I am recanting my choice of words in the last post. I didn't mean that we bloggers are in competition, what I meant was that there are times when many blogs have similar entries and I may have the same info but don't feel it needs to be repeated again. This is our slow phase and while we don't have much to blog about we are enjoying our down time. Below are a few pictures as proof*wink*
Mike and Cortney enjoying a quick game of Dutch Blitz while I was preparing supper. I'm not good at this game, I can't multi task fast enough and Cortney whips me inside out every time, LOL! She gets to giggling because I get...... MAD and begin telling her she has to slow down or she can't make that move, shameful I know! *grin* Mike gives her a better run but he still has to keep on his toes to beat her more than once or twice, LOL! Cortney is a card shark, LOL!!!!
Poor boys, they wanted out for their evening pit stop, only to find it was snowing and cold, so quickly returned to the door, awaiting me to let them back inside.
This was one evening early, 5pm'ish. If you look closely at the middle set of panes, to the far right, you'll see a yearling Mule deer doe, enjoying a nibble of our bean pods. We actually leave them to dry and the birds and deer enjoy them throughout the winter.
This was the next morning, she as back, this time looking for apples under the trees. We have a small herd of about 15 mule deer( mostly does and last years fawns) that travel through this area.
We are also enjoying more frequent sightings of Bald Eagles. We miss them and the Robins and look forward to our first sightings of each. My all time favorite bird to watch is Pelicans, they are so amazing to watch them float on the wind currents, and their shadows below are almost haunting. At one time we counted, in our bird book, where we've identified 63 different varieties of birds. We of course look forward to our family of barn swallows that have nested in Mo's stall for two summers. Last summer they hatched two clutches, three in the first and four in the second. They are becoming familiar with us, so simply sit on the corral panel while we clean the stall, but once the babies hatch they become fearless, swooping and dive bombing us, we just giggle and tell them they are okay, we're hurrying.

Our weather has been unseasonably warm, even with a cold front hoovering over us. I've ordered some new herbs, we like to add a few new ones every season. This year we'll be making new herb beds, our 100ft long, main bed and another that is 20ft long, are full.
I'm anxiously waiting to see if our asparagus come up well again this year. This is the second season since a friend of my Mom's shared crowns with us. I also planted some asparagus berries and will see how they wintered.
Hoping the ground thaws soon, we've got 75 ft of parsnips to eat. My folks will take some, but I'm the only one who likes them here. I do sneak them into hot dishes and soups, shhhh... don't tell*wink*
Soon we'll begin plotting our garden for the season, gathering our seeds and starting them. This season we are looking forward to as this is the season we step out on faith and begin making our farm earn some $$. We are going to work on flyers, signs and even a web page for our farm. We've felt from the beginning, that we could supply enough produce and meats for our own use but now, as our need has decreased, we find we should market the extra. Having said this anything leftover, we'll supply the food pantry with fresh produce as well. So many elderly, who need the extra help enjoy fresh produce.
Okay I need to knead down the bread and wring out a load of laundry and hang outside to freeze dry, before bringing in to dry thoroughly on the drying racks.
Take care and blessing for your week