Saturday thaw

We had a lovely day today, the cold has finally broken.  The kids and I took the Honda to the car wash to spray off the salt and then we all spent some time in the yard.  I had the baby in the carrier.  The oldest got out his snow shovel and randomly shoveled paths and holes in the yard.  It was a much needed break from being cooped up in the house.

My gander.  I love when the geese stretch their wings like this.  They look so regal.  Of course, he'll probably try to beat the hell out of me with that 4 foot wingspan come breeding season.  Oh well.  We pick up the new coop tomorrow and I'm thinking of some modifications out in the yard to make poultry-tending easier like hooking up an overflow barrel to the rain barrel off the main coop.  maybe i could install a gravity water system out there?  It's worth looking into.  Wow, if each coop had a gravity water system from collected rainwater that would be wonderful.

The temperature is going to be wonderful this week.  I need to clean coops out, fix part of the fence and clear brush away from the back perimeter.

Walking around the side property, red baby hood and family in the distance.. We are thinking of clearing most of this in the spring; leaving plenty of brush and cover around the perimeter for wildlife and nature exploration but allowing some of the smaller trees to grow up, planting some more trees and opening up the old orchard so it can be usable.  The property owners (2 owners back?) actually had horses here but between foreclosures, tax sales and deaths the property grew into a tangled mess by the time we came along.  

Are these tiny squirrel tracks? Foot for scale. When we pick up the coop tomorrow I'm going to use a Christmas gift card to pick up a salt block and start setting up the game camera again.  

We came inside and had some homemade hot cocoa.  My dad found this tablecloth for us at an Amish re-sale shop and we LOVE it.  The color is so beautiful.  

My mom made this stained glass piece.  It's been displayed on a shelf but we hung it in the kitchen window. Some day I'll post about how we bought this house in total ruin and with help restored every flippin' part of it.  Every corner of this house was made better by friends and family.  In some ways it feels like we're still moving in, finding little touches that make it seem like a home.

Dinner tonight was homemade pasta with lemon added to the dough, roasted broccoli and squash along with a pork tenderloin from Aldi (these things are so delicious and cost about $3).

Here's the pasta recipe.  I did not put white beans in it.  I don't know who thought it would be a great idea to put both broccoli and beans in the same recipe.  I can only imagine.

The weather is going to be amazing this week.  I am hoping to walk into town for yoga, take some other walks and get some chores done outside.  The days will be warm and the nights around freezing but I don't know if I should tap the trees now  Is it early?  I have no idea and will call our Cooperative Extension office on Monday hoping they can put me in touch with a local maple syrup person to talk to.