What February Means Around Here

made some pine cone fire starters

heart pancakes for my sweethearts on V day

February Is:

A Big Birthday month for me: Dad, Mom, 

Littlest Brother, Biggest Son + more

Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and in the case of this year

THE BIG THAW!!

Thank Heavens, I do not know how much longer I personally

could have continued inside this house!

I am an outdoorsy kinda gal, and the ice was not enough

of a draw to get me and keep me out there! 

chicken feets in the mud

the sun returned

This weekend dug out the "pond" aka black plastic oval shaped leaf catcher/frog headquarters/decorative thingy 

(left my previous homeowners)

My ohh my is back a aching.  

Lifted and moved 30+ stones, shoveled over a

wheelbarrow of decorative rocks. 

But it is looking good!!

my car mechanic bro adds welder to his talents

Him and his friend spent the majority of the day welding the boys go-cart back together.
Woo-Hoo will they be happy when they get home!

• Ordered new bee hives ~ arriving soon!
• Pre-ordered the taters for spring planting
• Reserved pavilion for Alyssa's Wedding in late August
• Planning the veggie garden and landscaping
• Started aerobic workout "stomp down the mole hills"

Hope you are having an exciting February too!!

~ assortment of our 13 new chicks ~

Who Dun It??

Meet Baby Face Buttafucco 

And Brett Wurst

Movie Star Cecily Sicily and Eddy "The Tongue" Corneoli

 We didn't do it! 

Bullets in the Bathtub was a comedic murder mystery dinner we attended last night at our local German Restaurant.  This 4H fundraiser was our family's Valentine treat ~ 1920's mobsters and flappers we were last night.  We had a great time!  Not sure if we had more fun planning and preparing or the event itself.  Our boys were the only youngsters there and they loved it.  I can't share with you who dun it, but I can tell you none of us dun it!

Don't mess with my guys!

 

 

We had a blast and hope you enjoyed a sneak peak!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is a grand day. 

Today we celebrate the life of a great man.
He is my Father, my Dad, my friend, my cheerleader and my advisor.
He is the man that has always told me how beautiful I am and to love my self first.
He showed me the beauty in nature, love of maps, photography and food.
He IS the World's Best BBQuer!!
He is a wonderful Father and Grandfather

I love you very much Dad!!

Happy 64!!

All My Love,

Your Daughter

Iced In * In Illinois

WARNING: BLIZZARD CONDITIONS

Well, for some of us ~ this blizzard never actually transpired.

And I believe that is probably something to be grateful for.

What we did get was a nice layer of ice, covered with 2" of sleet, 

and then around 1" of snow on top (left to blow across this icy tundra).

Soooo. . . . . some of us are iced in!! 

My husband however, is not.  He couldn't handle being stuck here another day.

My husband left no tracks, he slowly slipped down the road 

and headed to work and took Josh with him.

I do not think I could safely pull my van out of the garage, 

make the sharp turn in our driveway on ice and travel the 1/2 mile 

on our lane that is a complete layer of ice.

And the problem is ~ that the weather shows no sign of a warm up.

Will I have to wait for spring to go anywhere??

Well at least it is pretty, we have plenty of firewood, and food.

Wherever you are I hope you are warm and your belly is full!

glass grass

 basking in the glow of their red heat lamp

coop 'cicles

  

 

chicken wire

 

whisker's whiskers

my driveway's sharp turn ~ this is the icy layer BEFORE 2" of  frozen sleet!

this morning the sun broke through

beautiful layers of frozen land and light

 

DO NOT STAND under this corner of the house!

frozen corn stalks

the pine tree has turned to glass

Big Winter Storm ~ headed our way!

my lumberjack plans on keeping us warm

We are prepared for this humongous storm headed our way.

Our area to expect 1/2 - 1" ice

with up to 2 feet of snow

and then heavy winds.

Fun, Fun, Fun.

       

getting icy on the grill that we
enjoyed porterhouse steaks on last night

it is getting icy ~ how icy will it get?

 

 Realized that with my brief hiatus from blogging, I have not had a chance to introduce our newest addition.

Aubrey  ~ our granddaughter was born on 1/13/11
Isn't she precious ~

Winter Blues ~ aka PITY PARTY

My seed order is here! But the ground is snow covered!

Have a beekeeping meeting coming up ~ to help refresh and motivate me

 have yet to order the beehives (that will need assembled)!

Ready for more sunshine! Ready for springtime! (I think)

Tired of WANTING to be lazy!

And BEING lazy!

No drive, no ambition!

Is it ~ Lack of exercise?  ~  Lack of sunshine?  ~  Stress?  ~  Diet?

My first relaxing winter: I am not running around constantly,
no more out of the house job, 

no more scouts sucking my every breath,
now located in beautiful surroundings, room to roam and create. 

Yet my desire and drive is missing.

I think it might be the winter blues.

Feeling guilty for my feelings, not sure what to do to change it all up.

Think of self as a "cup half full" person.

Afraid that once spring arrives, I will have wished I did more creating!

I do not feel depressed.  Just a really long blahhh.

Have had no real desire to read my uplifting, inspiring blogs until I forced myself today.

WOW! Organizing seeds, garden planning, sewing, knitting, cooking . .

. . . . all that I am about ~ you all are sharing!

Sooo, I thought I would post a quick seed picture and "fake it" til I am ready to make it again.

Changed up the blog to feel more inspiring (not thinking it is so much)

And it has turned into a pity party.

This is like showing my sink full of dirty dishes on this blog.

But I am real, and I choose real over fake any day.

So I shall overcome this, and then be back in the swing soon.

Because I do have wonderful things to share ~ just maybe not in the happiest frame of mind to do so.

I will work on my list. 

I will work on me.

Hugs, Jill

Ranch Living