Frost & Fog

It is a frosty, foggy morning today. We got down to 22 degrees last night, but we're up on top of the ridge. I know that lower-lying areas had colder temps.

This morning when I stepped onto the front porch / entrance to grab an apple for Tom's lunch (freshly picked from my folks' orchard), I came in with my nose wrinkled and exclaimed, "Pee-uuuw! Low pressure today, and I smell the paper mill!" Tom asked, "Are you sure it's not the septic tank again?" No, given the thick fog, I was pretty sure it was the result of the air pressure. But, there was no smell outside when Tom pulled the car out of the garage, so now I'm not so sure. And, BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY (ah-hem!), my second guessing is going to make me unscrew the top of the tank today to take a peek. Keep your fingers crossed!

My broody hen is still sitting, BUT she was off the eggs long enough the other day for them to feel pretty cool to the touch. So, I'm worried that they've gone bad. And, I think it was my fault that she was gone so long: I was holding out for Tom to drive the 3 1/2 hours south to pick up more feed last Friday, and so, aside from scratch, she didn't have anything handy to eat. So, I think she went out foraging. If this is the case, it's my bad and the loss of 11 eggs. :( But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she knows what she's doing, and that there's at least one viable chick in there that's causing her to keep setting.

Along the same line, I FINALLY found an egg yesterday! Yes, AN (as in, singular) egg. Aside from the eggs in Mrs. Broody's box, the chickens have been going thru the WORST molt I've ever seen them have, and I haven't seen an egg in over 2 weeks, I'll bet. (I wish I'd kept track.) Maybe it's just that they have really good hearing, though, and needed some incentive: it was just yesterday morning when I said to Tom, "If those chickens don't start laying, we're gonna do a massive butchering right after the busyness of the holidays! I ain't feedin' all winter if they're not layin'!" ;)

I need to take pictures of my latest batch of hats. I have the 5 hats for that set of grandchildren 90% done. I finally got all their measurements, so now I can finish the bottoms, make & add tassels / pompoms, and sew up all the loose ends (no pun intended). In between my work on those, Tom asked for a black hat with purple accents, so I whipped that up. As it was progressing, he said that it needed some zip and requested the addition of a bright, spring green. I asked, "Are you SURE?"

I'll have to post a picture of that one. Personally, I don't care for it. I think it looks too immature for a 55 year old man to wear. And, he's only worn it once. And that was here, at home. So, I think he agrees with me. It may just disappear one of these days and reinvent itself as just a black & purple hat!

And, I'm finishing a floppy red-with-red/pink-accents hat right now. It's sitting here on the chair arm right next to me. I really love it, but I don't think they are "my" colors. So, it will go into the Gift or To Sell pile.


I got 19 pints of Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Applesauce processed yesterday, and that felt good to get done. I really enjoy "putting up". There's such a sense of satisfaction that comes from it. ESPECIALLY when the food is free, save your time. I can't imagine NOT doing something with it! Now I'm on to an attempt at hard cider . . . but I don't have a cider press (nor a juicer). I'm going to put it thru a meat grinder in the hopes of squeezing enough liquid out that way. And, if that fails, no worries: more applesauce! :) (I put the applesauce in such small containers because they will be Christmas presents for the babies / parents-of-babies I know. And, the last thing you want is for something to spoil before it gets used up!)