Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Sunshine . . . And Cold!

Woke to our coldest temp so far this winter . . . -4° with a slight wind.  Both Papa Pea and I went out to do morning chores with heavy gloves on, but even those were not sufficient to keep our fingers from getting unpleasantly tingly and then numb.  Choppers should have been the handwear of the morning.

But, lo and behold, we have sunshine!  Took a while for us to figure out what that golden glow was peeking at us through the eastern tree line. 

Back inside with breakfast and dishes done, I was kina shocked to see how appalling different the interior of the house looked with sun streaming in the windows.

Holy moley, will ya look at the dust on all the surfaces.  There must be a quarter cup of crumbs on the counter to the side of the toaster.  Where did that cloudy film on the living room mirror come from?  And the windows!  Granted, we washed the outside of the windows this spring, but somehow (read:  Procrastination) they didn't get done this fall.  Oh, my.  I cannot believe how dirty they look with the sun (making an attempt at) shining through.  Eek, if I could, I'd grab a step ladder and go outside to wash them.

I absolutely had to sweep the kitchen floor before I did anything else.  Usually my preference is to get out the vac and do the whole house, but this morning I opted for a quick swipe with the broom.


WHERE did all that stuff come from?  And what IS it??  Better if I had vacuumed.  Then I wouldn't have known just how much grit and grime we had been traipsing through.


A bit of the debris swept up was pine needles.  I don't know what's with our little tree this year.  I know the gal who has the Christmas tree farm and brings fresh-cut trees into town to sell.  I met her of a morning just as she was unloading trees she had been cut the day before, our tree being one of them.  It's standing in plenty of water since we put it up, but it's shedding needles so fast that any ornament with a little bit of weight to it is sliding off the branch taking all the needles with it.  Sigh.  (How long until I can take this quickly balding tree down?)

* * * * * * * *

Here are a couple of pictures taken while rounding up the birds late yesterday afternoon.


The geese are the first ones, the ducks second, to come into the "commons" area where they get some food and fresh water to tide them over until morning.  I see by this picture, though, that a couple of brave Muscovies must have pushed ahead in line and wandered in with the geese.  This time of year we go out right about 4 p.m. to put the birds away.  The chickens are never as eager to spend as much time out and about during the day as the ducks and geese.  And they're almost always tucked up on their roosts in their house for the night when we go out.


Nom-nom-nom, good stuff!    

* * * * * * * *

We have both the wood stove in the kitchen and the one in the living room perking away this morning, the sun is still shining and the outside temp reads 2.8 above zero now at mid-morning.  'Tis a good day for doing some cleaning inside!

26 comments:

DFW said...

Mama Pea, I think dust is a growing mechanism. If you never went outside again, it would still multiply. We get lots of crumbs by the toaster, seemingly, even when we don't use it. I think it has a mind of it's own & just spits those crumbs out at random. Can't understand those very cold temps at all. Wouldn't mind a few 30 - 40 degree days but just above freezing ... no way Jose.

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

I've found locally here the Christmas (pines)tree's are old or have been targeted by a bug. They don't seem to last that long. Hopefully your tree will last through Christmas for you and your family.

Stay warm dear friend, and don't do too much cleaning :-)
Hugs,
Sandy

Nancy In Boise said...

That's cold. We're getting good 1 digit cold this weekend. Brrrr

Sue said...

Hahahhaa-I love that last photo caption.

I vacuum EVERY Monday. Thursday I do a "swiffer" through the house. The amount of dust is incredible. I've NEVER seen such a house. I hate to think where all that comes from..........

Charade said...

Had to look up Chopper mitts... looks like I need to order some of those things real quick! That polar vortex is threatening us in mid-Missouri, and we always have more work to do outside. BTW, I've always been told that if you ignore the dust, it will ignore you. Sadly, that doesn't apply to that thin film of ash that covers everything once the wood stove runs day and night.

Anonymous said...

Brrrrr... I won't tell you the temps here in Oregon. You'd never forgive me. And I think of you every single time I use my pot holders.

Mama Pea said...

DFW - Kinda scary to think of dust as a growing mechanism! But it sure doesn't take much to encourage it to multiply!! When I went out to do noon time chores today and was giving everyone fresh water, it was still so cold my choppers froze to the pail or pail handle a couple of times. Enjoy your "banana belt" weather.

