Snow storm!

We were supposed to have a snowstorm last weekend, and while we did get some ice, we got barely any snow. That is not the case one weekend later. We need to go out and measure, but I would guess we've had close to 8 inches of snow? Here's what it looked like this morning after snowing for about 12 hours:

 

And here is a video of our sheep. We rarely do hay, but the snow forced our hand on this one. 

HORRIFICALLY FREEZING

JB and Elijah "Sidge" when to Nashville for a fun conference with Safari Club International. It's perfect timing because it's, like HORRIFICALLY FREEZING here. 

We do not get HORRIFICALLY FREEZING often here in Tennessee. And folks, I lived in Minnesota so I know the difference. But we do get anywhere from 7-24 days of brutal cold each year. Some years the cold is just a sprinkling here and there. However, anytime we get days strung upon days of HORRIFICALLY FREEZING, I really begin to second-guess the life we have chosen. 

There is not a hose on the farm that will run. Not a single faucet that will turn on. Not even the supposedly freeze-proof faucets. So, I'm back in the house, filling up buckets at my kitchen sink. The last time it got brutally cold like this was in December of 2022. John was working a ton, but Sidge was my right-hand man for dealing with brutal cold combined with HORRIFIC wind. I have this video of trying to prepare the farm the puppies for the outdoors. (We ultimately had to bring the puppies in because it was way too cold.) And I have this video of preparing the sheep for the brutal cold and birthing babies. 

Another really cold run was in January of 2019. 

And you can link back to our 2018 winter which I believe has been the second worst one we've ever had (after the 2022 -20 debacle!)

 

I keep thinking about this "new" life we have created on this farm. It is now a life I have lived for ten years. It is the longest I have lived anywhere since my childhood in South Florida. And yet, it still feels like I am a foreigner in these hills. It still feels like I don't belong here. And when it gets very hard, I still feel like I am tempted to regret the decision. It's a beautiful life. It's an intentional life. But it isn't easy. Yet, I think, is anything?

Winter is upon us!

Oh! The show is cancelled and that is a bummer! But being in a warm house with the fire going and the kids sledding, and your husband drinking tea ... these are the beautiful moments that life is made of.

Winter Wonderland

To say it is beautiful around here the last two days doesn't seem an adequate adjective. It is majestic. It is awe-inspiring. I honestly believe that we may never have another Christmas like it. For my parents and brother and his family to be here for such beauty is simply icing on the cake.

After about 4-5 inches of snow on Christmas Eve, Christmas brought very cold temperatures, but the kids still managed to snow. Christmas night was in the single digits! That's cold for this part of the country. And then today, the day after Christmas, the sun came out. Just a beautiful, bright, white beauty! Absolutely amazing. I got the following videos of some of the snow today:

 

 

These are just a few pictures and videos. I have a ton more I will share later but for now, one more day of beauty. It will probably melt away tomorrow!

We Bought a Farm: Pre-Snow Walk

We went from the 50's to teens nearly overnight. Here was my walk on the last "real day" of fall here at the Bauernhof.

What my Mama never taught me

My Mama never taught me about "spring cleaning." She never pulled out bins of winter gloves and hats for my brother and I to go through and figure out what fit us after a long year in bins in the attic. 

(We also lived in a mobile home so there wasn't an attic. I used that word for effect.) 

We never tried on coats. Snow pants. Boots. 

We didn't spend panicked days when the weather moved from Summer to Winter and skipped Fall trying to make sure we didn't freeze.

My Mama didn't teach me any of this. I had no idea that when I had children I would spend so much time trying to get my kids warm and not spend a fortune doing it.

My Mama didn't teach me because ...

I grew up in Fort Lauderdale. 

While I love the seasons and seeing the weather change, having to have two wardrobes (for each person!) is simply crazy. 

In Florida we simply pulled out our hoodies. 

Done.

Ready for winter!

My only consolation?

This isn't Minnesota. 

 

We Bought a Farm: What Cold Means to a Farmer

If there is one thing I dread most on our farm it is the days it goes below freezing and does not come up. Because this doesn't happen that often (5-10 days a year) we have chosen not to invest in the infrastructure to water our animals in this cold. Instead, we just bucket water to them and "get through it."

