It was 10º F this morning at 7 am, but the hens were eager to be out and about. Especially Twiggy.

My schedule, in the next few months, is busy.

On February 15, I’m looking forward to a cozy afternoon, sitting around the pellet stove at Cluck! in Providence, RI, and chatting about backyard chickens. The following weekend I’ll be at my local Agway in Chelmsford, MA, to talk about chick care. Later in the month I’ll be at the Concord Integrated Preschool’s book fair. Come and say hello to Veronica and buy a copy of Tillie Lays an Egg.  In March I’ll be at bookstores in Concord, MA and Milford, NH to talk about my new title, The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook. Also in March, I’ll be doing a Chicken Keeping Talk at the Newbury, NH library. Details about these programs are on my Upcoming Events page. More programs are scheduled all the way into summer, so take a look and check back often.

The schedule is busy, but not full. There’s still time to engage me for a school visit (details here) or a chicken keeping program.

I hope to see you soon!

The other day the weather warmed, the snow melted, and one could see the ground. The Goat Maid thought that it would be a good day for the goats to have an outing. They agreed. The goat boys made a beeline to the rose bushes, which they helpfully cleaned of wilted leaves.

The Goat Maid left them to their task to do some chores of her own inside of the barn.

It is not okay for the Goat Maid to leave her goats.

Pip and Caper waited…

…and waited for the Goat Maid to return.

Which she did, of course. She was quite flattered that they love her more than roses.

After weeks of bitter cold temperatures, we had a January thaw. Then it rained. Then it froze overnight. Early in the morning, I was sitting at my desk, drinking coffee and writing, and looking out the window. I saw shadowy movements. I saw strange, glistening fog. The sun rose and hit the icy trunks of the maples in the front yard, and it looked like the trees were steaming. This lasted for only a half-hour, and then the conditions changed yet again. Keep your eyes open. Remarkable moments are all around us.

I often use Facebook as a place to put up quick picks of the animals that don’t make it onto my blog. This one went up this morning, and it is so ridiculously cute that I didn’t want my regular blog readers, who don’t do FB, to miss it. Because, really, even those of us who don’t consider ourselves little dog people, can’t help but smile at this small dog.

If you are on FaceBook, but don’t yet follow my site, please do. You don’t want to miss another Scooter photograph. Find me here.