It's gettin' hot up in here.

It's been about a month since we've had any measurable rainfall here, and daytime temps have been stuck in the upper 90's for some time, yesterday was 100 degrees. Today we are supposed to hit 101 with a heat index of 120+ and unbearable humidity. It has been a  huge challenge to keep the animals cool. I have several fans in the sheep barn, and we added two more high velocity fans a couple of days ago. The fans help, but they can only do so much when they are just moving hot, soupy air around. The sheep keep their noses plastered to the fans all day and then go out to graze at night after the sun goes down.

I also have sprinklers running all day over the barns to cool them down.

The chickens are having a very difficult time as well. I lost my big Blue Cochin rooster and one of my Easter Egger hens in spite of my efforts to keep everyone comfortable : (. 

The chickens are all walking around with their wings up, trying to cool themselves.

I have a sprinkler going into the chicken run, and over their barn to cool it too. The chickens find some escape from the oppressive heat by picking around in the puddles.

Even my little Barn Swallow baby is lifting himself up out of the nest to stay cool. He is an only child so he is doing pretty well....no siblings to heat the place up.

Rooster Cogburn and Swagger seek shade under the apple trees....and beneath the weeds in my overgrown garden during the heat of the day. That's why I left all those weeds in there....yeah...that's it.

The horses are a little tougher to keep cool. I have fans in their barn as well, but the fans don't offer much relief in this weather. I hose the horses down with cool water a couple of times a day. Jasmine feels the need to taste the water as it comes out of the hose, making it kind of difficult to spray the rest of her body down.

Then, of course, after she is all clean and fresh, the obvious thing to do next is to roll around in the dirt and replace all the gunk that just got washed off.

  Dead horse.

Aaaannnd shake it all off.

.

Ande has his own way of keeping cool. He has his sprinkler...

...and his swimming pool, albeit a little small for him.

Sometimes he likes to combine the two for that true 'water park' experience.

He is, however, not too excited about the prospect of sharing his water park with Emma and Jolly Ball.

We have chances of rain in the next couple of days and temperatures are supposed to be more bearable....like 95.....it had better cool off because I promised my critters that if we can just get through today, we will be OK.

I hope it's cooler wherever you are!

Now I have to make jam for Farmers' Market. YAY! Boiling water and hot, molten fruit!

SnOw way!

You may have heard that we had a little snow storm here in Iowa. It's true. We did.
I woke up this morning and tried to look out the window to get an idea of what we were up against....tried to look out the window...

Well, that wasn't very productive, so I put on my eighteen layers of clothes and headed for the great unknown. The only door that I could get out of was the cellar door, which, for some unknown reason, was fortuitously, snow-free.

Once outside, I discovered the reason that I couldn't get out the other doors.

Front door....

 Aaaaand the back door..

Well, yeah, of course I brought my camera out with me, what kind of a silly question is that?

Although they were uncooperative for a photo, I checked on the horses first and everything was fine there, except that the strong, swirling winds had blown snow all over inside the barn, creating indoor snowdrifts-never had that happen before.

At least the water de-icer in the stock tank seems to be holding up; there is enough open water for the horses to drink from.

I knew that the rams might be bearing the brunt of the storm since their pasture is a bit more out in the open and is exposed to the harsh wind, so I wanted to check on them next.

Something told me that they might be in trouble, and I was right, there was definitely a problem...

OK, so they didn't really write this...I have cabin fever....I can not be held responsible for my actions.

"Where are you, boys???"

"Here we are mom!"

At least Mother Nature was kind enough to leave a little "mote" of a clearing around the ram-hut, but the drifts all around them were about 4 feet deep.

Since the boys were surrounded by drifts, I had to shovel a path for them so that they could get to their water. I just hope they don't realise that the snow is at fence-level most of the way around their pasture and they can now easily step over the fences and go on walkabout.

"It's about time you got out here!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

The ewes seemed to be faring a lot better than the boys; there are enough clearings around their barn that they are able to get in and out without any trouble, and they have access to water inside the barn.