Today made me soooooo glad we no longer have pigs. Praise the Lord the piggies are gone. They were the worst of the water problem so to not have to bucket to them made things was easier. The chickens and ducks are pretty close to home right now, but, unfortunately, our sheep are about the farthest they can get from the house and our darned four-wheeler wouldn't run. (It goes in and out working frequently.) 

Here are some pictures from what 20 degrees means here in Tennessee: 

This duck egg was already quite frozen by the time we retrieved it this morning!

Check this out! Frozen duck egg.

Icicles

Snow pants for the kiddos and the doggies inside around these parts!

Ritter helping fill water buckets. :)

Icicles!

I thought I would share a "Wee-wind Wednesday" today and flashback to when I lived in Minnesota and I met a -29 degree day. You can read that post here. 

 

We Bought a Farm: Wonderful Winter

 "I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again." Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

It was supposed to RAIN all day. No SNOW forecasted. Only it's a tad colder than they thought it would be and so we are getting snow. Lots and lots of thick, beautiful, flakes of snow.

Videos don't do it justice, but we tried:

And then Moana decided to model in front of the window the snow outside -- again, pictures don't cut it -- but I do love showing my cutie pie. 

In this first picture Hannah is wondering if I can "see" the invisible straps that hold up her top. "Can you see them Mama? Does it look like I don't have anything holding it on?"

And this picture below captures the faces Hannah gives us when she gets a little punchy/spunky/silly/funny:

We Bought a Farm: Ohhhhh the Mud!!!!

 "You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it." Denzel Washington

Oh the mudddddddd!!!! It has been raining and raining here on the farm lately. Now, the rain has mostly stopped, butthe entire farm is covered in mud. Our friends are in town (Becky and her boys! Pictures to come!) and so we wanted to be outside. 

As soon as the rain stopped, all the kids headed outside. My kids have found a new spot in the woods that they have named "New Zealand." They are building a fort and climbing rocks and walking through the tiny creek. 

Unfortunately, the kids traipsed through the creek and got water everywhere. And once your boots are wet, you are sort of "up a creek." The kids were going through multiple pairs of boots and as a last resort, I made a huge pile and pointed a fan on them overnight to try and dry them out!

Poor Sidge went to go and feed the chickens. He was soooo frustrated. He fell three times in the mud. We move our animals continually, but when rain starts, you can't move the egg-mobile which means we are stuck in mud. The third time he fell, he dropped the egg bucket and half the eggs and just lost his emotions. Rain and mud will really wear you down!

 

We Bought a Farm: When it is 71 on December 31

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." Albert Camus

Today was the day before the world welcomed 2019. And one of the reasons I am so blessed to be celebrating this day in Tennessee is that winter can give you so many reprieves among these here parts. While some years we can be in the teens, today we celebrated at 71 degrees! Yes! 71!

So what do you do when it is 71?!

Well you eat your lunch outside by golly! (That's my friend Kelsey there with the kiddos!)

And you pull over when you see your neighbors sitting outside and  climb their tree!

And you climb up on Mr. Billy's lap and you laugh when your Mama asks him to smile and he says, "I can't here because I ain't got no teeth."

And of course you go out on the swings without any shoes on because it's summer in the winter!

 

Beeee-utiful day in the snow

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; was me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

We were supposed to read for the advent today at church. But a pretty bad snow/ice storm rolled in overnight. Many churches were cancelled, but being as our's is in the city, they still held services. However, all the country folk don't attempt roads out here. In Tennessee, they don't invest in a lot of road care so it will shut towns down. 

It was so great that JB was off today. We had NOTHING on the calendar. We had no one here with us. (Anni was supposed to come and had to cancel due to weather. That bummed us out.) But mannnn, what a great family day we had from the warmth of our house.

Enjoy some of these photos (and videos) of the wintry white Bauernhof. 

I just LOVE this photo with our snowman behind it. One of my new favorites.

So pretty!

The electric line caring quite a bit of snow and ice.

