Thelma and Louise are here....

No pictures yet, but our two turkeys arrived yesterday. They are out in the big pasture with the new geese-- Squanto and Mr. Joshua. Of course they arrived during the biggest snow dump of the year, so they haven't actually SEEN their new yard yet. They couldn't even see their new coop, so I was out with my visiting brother and a flashlight at 9pm catching skittish turkeys and depositing them into their new home. It was a good decision, as the snow was at about 4 inches this morning.

If you were waiting for some fresh powder to ski, now is the time. Not too cold and nice fluffy new snow.

Pictures of the new girls coming soon....

New pictures from the Cottonwood Inn

Here is a picture of the Cottonwood from the Arroyo Seco River, which runs through the end of the new property.
Mr. Joshua and Squanto in front pond.

Picture of new barn as viewed looking east. This was taken about 3 days ago. The windows and doors are now largely in, and it is now a menacing black block of tar paper. Yes, the barn is build from 2X12s.... Locals are calling it the Taj Mahal.
Okay, we just had our first big snow of the year here, about 6-8 inches at the base and 12 up top on the mountain. It looks pretty cloudy this morning, and the forecast is for a bit more snow today. What are you waiting for? Come ski Taos!!
The snow was a first for a lot of the new critters who were all born last spring. Schmoo, Sparky, Snarky, Sid, Nancy, Squanto and Mr. Joshua were all a bit surprised about the situation. All of them seemed to like it, and the dogs managed to find plenty of snow AND dirt. They are only rarely white these days. Here are some pictures of December 12, 2010 at the Cottonwood.

The above is a picture of the neighbor's horse and Sparky. Sparky is in love with these horses, and they seem to enjoy the dogs, too. The picture below is the mighty Arroyo Seco River. I know people from other parts of the country will laugh at our river, but it's the only one we have....

New chickens and a new barn!

Yes, I've finally managed to weasel some new birds!! These ladies came to me from a local who didn't want to deal with her chickens anymore and offered them to me. Of course I jumped for joy. Yes, they've all been named-- 2 Wyandottes-- Amelia and Wilhelmina, 2 Rhode Island Reds-- Charlotte and Emily, 2 Buff Orpingtons-- Fancy and Henrietta, and one Americauna-- Venetia. They are still very timid and don't approach me or the other hens too closely, so we firmed up the goose house (added a roost or two, a few nesting boxes and cleaned out the goosy-ness and that is where they are currently hanging out.
The geese have moved over to the large pasture with the puppies (now at 6 and 1/2 months). Tonight at 6 pm they were all resting peacefully around the shores of Largo Gallina (yes, the name for our new pond, located at the shore of Mount Gallina. Cool, huh??) Anyhow, Brantly and I went to pick up the new hens yesterday after sunset, thinking we would be able to hijack sleeping chickens. We did not know about the chicken coop they occupied.... Their set up was like a jungle-coop, and we had to unscrew portions of the coop and crawl through pallets to get these girls. These ladies may have been asleep when we got there, but they were awake and yelling by the time we put them into the pet carrier.
The barn is now in phase 3 (out of 4) and the second floor is finally going up. With a light snow this morning we were wondering if the second floor might have to wait until next week.... However, the weather warmed up a bit and the workers were able to frame up the rest of the job. Now we just wait for the roofing and hope we can beat the snows.
We started some very late winter grass on and around the new pasture. We're hoping to force out the thistles, rather than chemically kill them. We've spoken to several local (and Oregon-based) organic farmers, and have decided this is the best, if maybe slower, method of weed control. Not only that, but the geese have been going after the roots of anything that grows over there, so they will probably take care of some of the weed problem.

The barn is here! The barn is here!

The long-awaited barn is finally taking shape. Not only that, but we've also begun the 2nd pond, for the ungrateful Cottonwood Inn Geese, Sid, Nancy, & Snarky. Those of you who've been here this year have met the rude brood. These rescue geese are not meek and mild, they have no trouble demanding what they want-- and what they want (as I perceive things) is a larger area to roam, a bigger pond, and a barn. Who are we to deny the geese?

The puppies have already been enjoying most of every day over in the new pasture. They like to run through the pond (or Lake Gallina as we have decided to name this august body of water) and up the dirt mound left by the excavation of the pond (or Mount Gallina, as we are now calling it-- notice a trend here?) Of course they are no longer white dogs, but chocolate-coated mud hounds.

