Four Letter S word

The weatherpeople predicted anywhere from 3 to 14 inches of that white stuff would be on the ground this morning, (they all seemed to have differing opinions which only proves they use their "best guess" not science). Blizzard warnings were included by all of them with sustained winds in the 40 m.p.h. range. The last two days we have spent getting places fixed so the animals could be comfortable regardless of the scenario. We are getting pretty good at fix-it projects like that. We moved our big hay wagon into the big barn and fastened a board to the end of it so the goats have several places to go to get out of the wind. We put the hay bales back in the chicken house to close off the summer draft spaces, put boards around the rabbits' area and added covers to the fronts of their cages. They all have extra feed and water. Now, in case the pessimist (unless its a skiier-then optimist) weatherperson is correct at least the animals will be ok. Cats you ask? Oh yes, they are covered too. They have beds in the big building, the first greenhouse, and the bus with food and water in each of those places as well. Of course, Rascal gets to stay in the house with Mom. And occasionally others manage to find their way in as well. The wood stove has been fired up for two days now and they dearly love to sleep beside that. Wish I could do the same! So far we only have a light dusting of s*** on the ground and not much is falling from the dreary, gray, sullen sky. I'm not fooled by the pause. As a result, it is too nasty to be outside and perhaps some of the laundry, paperwork, vacuuming, dusting, canning and baking will get done today. OK, you are right...some of the canning and baking might get done today, but there is a slim chance some of the other chores will be accomplished. I hope the storm isn't a bad one. Tomorrow I have a busy day scheduled. Low income commodity distribution is in the morning, which will take a couple of hours of our time. After that my entire afternoon and evening is filled doing secret shops in Burlington. I don't like doing them, but when they offer those bonus $$ I have trouble saying no. Since the money I earn from those jobs as well as the waitress jobs goes directly into my entertainment fund, and I have another entertainment trip scheduled for mid November, I have incentive to do the work. The Post Office j-j-j-&%, on the otherhand, goes to pay bills. No wonder I don't like that j-j-j-&%! We came up with a new idea for the cactus jelly. Evelyne made some yesterday with our new secret ingredient and it is heavenly! Too bad that fruit is only available seasonally and in limited quantities because this stuff is the best jelly ever. Next year I will obviously have to be out doing scouting missions in September to gather the cactus for the juice. Fortunately, it is something most land-owners don't care if you remove it from their land. Before this white stuff fell on the ground we had some really nice green patches around the homestead. The wheat we planted came up nicely, and the small amount of pasture we seeded looks fantastic. I hope we can duplicate the seed mixture to plant more of it next spring as it looks like it will serve us well. Ok, I'm off to peel garlic so I can get it in the dehydrator. Home grown, dried and chopped garlic is SO much better in our herb mixes than the stuff from the store. The dehydrator has to be in the greenhouse when it is drying the garlic however. Othewise the scent of garlic becomes overwhelming experience has taught us. Hope you are staying warm and cozy. Aunt Jo