Our sheep hanging tough!

Our solar panel to electrify sheep fence with quite a bit of snow on it

We Bought a Farm: Tricky Weather

March is always a tricky month. I've always known it, but when you farm, you become SO much more aware of the weather. So much of what we do here is dependent on the weather. Too much cold. Too much hot. Too much rain. Not enough rain. It all affects what you are doing day in and day out. 

Throughout February and the beginning of March, we've had a lot of Spring-like days, and even some Summer-like days. We get outside and do warm-weather stuff. We start believing that winter is over, and we start looking through the closets for our shorts. 

And then a few days later, it's freezing again. 

(It's also been really, really rainy here which doesn't help either.)

(It's funny that thing called RAIN. You need it quite badly on a farm. But you don't really like too much of it either. We farmers are so picky.)

Take a look at these beautiful and not-so-cold day photos:

Photo courtesy of friend Anni

And then today we had a beautiful and big snowfall. It didn't stick, but just comes to show you that the saying about the month of March is correct: "In like a lion and out like a lamb!"

We Bought a Farm: Baby it's cold outside!

Well, I heard it was a record in these parts ... early in January we dropped below freezing and stayed there for an entire week.

Now that isn't any big deal for people in Minnesota who are used to it. I mean, I lived there for four years, and it could go weeks without getting above freezing.

But around here, we aren't used to it. And even worse is the fact that our farm isn't equipped for it. It doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on preparing for this cold when it happens so rarely.

Anyways, that week passed, and we actually found ourselves in the 60's. It felt so hot we were working the fields in our tank tops, and at one point, the girls actually stripped down to their boots and underwear while helping me move the sheep.

And then, the cold came back!!! We are down in the single digits again, but this time, with the cold, we got some of the white stuff. So funnnnnnnn to actually have some snow if it is going to be that cold.

The kids actually went out sledding two times today. I dried all their clothes, they warmed up, and then they went out again. At one point, the four of them were out there by themselves just going up and down over and over again. I realized, it has been a decade of John or I having to be present for anything our kids did. And suddenly, they are getting old enough to do things themselves.

Sidge started crying two times today -- sad that the sledding may be over for the year. Firstly, we could very well have enough snow to sled tomorrow again. Secondly, I tried to explain to him how lucky he is! John and I grew up without snow. And many kids grow up without a good hill to sled on. How amazing to just walk outside of their house and SLED!!! That resonated with him.

We came inside to have dinner, and met a new WWOOFer. Sicong has joined us for a two week stint. I was planning on not hosting anyone for a few months, but when he contacted me, it was the perfect timing with a busy ballet season upon us.

After dinner, Grama made snow ice cream with the kids. Boy did they love that. And it was pretty good!!!!

Here are a couple of videos I took of our cold but fun-filled day!

Spring is here!

Yesterday was the first day of Spring! It is the first time that I, as a parent, have experienced winter, and I have to say I am really ready for Spring to arrive. 

(Of course, winter in Tennessee still doesn't hold a candle to the four years we experienced in Minnesota! In Minnesota, the first day of spring really meant very little since we once had a foot of snow in M-A-Y!)

If you have followed my blog for awhile you know that I buy almost all of my kids clothes and shoes secondhand. Unless we are in a bind (i.e. need something immediately that I didn't plan ahead for) we try with about 90% success to buy everything second hand. So imagine my excitement when I found a lady on Varage sale selling these little girl dresses -- size 2T and 4T for just $5 each! I jumped on that deal. And here we are before church showing them off:

Hannah is starting to cooperate for photos a bit!

The best picture of all 4. Not too bad!

I had to include this photo to demonstrate Abigail's new posing (even though Hannah is a bit blurry.)

Day Three of Snowed In

We are snowed in for the third day in a row. There isn't a ton of snow, but coupled with the ice, driving isn't really advisable.

And driving when you have to try and lug around your four small children is even less advisable. (I don't think in that case it would be the driving that would be dangerous but the managing to walk them in and out of locations that could be you-tube video worthy in possible laughter that could ensue.)

