Morning on January 1st, 2011

Some glimpses of the homestead during the first morning of 2011:

Things are good.  We have electricity and plenty of firewood, broadband internet and functioning hot water, healthy animals and enough stored food.  We humans are healthy enough.

Items:

• Huge slabs of ice and snow have been falling off the roof.  Ka-THUD! as the temperature warms to the freezing point of water.  We had this new roof put on last summer, a fine metal thing, red and grooved.  It is warmer in the house than it once was.
• Goats and chicken are pleased to receive breakfast, as ever.  I brought them two scoops of food, plus a bucket of hot water, walking over clearly visible paths (trails of compressed snow, formed over repeated tromping).
• There is nothing we can do with growing things.  We did more planting than ever, last summer, which makes not doing it more present in our minds, now.  It's frustrating, like phantom limb.