Adventures in Farmland

Last weekend my father-in-law (Pops) was out of town. When he goes out, we usually take care of the animals he has on his property (aka- 'the farm'). As a city girl, I am fascinated with all the "farm stuff". I love watching the vegetables get bigger and the flowers bloom. I really love the animals though. Last summer, Pops decided to raise chickens. So he built a coop and got about 6 chickens to lay eggs for food. We call them "the girls".

Anyway, while Pops was out of town, we watched after the chickens. It wasn't difficult as winter tends to make chickens stay indoors. All I had to do was go to the farm and make sure they were still alive and gather the eggs they had laid. I felt so wholesome...very "Little House"!!

The girls were safe in their coop. In order to keep in the heat, there is thick, plastic sheeting over the doors. This makes for blurry pictures, but I don't think the chickens mind!! Here is one of the girls on the roosting pole.

Once the chickens heard me coming, they began to squawk and came over to the door looking for some handouts. The girls have quickly discovered that humans mean food. Here they are begging for treats (they didn't get any as I was fresh out of grubs and bugs).

here are the fresh eggs!!

this is the girls' home (coop). It's the fanciest one I have ever seen (ok, i've only seen two, but this is definitely the best!)

An Open Window...

I know I have previously written about sunshine in Indiana, but we just can't get enough this time of year! You cannot truly appreciate no sunshine for months unless you live in the Midwest....or Alaska! The sun is liquid gold....mothers send their kids out to play when the sun is out, no matter the temperature....our pale, sunless skin gets burned within seconds, but no one complains! Everyone is so happy and friendly. 

Today is a banner day weather-wise. The temperature is currently 55 , sunny, and we have the windows open....yes, that's right...the windows are open in February!!  



The minute I open the window, the cat smashes her face against the screen and just breathes in the fresh air. She will sit here for the next three hours and never budge!!




Here is the dog...living in mortal dread that the cat is getting more attention than he. Charlie will also be in this same spot for the next three hours watching the cat...




Almost all the snow is gone and now comes the mud!!




I just opened another window.....



The boy is napping in the sunshine...oops, he's been there for over 30 seconds...time for the SPF 150!!

Sunshine

Here in Indiana, the winter can be very cold and grey. Even the sun likes to hide from us. One of the local weathermen calls the winter sky a "permacloud". I find this title very fitting for the complete grey-ness of the season!!

However, Friday we got some sunshine (finally). Our cat, Ozzy, spent the whole afternoon chasing the one ray of sun that came through our window. She slept, stretched out, and bathed in the sun, completely enjoying herself.

The permacloud is now back today...along with more snow!! Ah well, we will always have the memories of Friday afternoon.....

Snowpocalyse.....sort of

inSo the weathermen here in Northern Indiana were shouting in the streets about a system moving into our area. This system was to bring not 1 or 2 inches of snow, not 8 or 9 inches, but almost 24 inches!! The weather people were oozing with glee!! Kids everywhere were praying for school closings. Adults were buying up eggs and milk like it was going out of style!! People were stock piling flashlights and candles, flamethrowers and machine guns....the "storm of the century" was upon us!

here is what the outside looked like before the storm hit

this is during the storm- you can't see how crazy the wind was though

outside after the storm (picture taken by micah)

after the final shoveling (picture taken by micah)

Was it the "storm of the century"? Not by a long shot.....but it was fun watching the 6 or so total inches of snow fall. The VerHage family just sat by the window and watched it all happening while eating homemade soup. We are hoosiers and snow don't scare us! My family called me the morning after to see if we were completely covered in snow. My grandma couldn't rest until she knew we had enough blankets and heat!! So for now we close the book on the "storm of the century"....but we still have 89 years to use that title.

cabin fever

Here is an article I found about cabin fever.....I thought it could brighten our hermitical Indiana winter!!

Cabin Fever: diagnosis and prognosis

By Bruce Watson

Published on January 25, 2008

For generations now, the Merck Manual has been giving sick people the lowdown on disease. From tumors and cysts to disorders of the glands, intestines, and other fun parts of the body, Merck is the final word on illness. So this time of year, it should come as no surprise that Merck has added a new malady to its manual.
Cabin Fever:
Cabin Fever is an acute disease that strikes those who have been inside their homes for what seems like seven years due to a) more snow than will fall this year on Buffalo; b) icy snowy sleety freezy liquid gunk spewing from the sky every other day for seven weeks; or c) a general tendency to, as one victim's wife noted, "just sit on his big fat rear each winter ever since I've known him."
Symptoms
Cabin Fever can produce three sets of symptoms. The first are behavioral disorders. These include throwing small objects at young children, climbing vertical walls, and gazing out at falling snow, saying "Ft. Lauderdale" over and over.
The second set of symptoms is cognitive. Cabin fever victims can suffer delusions ranging from thinking Jessica Simpson is talented to believing winter will never ever ever end. In severe cases, Cabin Fever sufferers may even doubt global warming is a reality or may start rooting for it.
The third set of symptoms is physical. These include gaining weight, a skin pallor that whitens until the victim is the color of skim milk, gaining more weight, inability to see or imagine the color green, and gaining (WHOA - CHECK OUT THE PORKER!) waaaaay more weight.
Complications
Complications to Cabin Fever set in when the sufferer is unable to step outside for more than 10 weeks. Complications can take several forms. The Cabin Fever sufferer may find himself stuck to the sofa. He may sit for hours watching reruns of "Seinfeld," "Happy Days," or even "My Favorite Martian." He might get out old photo albums and rearrange them. He might stick his head in the fire.
Diagnosis
Doctors may at first have difficulty distinguishing Cabin Fever from Couch Potato Disease or everyday TV addiction. The best test for Cabin Fever is to sneak up behind the patient while holding the New York Times Travel section. Timing is essential. When the patient least expects it, come around his left shoulder holding a photo of palm trees on a white sand beach. Then shout: "5 Days, 4 Nights only $1599!" If the patient either a) whips out his credit card or b) burst into tears, he/she is surely suffering from cabin fever.
Prevention
Wise up! Live somewhere where it doesn't snow 30 times a winter, where the January sky is occasionally blue, where kids go to school more than four days a week in winter, where weather cannot be clinically diagnosed as insane.
Prognosis and Treatment
Prognosis for Cabin Fever sufferers varies widely. Some can shake off the symptoms within a week by simply stepping outside, getting in their cars, and driving 1,000 miles due south. Others are able to ward off symptoms by booking memberships in health clubs where they ride stationary bicycles at breakneck speeds alongside other sweaty sufferers with skin the color of skim milk. Some try sun lamps and other artificial lighting but these usually just give the Cabin Fever sufferer better reading light.
Severe sufferers require more drastic treatments. These include the sudden, unexplainable death and must-attend funeral of a distant aunt in Scottsdale, Arizona; a spur-of-the-moment business conference in Key West; or succumbing to the chronic urge to buy two tickets to the Virgin Islands and never come back.

View from my window

This is my Indiana. I took this picture from my kitchen window, but it was so cold and grey looking, much like the weather. The view needed some warmth... so I added it in Picasa (if only we could do that in "real life"). Now my view looks more as I would like it to be!