Pictures to come shortly for the new Southwestern room, and for the barn, and for the critters, who are now geometrically larger than the last photos we posted.

Cold and crisp!

Yep, winter is here. We've begun construction on the new barn, and are shortly moving the two puppies (now approaching 70 lbs each at around 5.5 months) and 3 geese into the pasture. It's been a long haul, fencing around 2 acres with wire that is buried 8 inches and 7.5 feet high. The barn plans continue accordingly-- we should be up and barn-y by the end of December. It has been cold, cold, cold. That hasn't stopped us here at the Cottonwood-- we've started remodeling on our "Buckaroo" room, which we have renamed the "Southwestern". Why? Well, we felt the changes to the room-- pine flooring, bar seating area, and (drum roll) the new patio off the room, including an adobe fireplace and two person hot tub in a latilla-enclosed rooftop oasis-- embody the Southwest experience. The view from the new Southwestern patio is absolutely AMAZING! The stars go on forever, and the 6-foot latilla fence blocks any street-level light interference with star-gazing. This is the room to have on your next visit. Check back on the website soon for more images....

Barny Sharp Talons, who are you?

Yes, it's been driving me nuts. I keep thinking-- "The Chicken Bar, who mentioned the Chicken Bar??" Well, I've got "innkeeperitis, and can't remember anything (beyond this morning's breakfast, and even that is touch-and-go....)

So, put me out of my misery.

Other than THAT, we've had a GREAT late summer/fall. The rejuvenation project next door (the new 3 acres) continues apace. Today the pergola for the casita went up. We have decided to call the little house "Casa Cordova" after the gentleman who lived there alone for so many years. We think he would really like our efforts to shore-up the house and husband the land.

Speaking of husbands... Brantly went out last week and bought over 25 trees, mainly fruit trees. We have planted them all in a double row along our western fence line. They are a mixed bunch, and we are hoping to eventually harvest apples, peaches, cherries, and apricots. In addition to those trees, friends of ours-- MaryAnn and Kaseem, brought over 3 poplars and an "antique" apple tree from the Hacienda Martinez. We're very excited about the apple and have decided to baby it along in the back yard for the first year.

The dogs continue to grow at an alarming rate. We think they are about 40 lbs each, as Brantly just about gave himself a hernia loading them into the Scion today, to take them to their monthly vet visit. Schmoo has turned out to be a superb guard dog. He sleeps most of the day (drooling) and wakes at dusk to keep vigil over the snoozing birds. Sparky mainly just watches Schmoo, wondering why he is doing what he is doing. And the geese, of course, torture and bother the dogs at every opportunity.

Many thanks to our fabulous guests this month-- especially Ann Marie Trapp, who brought me (after much begging and nagging) one of her wonderful water colours. The photo does NOT do this beautiful painting justice. Also much appreciated were the new additions to my "Hen Library," provided by Flora MacDonald and Peter Kelley, and Sally and Jim Blagg. It's true, a chicken fanatic can NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CHICKEN-RELATED ITEMS!!!!!!!


It's finally cooling down here, and a great time to visit before the winter snows. I can't think of a more lovely place to be than Taos at this time of year!

New happenings at the Cottonwood Inn

Another month is almost gone here at the Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast. It's been a hot summer, but the recent rain (1 inch last night alone!) has done a lot to cool things down. It was nice to be in the mid 70s today-- much more like normal in Northern New Mexico.

This summer's projects have been big ones: cleaning up the new lot, re-building the little adobe house, training the 2 Great Pyr pups, and making the goosers into NICER GOOSERS.

Well, let's start in reverses order... the rescue geese are just as ornery as they ever were. Snarky, however, is absolutely lovely!! He looks like a Stevie Nicks pillow with two cute orange legs. He is still deathly afraid of all humans, but is now occasionally nipping at Brantly's shoes (a good thing).

Also, we've had some success training the new pupsters. Both Sparky and Shmoo now know how to sit, beg, come, beg, and (this is really exciting) herd the girls!!! And, of course, beg. Okay, by herd the girls, I mean get them all back into the pen. This is quite an accomplishment for a couple of boys who are only about 12 weeks old.

