It's Getting Cold Outside!

Today is the last day of November...It's getting colder, but there is still no snow. I have been working on never ending projects for school every day this week- but, because it is the last day of November, there is an end in sight!

Two interesting things to share- One, I made pasta by hand for the first time. It was not difficult, it just required a good amount of time and work. I'll do it again someday.... 
   I made the spinach pasta out of the Enchanted Broccoli Forest Cookbook by Molly Katzen

 

Can't forget the meatballs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minor snowsqual happening as we approach

Also, last weekend we finally did a decent hike. We did Tumbledown, one of my favorites. Of course we chose the coldest day in over 2 weeks...

going up...

You hike all this way, feel like you must almost be there, and then are faced with this...

For anyone that is familiar with the mountain, we took the loop trail- which is just slightly shorter to the top, but a whole lot steeper- and plus, there is this cave/rock tunnel thing ( Fat Mans Misery) that you must climb/crawl through to get to the top. It's fine for humans...but we took the dog!  The combination of the height of the thing, plus all of the ice made it nearly impossible to get him through, but on the third try, he made it. We won't ever go up the mountain via that trail with the dog again though!

little ice on the trail...

approaching fat mans misery

 

Ahhh the top!

trail...

We brought lunch for the top, but it was too cold and windy to sit and eat- so we hightailed it down the brook trail and headed home.

tumbledown pond

Losing and Gaining Chickens

     I'll make this post quite short- last week was a sad week in our small flock of chickens. Ginger, the buff orpington, was in the "chicken infirmary" and did not pull through. I suspect it was Marek's. Two days later, I went out to the coop in the morning to let everyone out, and found Cyrus the rooster dead on the floor. This was very unexpected. Although these things are sad and upsetting, both Joe and I have come to some understanding that these things happen with chickens. We respect our little flock, and they deserve to have us put in a good honest effort to healing them if the get sick, but this time it didn't work.

  On a happier note, My second cousin, who lives down the road, and also has chickens, just happened to have an extra rooster. We picked him up last night after dark, and as far as I can tell, things are going great. He crowed first thing ( something poor Cyrus never did) and knows how to treat the ladies. He is also quite handsome. Here's to hoping everyone else stays alive and healthy!

Racing Stripe, who is supposed to be an easter egger, laid this beauty!

Chickens invade!

November Rain....or Snow....

 

Hurricane Sandy mostly left us alone- we got some heavy rain, and A beautiful rainbow in the backyard in the middle of it all.

 

 

 

 

The first real snow fell yesterday, thank you nor'easter- we got about an inch and a half. It couldn't be enjoyed though, because for the rest of the day is just rained this awful cold, windswept rain.  Someone said there is an old saying about this- something along the lines of "when the first snow is melted by rain all the rest will be the same..." Let's hope this is not true!

The Cabin

We did finally make it up to Monson. We stayed a night in the cabin, drove around through Bodfish Valley, Shirley, Blanchard and Abbot, Visited John and Donna, and ate breakfast in Greenville at Kelly's Landing.  It was a good visit. We say a few through hikers in Bodfish Valley- just off of Barren Mountain- I wouldn't like to be on the AT at this time of year.....

Barren Mountain

Japanese Larch Plantation- Bob Young Road-(plum creek owned)



Shirley Pond, Shirley, Maine



Moosehead Lake



Monson, Maine

Monster egg! It was a double yoker.