It's a snowy day at the farmette. Started with rain yesterday, which turned into the white stuff over night.
Mid-November is about the time I start with my winter chores. I dug out the white board with which I measure the depth of snow that lands on the farmette yard. I plant a reflector stick so I can find it under the feet (!) of accumulation we sometimes get. I do both daily (on the board, which gets cleared off and lifted on top of the bank) and cumulative measurements (off the board) as part of my citizen scientist stint with CoCoRahs. People all over North America participate, and the results are used by all manner of researchers and climatologists.
So, early mornings after feeding Bea, Lilly and Hobbes (of course - the felines are the priorities, after all), I trudge out to the back yard, shod with wellies, bundled up in my red coat, and armed with a flashlight so I can find and bring in my snow barrel.
Then, it's a matter of measuring warm tap water, adding it to the white stuff and then measuring again. The difference between the two is how much melted snow has fallen in the past 24 hours. Then I dutifully record the results of all the measuring online.
My other chore is keeping the bird feeders topped up. This morning, the mourning doves were hogging the eatery. We have already had cardinal sightings, and the chickadees are around in full force.
Yesterday, the damn blue jays were doing their worst - using their beaks to throw everything except sunflower seeds all over the ground. Mind you, the wee juncos like to eat off the snow. They actually scratch through the banks in the dead of winter to get to the tiny morsels of food.
I did some garden clean-up on Friday afternoon, when it was still warm(ish).
My hydrangeas have all gone that beautiful sepia colour, and I was going to chop them all back, but decided against it. They do look pretty spectacular, and much better than hacked off stalks.
Winter interest - yes, that's what I'll call it. Like the gardeners on TV. I couldn't help myself, though - had to bring some of that interest into the house to perk up the interior scenery.
I think it's going to be a kind of lazy Sunday. Yay. I just started a new book, and I could use the rest ahead of a fairly hectic week. Until next time.