The little adobe is just about there. This week we will apply the last exterior coat of stucco, and stain the concrete floor (purple!!) We put part of the septic in today, and are about to level and clear the last of the junk away.

If you haven't been here to see these new changes (dogs, geese, and acres) what are you waiting for?? The weather is beautiful, the grass is green, and Taos is as cool as ever!

Big geese and BIGGER dogs!

It's hard to believe we've had the puppies for over a month! I didn't realize how much they had grown until I looked at the initial blog pictures-- holy cow! Or dog, actually. These guys think about one thing-- eating. And they eat A LOT. Winston and Eva are regularly horrified by how much of the daily food scrap ration goes to the new pups. Winston doesn't actually want to eat that many scraps, but it really annoys him to see it go to Sparky or Shmoo. This is Winston's first experience as the older (and wiser?) dog, and he is taking it seriously. I never knew he had fangs!

Syd and Nancy are just getting bigger every day. Nancy has recently decided that she likes Brantly, so he doesn't need to duck and dive every time he enters the bird run. She is infatuated by his New Balance shoes and likes to chew on them for hours. Surprisingly, Snarky has also decided that he wouldn't mind a bit of human interaction. He, too, has been seen nibbling on Brantly's tennies....

The plans for the barn are nearing completion, and the little, old house next door is looking cuter every day. This week the interior walls were finished.

The photo thing has been driving me crazy! The only reason the posts aren't more regular is because of our antiquated camera. It has become almost impossible to upload our daily photos and save them. We don't know what happened, but it can be traced to a virus on our computers a few months ago. In any case, it is an agonizing process to upload a photo, but hopefully we will soon have a new (and easier to understand) camera. Here are a few photos from recent weeks. Come to the Cottonwood Inn before the puppies are 160 lbs.!

Here are some pics of the goosers....

Here are some pics of the new geese. Incidentally, after the death of the 3 little Sebbies, we knew that Snarky needed some company fast. Unfortunately, the only geese we could find were in Joseph City, AZ. Yes, somebody had to go and get them. Shantal drew the straw on that one. It turned out to be a great trip, and the geese are very loving and friendly. They were both hand raised and are very nibbly and soft-spoken. We have been really impressed at how friendly they have been to our guests and the chickens. Now if we can just get them to like the dogs....

Great Pyrenees, Sebastopol Geese, broody hens, more Great Pyrenees & Sid and Nancy....

Yes, we've finally gone insane over here at the Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast. Last month we bought the 3 acres that adjoin our property to the south. This month we decided to start filling it up-- with critters.


Now for the geese and Great Pyr situation as it stands today-- we have 3 new geese (or goosers, as I like to call them). We have a young Sebastopol goose we have named Snarky, and two cute mutts we have named Sid and Nancy. We had 4 Sebbies, but lost 3 of them to a dog attack. Which leads to the next new guests-- the 2 Great Pyr brothers we drove all the way to Montezuma, KS to get. Yep, Sparky and Shmoo. They are so cute and that only pictures can tell the story. We went to get one pup and ended up with two. Of course. We thought about one poor lonely puppy and just couldn't do it.

So, now Sparky and The Shmoo are kicking it in the hen yard. So far they have bonded nicely with our 15 girls (and Bernard). They are having a bit of a time with Sid and Nancy, who would like to squeeze their little heads and rip them off. Needless to say, Sid, Nancy, and Snarky are all over in their OWN part of the yard, enjoying the new pond we installed last week.

And if that isn't enough, 4 of my Great Cochins have just gone broody-crazy. I am exhausted with pulling them off their eggs, so they are all going to be allowed to hatch. Yep, it will be chaos here in about 2.5 weeks.

Earlier in the summer we finally tackled the front yard, getting rid of the grass and installing a more "xeric" garden. Okay, so the fountain isn't exactly xeric....

So, what are you waiting for?? Come see the pups before they're 160 lbs! I've attached a few of the first pics.

Peonies, land, more peonies, & hot weather

Okay, this is a consolidated post because I just can't seem to keep up. Some of our guests are aware that we have been in negotiations for the 3 acres that adjoin the Cottonwood Inn-- well, we finally closed on the deal and the Cottonwood B&B is now 3 acres bigger! The land is beautiful, with a stream running through the northwest side and a natural spring in the center. Also on the property was an old adobe building, which is currently being restored to its former glory.

