oil smells divine. You just keep the oil warm in a crock pot. I’ve done that before with gardenia.
How lovely Cecilia! The kittens are sooo cute! Have a good one 🙂
Blackboards, kittens, tulips, fences and snow … there are just a few of my favorite things. Love it Miss C.
You told us the glasshouse stayed warm in winter but I surely did not expect tulips at the beginning of February! Uhuh: another endless list maker here – have a whiteboard in my library and make a paper list for all the day’s chores in order of priority having my morning coffee in bed . . . works for me – if it ain’t broke why fix it 🙂 !
What a splash of colour those tulips make! I love lists too, and a blackboard is much better than a white board.
I’m torn between the LISTS and the RED TULIPS. Two of my favorite things. Looks like a happy day.
Poor Sheila! Hope she gets some freedom soon, although it sounds like more snow is predicted for everywhere north of me.
Where would we be without our lists? ha
Lovely day back at you!
Love everything, blackboards, lists, and your pig going through the snow like a little train 😊
Tulips!
The tulips are beautiful! What a wonderful (and unexpected) pop of color in the winter whiteness. The kittens at kitten play–they do that so well.