Well, that's odd...

So, on February 28th my blog got 300 views in one day. This is not a 300 view type of blog. I have 12 followers (thank you to every one of them!) and most of the folks who look at it are close friends or family members. Plus I didn't even do a post that day. So either I got really lucky with a post title (I'm thinking it might have been the conjunction of moon, venus, mars) or something really weird happened. Whatever the cause, if you're new here, welcome. If you've been following along for a while, thanks for staying around.

Anyway, here's what's happening. We're healthy again! But the planer broke (or rather the drive gear for the feed chain did) so we're in wait mode until the new part arrives. That means we're not planing wood for the stairs/wall and we've got some free time on our hands. Always nice to have free time.

We made bird seed ornaments using this recipe. Worked really well and the birds are sort of eating them. We also have sunflower seeds out, so that may be why they're being a bit slow to consume these. I also used some donut lard to make some suet feeders. The woodpeckers love them.

Hanging a birdseed ornament

We've been snowshoeing (gotta do something to enjoy all the snow we've got). Some days have been wonderfully sunny so we're getting out as much as possible.

Could not see the camera screen at all

But the snow is wicked deep. We've got trails established so it doesn't look too bad, does it? But if you step off the trail at all, you sink up to your upper thigh. Makes it really interesting to get back onto the trail. I picked a couple of trees that we're going to use to figure out just how much snow we have. This one had a branch that exactly sat on top of my head. We'll see how tall the branch is once all the snow melts.

Marking the depth with a tree branch

I had this really fun idea - this summer we're going to mark feet & inches on a small beech tree near our trail. That way we'll be able to see how deep the snow is as it accumulates all winter. I think it'll be really fun.

Streams are starting to show again

This little oak sapling has been severely nibbled by deer. Usually it's at least waist high but now it's barely sticking out of the snow.

Need a picture of this in summer too

The streams are starting to melt and are becoming visible again. They flow all winter but usually freeze over and get covered by snow. I doubt we'll be crossing over this one much longer.

Big foot!

The fire starters that I attempted to make were duds. They burned, but too quickly and the wood stove smelled like candles. A good try but ultimately not worth the effort.

The planer part should be coming this week and we'll be back to working on house projects soon. March is a great month as it really feels like winter is over (despite all the snow). It's my turning point for the Winter/Spring seasons and I always feel energized by it. Hope you're feeling up too!