The first fire of the season

There's something awesome about cleaning out the stove, checking the flue, and bringing in the first batch of firewood isn't there? I realize some parts of the country have been in a cold snap for a few weeks, but it's just now getting to that point here. We've been under a fog and drizzle since Sunday so that's kept the temps down. I noticed the house was chilly around noon today and realized it was reading 62' in here so I began the ritual of starting that first fire. There's a pot of water on the stove, a pile of hedge for the evening, casserole in the oven, a loaf of hard sourdough ready, and the whole house has been cleaned. I may even make a pot of hazelnut coffee for Ed when he gets home.

Vincent and I found the three kittens that Precious had a while back. I hadn't seen them so I figured she'd abandoned them. When I went to make some room in the back of the yellow barn for a load of wood I'm in the process of cutting I heard them. With this group, we got to them just in time - their eyes are open but they aren't able to run yet (still shakey when walking) so even though they hissed like mountain lions we were able to win them over by sitting with them calmly and petting them for about an hour. Precious came in and realized we'd found them and just laid right down next to me. We never found the last little until they were scampering all over and those little guys still won't come to a human, even one sitting next to a plate of tuna!

I found another egg this morning! The buff hen is laying and it's the most beautiful shade of blue/green - much bluer than the other hen's but still in the green range and considerably larger than the other gals. I noticed her in a corner of the coop when I opened it this morning to let them out and then I found her in the garage a while later sitting on the egg. She promptly stood up and began eating Jack's dogfood. Hopefully the remaining hens will start soon!