Snow....and dreary February skies

At least it's white and bright this February. I remember winters in Palatine when the snow from December or January storms stayed on the ground all through February, and was nearly black with dinginess by the end of winter.  Mounds of black or dirty gray snow, with no fresh snow and no thaw in sight. That was depressing, but.....I'm finding myself dragging this February anyway, despite the bright fresh whiteness of the new snow.  Something about driving one hour in blinding snow (a trip which should have taken 20 minutes), watching other cars slide around or seeing them already off the road, knowing that salt or plowing hadn't been done yet, and then turning around and doing the return trip in more blinding snow (another tense hour of driving) has left me totally worn out this week. Last year, we had out first batch of chicks hatch in January.  It was a bit ambitious, and not really all that smart.  We had to keep them in the house because the barn was too cold.  There was chick dust all over inside the house and lots of time "wasted" as we watched the chick-antics.  It was fun, though, and seemed like spring came early.  Having chicks in February meant that the dreariness and length of winter was interrupted with new life. This year, we decided that we'll skip raising chicks.  That means we don't have the incubator set up, there is no on-going science experiment of keeping eggs at the right temperature, no waiting game of watching anxiously for the first little peck-mark.  The absolute wonder of watching a chick hatch after 21 days isn't part of this February.  The adorable fuzziness of chicks dashing back and forth or trying to peck at each other's toes is missing.  The strange or interesting things that we discovered with other chick hatches will have to wait until another time, when we can put that knowledge to work again. In the long run, it gives me--and the rest of us--time to get other projects done.   We already have 90 chickens, so there's no logical need to hatch a few chicks (even if it would banish the winter blues!) We're talking about buying either turkey eggs or turkey poults (day-old turkey chicks), but that won't be until spring.   The geese are trying hard to hatch out some babies, with 2 mamas on a combined nest with over 21 eggs in it.  If any hatch, it will be mid-March.  They will be raised by 2 hissing mama geese and a rather ferocious gander, so.....we'll be able to think they're cute, but will keep our distance. We might get a couple of feeder pigs (young piglets which sell for about $50 in the spring, and are raised and then butchered before winter).  Again, something potentially for later in the spring, and not totally decided yet. February is a short month, but.....the Midwest winter weather just seems to drag on through February, all the same.  This is when the chickens who have been struggling to stay healthy tend to die (6 so far this month, with another one ready to keel over soon). This is when the straw on the floor of the barn is no longer bright and clean, but matted and gross and damp (and needing to be shoveled out).  This is when the high winds which signal another snowstorm blowing through aren't met with anticipation, but a sigh of resignation.  This is when fighting through a snowstorm on foot to play with the dogs in the pasture doesn't hold quite the fun or challenge that it did a few months back..... Maybe this will brighten the next few weeks:  Rabbits. Friends in Chicago had 2 litters of New Zealand rabbits born before Christmas.  They posed for their Christmas photo with more than 12 baby bunnies in their arms and on their laps--all shades of browns and reds.  They have 2 does (females) that we are planning to pick up on Sunday for our new "bunny barn". Jeremy has been taking care of the American Chinchilla male who arrived with the farmer from Ohio (where Lucy the Dutch Belted heifer went to live).  "Thumper" will stay inside the house until the weather warms up.  But these 2 does are accustomed to being in an unheated garage, and will take up residence in the bunny barn, formerly known as the Barnevelder Coop.  Eventually, they will be introduced to Thumper and start the experiment of raising rabbits. Maybe there will be a bright spot in February, after all.   Wait.....we won't pick them up until Sunday.   That puts us in March.   Sigh... Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/