The rest of the menagerie seems to be holding their own, but because mother nature decided to add insult to injury with frigid temperatures over the next few days, I am going to have to add more bedding for the chickens. And since the wind will continue to sculpt the landscape, I will have to monitor everyone throughout the day...and probably re-shovel several times.

Of course, some members of this household are completely unaffected by the weather.

 "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get us to the front door!"

"Yeah, never mind, this is never going to work."

I know that most of the country is in the same boat that we are, so I hope that you are all safe and warm. Enjoy the day off : ).

I'm comin' in!

So, I have decided to change things up a bit this year. Normally I do a couple of craft shows early in the year; the first one is always at the end of February, and then one in March, one in April and then the outdoor Freight House Farmers' Market starts the first weekend in May and runs through the end of October. I wanted to cut back on the craft shows; I'm not giving them up all together, but just rearranging things a bit so that my income is more consistent and things are not so frantic in the fall, thus making me less crazy during the busy Craft show season....my husband would argue that my special kind of crazy has nothing to do with the craft shows...I digress. I have a plan. What I have decided to do is to start selling at the farmers' market right away...I actually started last week....sorry that I did not inform you of my plans in a more timely manner..now you are caught up. You may be wondering if I have lost my mind. A farmers' market in January, in Iowa? Why, yes, my friends, we have an INDOOR market here. I will certainly miss being outside all summer long, but when I weighed it out, there were just too many positives to pass up the chance to move inside. And I do have a pretty nice view of the outside from my space inside.

I bought myself a sweet little refrigerator off of Craigslist for my eggs (don't you just love Craigslist....minus the murder thing, of course, but still..). No more schlepping coolers full of ice and trying to maintain the proper temperature when it's 90 degrees outside in August. No more trying to hold onto a canopy that decides that it wants to fly with the wind. No more setting up and tearing down every day.  I set up my booth inside, I bring fresh eggs and baked goods every Saturday and Tuesday and bring home whatever is left, and done!
You may be wondering: what can you get at a farmers' market in the dead of winter?
Well...almost anything you can get in the summer. Of course, this time of year most of the produce is not local...as I mentioned, it's January, in Iowa..but it's still colorful and yummy.

There are lots of baked goods. Including my own cookies, Salted Nut Rolls and jam....which I neglected to photograph.

Handmade soaps.

 And pasta.

Olive oils.

 And local honey.

I love these repurposed wool items.

...especially these adorable little birds. I need a whole flock of the chickens that she makes for my Christmas tree next year.

Beside my normal wares of handspun yarn, eggs, baked goods, salted nut rolls and handmade clay figurines, I am partnering with my friend Lori, from Sommarang Farm in Wisconsin, to sell her roving and raw fleece at market.

 Come on, spinners, you know you want some!

Also, you may find my friend Cassie from Farm Genevieve in a booth next to me soon, she will be selling her handspun yarn, hooked rugs and other fiber art. We are just going to have a little fiber fiesta going on down there every Saturday and Tuesday.......but not this Tuesday,
because.....

 "Potentially Historic Snowstorm Expected through Wednesday
Two rounds of snow will affect eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri early this week.


 A major winter storm system will begin to impact the region late Tuesday morning into Wednesday, with the heaviest snowfall expected from midday Tuesday through about daybreak Wednesday. Snowfall  amounts of 10 to 16 inches are possible. To the southeast, totals of 16 to 20 inches are possible. In addition to the high snowfall totals, winds will increase to 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph from Tuesday night into Wednesday resulting in considerable blowing and drifting snow, especially in open and rural areas. Visibilities will likely be reduced in whiteout conditions and snow drifts may reach several feet high.


Putting the two events together, 60 hour snowfall totals ending at 6 pm Wednesday will range from 7 to 23 inches from northwest to southeast. Some of these totals will approach historic events for both 24 hour snowfalls and storm total snowfalls. For more information on local snowfall records, see the latest public information statement here.


Frigid temperatures will surge in behind the storm with wind chill values mainly between 0° and -25° from Wednesday morning through early Friday."

OK then...I am guessing that the groundhog is not even going to come out of hibernation on Wednesday, let alone see his shadow! Stay warm, my friends!