The down part of this snowed in experience (of which I never faced even while living in Minnesota for four years) is that JB had to work all three days. While most businesses are closed, I have become very aware that the Emergency Room never closes. 

We had previously decided that three days in a row for him to work is a lot no matter which way you cut it. It is 36 hours in 3 days -- which is what a full-time job is in five days. He is exhausted. And he barely gets to see the kids at all as he has to leave around 6am and doesn't get home until close to 8pm.

But when you are stuck in the house for three days in a row, not having Daddy there for three straight FULL days is even more of a bummer. The kids have played some in the backyard, but I can't really get out there with them as taking Hannah out in the slick yard is really more than I feel I can bite off. (It's one thing to help three kids get all their winter stuff on and off. But add yourself and a baby to that, and I know my limits.)

So what have we been doing for the last three days? Well our normal schoolwork. We've played a lot of board games and read a lot of books and watched some movies too. Grama K. was supposed to return from Florida on Tuesday, but she got snowed out. So it is really just me and my four kids and my big dog and a nice warm house with no ability to leave it.

I'm also training for a spring triathlon. Yesterday I had to figure out how to get a 20 minute run and 20 minute weight session in with no ability to get to the gym. I opted for the stairs in our house. 20 minutes of those will kick your tail! But I am most likely going to miss my swim session today. There's just no way to get there right now!

I really thought that I was a "lay low" gal. And I think I am. But I realized that our few little jaunts out of the house actually do make a difference for me. This week I had planned to meet my friend Stebbs and her boys in Birmingham for a day at a Science Center. We had to cancel that. Isaac's speech lesson was cancelled. Our music class was cancelled. I would have definitely made a trip to the library and grocery store. We need hair cuts. All those little things that make 14 hours of solo mom time a day a little less long.

Bring on another day of long folks.

Day three commences now!

Hunkered Down

Like many people across the country -- especially in the south -- we got word that a winter storm was coming our way. We watched as all the birds, obviously knowing it was coming, went crazy eating out of our bird feeder. 

On Monday morning, I got up at 5am. (This is the time I go out to train for my triathlon -- it gives me about 90 minutes before JB has to leave for work.) This particular morning, I headed outside thinking that the storm hadn't hit yet. But in fact it had. There was tons of ice that I couldn't see in the dark. Once it got light, I took this picture. This is from our front door. But because I didn't see the ice, I fell off this porch at 5 in the morning. (And thus opted to forgo my workout.) I bruised my hand, my knee, my toes, and slightly twisted my calf and knee. Sigh ...

Here is a photo of the start of the ice storm. You can see our rugs completely under ice. And that yogurt cup I threw Scrubs some food in the other day -- stuck solid.

Icy yard.

Icy bird feeder:

We got about 1/2 inch of ice, then a ton of snow, and then the ice came back again. This was the first time since our life in Minnesota that I was completely "snowed in." No way in the world to go out with all my kiddos. Most businesses were closed. Most doctors offices were closed. But my dear husband works at an ER. Translation? Not closed. Not ever. Not only did I fly solo on Monday, but this ice storm caused me to have to cancel a trip to meet my friend Stebbs halfway between our houses tomorrow. And JB will have to work tomorrow too!

First snow

Our boys have seen snow. When we lived in Turkey, though it was very warm, you could drive just four hours and be up the mountain in snow!

The three oldest also saw snow when Abigail was a baby and we got stuck overnight in D.C. one time. We also experienced a winter storm on the islands (but that didn't include snow.)

But Abigail doesn't remember, and last week was the very first time that all four of my kiddos were able to see snow at the same time. It was a cold week in Tennessee (apparently about 30 degrees colder than usual for November.)

Actually, let's be real. You can't really call what we saw snow. In principle, it was snow. But it didn't accumulate, didn't even really stick anywhere. The little girl behind us managed to scoop up enough to make a miniature snowman on the banister. But generally speaking, the word snow was a stretch.

But it was still fun to gather in front of the glass and watch it accumulate.

Of course, JB and I spent four years in Minnesota. Snow means very little to us. And cold is not what people here have been saying it is. Until you see a foot of snow and experience forty below, you are doing just fine!