Winter is Here

It has be cold here at Powell Cottage this week. In my part of the world cold means lows near freezing. I bring the chickens in when the cold is near freezing. Yes, my Dad, the farmer, thinks I am nuts, but I only have 3 chickens and I put newspaper down on the washing machine and they roost there quietly all night.

This year I am trying something new at bedtime. I have started using bed curtains and I am amazed at the difference it makes. The house can be much colder than I would have normally accepted and I am all warm and snuggley. Of course, there is the additional heat of up to five dogs inside my bed curtains and they help.

This weekend I will check under my unoffical green house and see how everything is going. We shall see.

I am planning on buying many of my seeds this year from Seed Savers. I want to join and I will as soon as I have the extra few dollars. I am excited about growing heritage vegetables and saving my own seeds for next year. The way I see this is every year I can buy a few new and interesting seeds to try, saving my old seeds from last year, and eventually I will have all the seeds I could ever want and just have to spend money on some new find if and when that occurs. Always thinking of ways to save.

I need to put gutters on my garden shed. My plan is to use rain water to irrigate the small wild patch in the southeast corner of my garden. I might sound like a good spot to grow something, but it is very shaded by a 6 foot fence on the south, and oak tree on the east, and the shed on the west. Mostly is is covered in Vinca Major, a Red Bud tree, and some daffodils in the winter. The Vinca Major looks very scraggledy in the Summer, so rainwater is my answer. Maybe if I collect enough water I could plant some shade loving plants that need more water than we have naturally.

I guess that's all from Powell Cottage today. Cheers!