Snow comes to Okra Hill!

When our house was being built during the winter of 2010/2011, our area of South Carolina had several snow days.  Since then there haven't been any so when it snowed this week, we were all excited.  Around three inches fell- just the right amount to make Okra Hill look like a winter wonderland without being troublesome. 

I think the girls were perplexed by the white stuff. 

Waylon and Ziggy weren't quite sure what to do either!

I grew up in the NC foothills where we had snows most winters.  I don't miss the power going out or having to walk up our (steep) driveway when the snow made it impossible to drive.  But I have missed sharing a snow day with my boys.  

They all had a big time with it, although I think Tyler was disapointed his red car didn't have better 4x4 capabilities.  

Within a day the roads were clear and dry. Nothing could be finer than living in South Carolina (at least when it comes to fairly mild winters!).  

Eggs in God's Eye

We went to North Carolina this weekend to see my parents and came back home to find nests full of eggs. Mama gave me one of her God's eye baskets to use to collect eggs. It is the perfect size.  

I've recently started storing my eggs on the counter (or rather, in the back part of my pantry) after reading about the perfection of homegrown eggs. You can learn more about why this works here: http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/06/handling-and-storing-eggs.html. Because our chickens produce an average of 4 dozen eggs a week (I sell 3 of those to other mamas at our preschool), freeing up my fridge has been a good thing. I still wash and refrigerate the eggs that are overly dirty. 

Parsley fest 2014

Last week our South Carolina chickens experienced a frigid cold front. The lowest temp was around 8 degrees and considering today's balmy 60, that was a shock!

The girls survived just fine thanks to a light Ashley added in their coop for warmth and my going out repeatedly to thaw their waterer.  What really amazes me is they trucked right along with egg production.  

Our parsley, however, did not fare as well. So this afternoon I cut back the frostbitten sections. The girls loved this green snack (and they also enjoyed cilantro). 

We will see how or if the parsley comes back.  I hope it does because it's one of my favorite garnishes. 

Raised beds for part of the garden

Ashley is working on a new layout for our garden that will incorporate raised beds. He's using unfinished HardiPlank boards for the sides because they're made of concrete and should last for a while. 

The boys love helping their daddy. 

The hens are curious about what's happening in their neighborhood...

More progress...

I thought the older two boys were out helping in the garden but really, they had convinced Daddy to build them a place for water...in the winter. They can't get enough of mud and puddles!

Our little guy is 17 months old now. He hasn't chosen to walk yet (working on getting the strength to do that) but he does a great job standing. I think the hens think so, too!

We all love our chickens. Although they slacked off a little on their egg laying a month ago, they've picked back up, laying 6-8 eggs a day. I sell some eggs to other moms at our preschool. In the spring, we may get more chickens because the demand for our eggs continues to grow.