We're very excited and can't decide what we want to plant on the property-- it fluctuates between raspberries, fruit trees, or lavender-- my guess is that we'll do all three. We're also hoping to keep some critters over there, of course my vote goes for more CHICKENS!!! And maybe a llama or two....

We've already had a bumper crop of peonies and rhubarb this year. I am eating a wedge of pie as I type this. I hate to be a braggart, but this is the best slice of rhubarb pie I've ever had. I had made several pies earlier in the spring, and I used a recipe I found on the internet (cooks or somewhere) and it called for vinegar & eggs in the crust, among other ingredients. I decided to give it a shot, and I thought it tasted just like a store-bought pie. Not exactly what I was aiming for. This pie is just the usual flour/lard/water/salt crust with rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest, & lemon juice. It's a great way to emphasize the flavor of the rhubarb and doesn't taste too sweet.

There are photos to come, of course!

Last but not least, it has been warm here. We are truly appreciating the great cooling abilities of an adobe home. As long as you close your blinds during the heat of the day, it gets to a nice cool 50 in the early mornings-- enough to keep things pleasant for the next day.

The hummers are here! The hummers are here!!

They're early this year. So far only a few boys-- a broad-tailed and a calliope-- but they are buzzing an fighting already. They actually arrived last week, and there has been nothing but snow, snow, and sub-freezing weather. They seem to be doing okay and draining the feeders. We also have had several Bullock's Oriels hitting the feeders already.

So far the plants and fruit trees seem to be doing okay with these (somewhat) late freezes. The local paper has just announced that the snow pack this year was at an 18-year high. Good for us at the Cottonwood Inn (both flora and fauna) and good for our guests who enjoy river rafting!

What happened to the month of April?

How could April be gone so fast? That doesn't mean that spring is all the way here-- we had another 2 inches of snow this last weekend. Luckily it only stayed on the ground for a day and we're back up in the 60s during the day. There was some ferocious wind earlier in the month, but it looks like that is behind us. Plenty of tulips, daffodils, and rhubarb. Yes, the rhubarb is back and with a vengeance. We now have 7 large plants underway. I can't wait for more rhubarb bread and punch....

Friends brought us some lovely Meyer lemons (in the photo above) from California and of course we just had to can them. We made some wonderful lemon marmalade, which I had never eaten before. We've already gone through two jars in less than a week, so I guess it will have to be a trip to California next year and a large U-Haul full of lemons. Anyone out there want to trade some excess lemons or oranges for some plums? We've got three kinds and they are usually coming out our ears. Swap! Swap!

Of course now that the snow is abating we're really looking forward to the weeding. And they are here already!

Also, a great recipe for all those boiled eggs you get every Easter-- add green chili to your egg stuffing! (of course!)

Also, a photo of our Easter chicks- a before and after picture of the carnage our guests inflicted on the flock....

Ooops, I thought I had added these photos!

I'm just looking at the most recent posts and realized I didn't show off a couple of really cool photos of a snow we had earlier in March. It was one of those really warm days which changed in an instant and then we had 5 inches of snow! This meant the trees were absolutely fantastic looking, completely flocked with a layer of fresh snow. Unfortunately, so was my covered chicken run. I had to spend an hour or so smacking the chicken wire with a broom to dislodge all of the pesky frozen snow. And the chickens looked on in disapproval.

Croci are blooming, new biscuit & gravy recipe & more....

It's spring! Yay! We've got dozens of purple and yellow croci blooming around the property as well as tons of tulips and irises poking their heads out. Oh yeah, not to mention The Rhubarb is back. I'm thinking we should have a rhubarb naming contest this year to finally stick a moniker on the beast....

A couple of new recipes this week-- a gravy for biscuits and gravy and a home-made mac and cheese (both with a southern twist, of course).

As much as I love biscuits and gravy (they are my favorite breakfast dish) I have never made them at the Cottonwood Inn before. I fished around online and found a good gravy recipe-- but it still had a few things missing. The biscuit recipe I use is out of the High Altitude cookbook, a great book for any cook to have. The gravy recipe I concocted reads as follows:

Serves 4

1 lb. pasture-raised pork sausage (please use only humanely raised meats, your food will taste so much better and your immunities will eventually thank you!) We use Beelers.