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - You'll be proud of me. I didn't do any cleaning today. I did some knitting for Christmas and finished the piece I was working on!! Yay!

Mama Pea said...

LHinB - Well, you're going to be nearly as cold as us come this weekend! Dress warmly if you have to be outside. And install that little wood stove in the chicken house for your cluckers! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Sue - You know, I do believe there are houses that get dirtier than others. Really! Before we finally located this piece of property, we rented an upper apartment in a house that stayed so clean I couldn't believe it. And get this . . . the whole house was heated with wood!

Mama Pea said...

Charade - Thanks for commenting! Yeah, I've tried that thing about ignoring the dust. Works until the dust bunnies start grabbing your ankles as you walk by. And although I don't allow anyone else but me to clean out the ashes of our wood stoves, there's no doubt about the fact that the house gets generally "dirtier" during the winter wood heating season than in the summer. But that warmth from wood heat is like no other form of heating fuel.

Mama Pea said...

Ruth - So good to hear from you! So I suppose you still have gardening weather? (Hee-hee.)

You know, I'm always eager and willing to make you a new pair of pot holders. All you have to do is let me know you're ready for some!

Laurie said...

Ugh! Housework! I've just recently come to the conclusion that I need to wear my glasses when I clean. HaHa!

My Christmas tree is doing the same thing. I feel like just parking the vacuum beside it.

Sarah said...

Go you! This cold has me wanting to hunker down and read a book while drinking tea. My daughter (a special needs child) has a field trip tomorrow where the kids get to go shopping for Christmas presents and then they're walking a block (several kids in wheel chairs included) to McDonalds. I got down her super warm stuff tonight but I'm so no happy that they're traipsing around in the cold! I offered to keep her home and take her on her own shopping excursion but buying the gifts without us makes her feel more independent. Grrr! :)

Susan said...

Chopper mitts! Who knew? On my must-have list. We are headed in your direction, temps-wise, starting tonight. Brrr.

Mama Pea said...

Laurie - Having the sunshine stream in was like wearing glasses when you can't see without them!

I find I'm not only making sure I don't brush the Christmas tree when I walk by it (about 200 times a day), but I'm also walking softly so as to not jar it!!

Mama Pea said...

Sarah - The excitement of the outing will keep your dear daughter warm on their outing. It's important to let kids do things without a parent . . . they thrive in that situation, but we don't do much other than worry! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Susan - My choppers are leather and I actually had them stuck tight to either a pail or pail handle twice yesterday while giving the critters fresh water. Kind of a funny feeling. (But better the choppers than my tongue, eh?)

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Brrrr! So funny about the dust, etc. I know it's time to make an extra run of the vacuum or dust mop when the cat goes behind the couch or under the bed and comes out with dust bunnies stuck in his whiskers! :D

Sherry said...

It's cold here also and doesn't take long for me to get the chores done and back in the house....Brrrr. The needles are falling from my tree also, think it is happening all over. I love your pics, keep warm..

Sandy Livesay said...

Wooohoooo!!!! And I bet you felt really good taking time to do something other than cleaning :-)
I know they're times I feel real good walking away from cleaning just to do something I want to do.

Mama Pea said...

Jean - Thanks for commenting! Or when the dog sneezes and a cloud surrounds him like in the Peanuts cartoon character Pig Pen. I cleaned under our bed a couple of weeks ago and was . . . ashamed? Amazed? Dumbfounded? If your cat had gone under there, he wouldn't have come out alive! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Sherry - I know just what you mean about quickie chores. You do what has to be done to insure the animals are fed, watered and happy, but you just don't spend much time standing and looking around, do you? :o]

Goatldi said...

Dust is almost another family member here. And the dust bunnies are enlarge especially in a log house with wood floors. I have developed an adversion to putting on my glasses not for the weak of heart. But with 3 inches of rain in less than 24 hrs we may have it beat for now.

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - And *I* learn to do that more often! Amen. ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Goatldi - Good gracious, 3" of rain in less than 24 hours. Just think if that had been snow! (You'd still be shoveling.)

You've given me the idea that we should start naming our dust bunnies (members of the family and all -- too funny). I have a friend who is nearly blind, but not quite, without her glasses on and when her house gets to the "too dirty to tolerate" point, she takes off her glasses 'cause then she hardly notices the debris!