When I went to bed last night it was 4F (minus 15 celcius) – now, I know for you people up in the mountains to the north this is not too cold but for me here on the plains of Illinois this is bloody cold for November. 
We did get a bit of snow with nasty ice but for the most part the cold caught me by surprise.
We seem to have jumped straight to that awful majestic bleakness of mid winter. 
The wind had dropped by yesterday afternoon though, which made my afternoon farming almost pleasant.
After a long day in the mill – and it never seems long enough because the mill is like an alternate universe where time seems to behave differently – I quite enjoy feeding and watering the animals. I have the best of both worlds. The farming grounds me and the organic food industry stretches my brain ( and give me an income)!
Here is a little freezing duck video for you. I hope it loads. On that really cold day the ducks would waddle along a bit then sit on their feet to warm them up again. And they insisted on breaking the ice on their muddy pond so they could all flap about in there. The water froze to their feathers and they looked a bit silly. Funny ducks.
Last night when I put the ducks to bed, as I shut the door, I saw three chooks sitting on a bale in the Quack House. There was nothing I could do. It was dark. I just shut the door.
Let’s look at the weather. 
Looks like we have a warm up on the way. That’s good. I really want to get more straw in for these pigs.
I hope you all have a great day. It is Wednesday here and I have barely scratched the surface of this week. I need to have another cup of coffee and make a list.
Love c
The Kitchen's Garden 
30 responses to “ALTERNATING UNIVERSES”
What a pleasure, lying down in the evening and catching up with your blog, marvelling at the wonder of the wheat that can brave the chill of winter, tracking Dell’s drying off, sympathising at the extreme cold and smiling to read that you will be coming to NZ in January. Even if I don’t comment I am here and enjoying the evolving life of the farm. Thank you for being such a faithful blogger.
And thank you for being such a faithful reader / for years and years you and your beach have contributed to a really basic deep knowledge that home is still there for me.
Oh yes, the beach! Just waiting for you to return. The land, the sand and the sea remember you.
Oh yes!
oh brrrr…my goodness me those ducks are tough little guys. Love the video!
Too cold too soon here too, Cecilia. Just West of Boston, I naively ordered some Lily bulbs, thinking there’d be a window of opportunity before the ground froze. I should know better. I do feel badly for the waterfowl in Winter. Have been lugging warm oatmeal through the woods to my swan friends for 24 years now ~ this year, no one to visit, sadly. Thanks for listening. Stay warm!
Oh that is such a sad story. Where have the swans gone?!
My dear friend William, whom I have known for 23 years, died two years ago this April. His partner Bella went off and found a new mate and brought him back to meet me. They had babies, which were all eaten (as well as William’s babies 9 of them! A first, there are usually 6. His legacy, gone so quickly. I think Snapping Turtles). So when Bella&Buzz (funny names but it suits him and stuck) came to me without cygnets, 14 babies lost in two years, I put my boot down and said, “I love you, but you must leave this place.” And so they did. Every morning I pray for their safety. I miss them like crazy. Thanks for listening, Cecilia. Have written the story down, but it’s a long read, and am stuck at the moment, with shortening it at all…