3 tablespoons of butter (you can use less if your meat is fatty-- Beelers tends to be a bit leaner)

6 tablespoons of flour

4 cups of milk

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

salt to taste (we found very little was necessary)

1 small can Hatch green chilies (chopped up)Or fresh if you can get 'em!

Brown the sausage in a deep saucepan over med-high heat.
When there is no pink color left add the butter.
Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter/sausage mixture and then gradually add the milk-- stir briskly to keep the flour from clumping.
You can actually dump the green chilies into the milk and they will get added gradually.

Add your pepper and salt after you've added all the milk and the mixture is nicely mixed. Bring the heat up a bit and get your mixture to a boil. Let the mix boil for a few minutes until it has thickened to the consistency you like.

Pour it over your favorite biscuit recipe and fight over the left overs....

I thought this was just fantastic. Brantly isn't a huge gravy fan but even he had a biscuit slathered in the stuff.

The other comfort food we experimented with lately was some homemade mac & cheese. The recipe I found came off the Food Network website but I thought it lacked zip and catered more toward children's tastes. Here is my end result after slight tampering:

served about 6 healthy eaters

1/2 lb bag pasta (your choice of mac & cheese shapes-- I used Texas-shaped because I couldn't help myself)
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
1 tbs mustard powder
3 cups milk
1 finely chopped onion, medium
1 bay leaf
1 tsp chili powder (we used chipotle, but it was HOT)
1 egg
10-12 oz shredded cheese (I liked a blend of Monty-Jack and sharp cheddar, but anything you have in the fridge would work)
1 small can green chilies (or fresh!) of course
salt & pepper to taste

I've had this baked (which is nice with the crispy top) or just served it right out of the pot-- you decide how hungry you are and how long you are willing to wait.

If you decide to bake it, you can do it at 350 for 30 minutes or until desired crispyness.

Put your pasta to cook.

In a largish pot melt the butter and then whisk in the flower and mustard powder. You will be making a kind of rue. The recipe I used said do this for 5 minutes, but I think I did it more like 3. Keep it free of lumps and then stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, chili powder, & green chilies. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Take out the bay leaf when done simmering.

"Temper" in your egg-- this means adding a bit of the sauce to the egg first and stirring and then adding the mixture into the pot.

If you are going to eat the mac out of the pot then toss in all the cheese, if not, reserve some cheese for a topping. Add this to your cooked (al dente)pasta and add your salt and pepper.

Yes, green chili and chili powder make EVERYTHING better!

So, other than cooking the news at the Cottonwood B&B is that Eva (our female dog) has turned into a genuine "egg-sucking dog". Yes, it's true. At first I blamed Winston, but I was shortly put to rights when I actually SAW Eva taking an egg from the hen house and burying it in the yard. We kept wondering why she came in every night with dirt on her nose....

Shortbread and Easter

Okay-- for those of you who asked last weekend, here is the shortbread recipe I've been using lately. I say lately because I recently changed over to this version, from Sunset magazine. There were a couple of things about their recipe I didn't care for, so I've made those changes and written the recipe as I make them.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup cold butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

a couple tablespoons extra of sugar

I cut up the butter into smallish pieces before using my pastry knife. I tried using the standing mixer, as the recipe directs, but it never did crumble and I ended up having to use the pastry knife, anyhow. I made it into pretty fine crumbles because when I didn't, the mix separated while I was trying to press it into the pan. I also poked the finished product with a fork before sprinkling it with sugar. I found that it cooked more evenly with than without the fork-poking. I didn't have large grain sugar, but I do use organic sugar which tends to be darker and a bit rougher grained. I tossed the sugar with a bit of lemon zest to add a bit of something different.

Here is a picture of a piece and also a picture of my new Easter dessert plates, napkins and rabbit napkin rings-- they are too cute to wait until Easter to use them.

Doughnuts and snow (and coffee, of course!)

It's been snowing since dawn today-- probably about 3 inches on the ground, but melting as it is fairly warm down here at the base of the mountain.

Yesterday I experimented YET AGAIN with yeast doughnuts (cake are my favorite, but I keep trying). I used a recipe from the William Sonoma website and was very happy with the texture and particularly with the chocolate glaze. I thought they could have used a pinch more salt-- their recipe called for 1/4 tsp and it just didn't seem like enough. Still, Brantly and a guest stood around eating them right as they came out of the fryer, so there were at least 4 enthusiastic thumbs up....

Here is a photo of one of the beasts after I have glazed them. Also, a photo of a Fiestaware mug that a very kind guest sent us recently-- I love the shade of periwinkle blue, which is a perfect retro color for the mug shape.

Snow, snow, & more snow

Yes, it's doing it again. We've had about a foot down here at the Cottonwood Inn and over 3 feet up at the Taos Ski Valley-- all in the last couple of days. Right now the snow is drifting down and the weather is just around freezing. Earlier in the week we had one day of unprecedented cold-- with the morning temp dropping to -7. The chickens hate it, they are tired of snow and dreaming about earth worms. But our skiers are loving it!

We've had good responses from several guests about the local snow-shoeing and snowmobiling. A couple from Dallas raved about the snowmobile tour they took from Big Al up at the TSV, while newbie snow-shoers from both Connecticut and Albuquerque both enjoyed the their experiences-- one with the Stuart and Leah over at Wild Earth (the llama people! Yay!! Llamas!!) and our Albuquerque guest with the folks over at Enchanted Circle.

Brantly has been getting his work-out every morning shoveling snow off balconies and front walk, while I've been keeping fit raking and shoveling the chicken run as well as keeping their favorite dust bathing areas free of snow and ice.

Also, Brantly and I recently went over to Taos Clay and had a blast doing a raku firing as well as experimenting with clay on the wheel. Logan Wannnamaker, who owns the studio, is offering all types of lessons to fit every schedule. You can do a one night session (like the one we enjoyed) and get to glaze and fire a pot (made by Logan or one of his two in-house artists) learn how to throw a pot on the wheel, and then get to enjoy firing the pots you glaze in his outdoor raku kiln. The results were spectacular and Logan and his crew are the best when it comes to everything clay. This is the perfect way to spend an evening after a day on the slopes or a day checking out the local color in Arroyo Seco or Taos.

Spectacular snow

If you haven't booked to come skiing in Taos yet-- what are you waiting for?! The snow up at the Taos Ski Valley is absolutely perfect-- 2 feet this week alone. Our guests have been raving about the skiing conditions up at the Ski Valley. Everybody knows about how great the Taos Ski School is-- nationally rated in the top three- but even more interesting is the popularity of our new snowboard lessons. As many people may know, the Taos Ski Valley only opened up the slopes to snowboarders a scant few years ago and already we've heard rave reviews about the snowboarding lessons that are available.

And while its frosty & powdery up at the Ski Valley, it's been lovely and warmish down here at the base of the mountain-- perfect weather for hitting our great Taos art galleries and museums and the funky area shops.

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

Here is one of our most popular breakfast dishes. Even people who normally don't care for oatmeal as for a second helping. The fruit in the dish can be altered according to availability. Make a double batch and enjoy leftovers for breakfast for several days.

Baked Oatmeal
Pre-heat oven to 350
3 cups milk
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbs butter
Bring these 3 ingredients to a boil in a pot on stove top
While these are coming to a boil mix the following in a bowl:
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups oats (not the instant kind)
2 granny smith apples cubed and chopped
¾ cup raisins
¼ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup chopped nuts

Spray a 9 inch square pan with non-stick coating
Put dry mix into pan and then pour boiling milk mixture over dry mix
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

Post Holiday Life at the Cottonwood B & B

Wow, another month and a half has flown by. We were packed here at the Cottonwood Inn, many interesting guests from all walks of life. The skiing was good over the Christmas holiday and most of our guests found the time (and energy) to spend a few days up at the Taos Ski Valley.

Around the first of the year my Dad came to visit and we built the long-anticipated day run for the chickens. We had an interesting time working in the 10 degree weather and digging post holes in the frozen ground. Of course that activity finally answered a topic of some debate around here-- just how deep does the ground freeze. Well, not too deep-- about 3 or 4 inches in most places. This means that I have some hope for a few bulbs that got left in the ground last year. Who knows?

We were given an old barn gate by a friend and Brantly and I have spent some time trying to get it set into the frame. We're about half-way there and pictures are forthcoming.

Very cool guest Pamela C. gave us a FANTASTIC oil pastel of our bad boy Bernard. Pamela is an artist down in the Albuquerque area who found a muse in my ill-tempered rooster. Thank you Pamela, we love our new art work! Again, a photo of the painting is forthcoming....