And it Snowed , And it Snowed .................................

and it snowed ..........................

The snow started falling Christmas night and it kept snowing until sometime last night.

The chickens and guineas spent the day roosting inside.


Jo wouldn't come out of the goat shed , smart goat.

Jazz and Goatee met me at the gate as usual.

It was frosty around the keets pen , but they didn't seem to mind.

The garden bench looked like it had fluffy white cushions.

The trees looked so beautiful with their blanket of snow .....

and the old farm truck did too.

Dogwood berries covered in snow ...........

and holly berries covered in snow.

A snow covered dogwood tree called for me to take a photo too.

We had a visitor out by the pool , a vulture decided to roost awhile. I thought it might be hurt or have a damaged wing. He kept putting his right wing out , but not the left. I was about to call the wildlife rescue , when hubby looked out the backdoor and told me he had both wings out.

I walked out on the porch and took this pic , just as I started back in the house , he flew off into the trees. I was happy to see him take flight and know that it was alright.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Scenes From Christmas Day ...........................

I was slack this year and put up 2 small trees instead of the large one. With Curious J and Little Froggy being sick two weeks before Christmas , I was busy taking care of them and the critters. By the end of each day I just didn't feel like getting the big tree out and hauling decorations out of the attic , so I decided a small one would do.

Meet Mojo , he's the kitty that was under the tree in an earlier post. He's my youngest daughter's cat , when she was a kid , she loved to crawl up under the tree and nap too. Christmas morning started with feeding Buddy , Mojo and Fairy Bell their traditional Christmas tuna breakfast.


Shadow looks a bit bewildered , I think he was afraid .....................

Ms. Jade would take his pig ear , but she got her own pig ear for Christmas (LOL).

The chickens and guineas had sunflower seeds for Christmas breakfast. I had carrots for the goats , but they didn't like them. So , they got a little extra sweet feed.

Then Pa and I hiked through the woods and over the creek to my oldest daughter's home for brunch and to see what Santa brought the grands.

Little Missy shows off her driving skills for Pa ..........

and Little Time wasn't about to be out done.

We went over to my youngest daughter's later to see what Santa brought the boys. Santa was good to them too , but I didn't get pics, Little Froggy still wasn't feeling well and Curious J was busy playing his new video game.

But they came over for supper last night and Little Froggy was feeling a little better.

Curious J wasn't thrilled with his gift. Since he loves playing video games now , I got him an educational game to help him with his spelling. Pa ask him if he liked his gift , he answered , yes , but not really (LOL). I hope he'll like it when he realizes he can play games with his spelling words. He did like his Sponge Bob coloring book though.

It started snowing while they were here , we haven't had a white Christmas since 1947 the weatherman said , so it was pretty exciting to see snow falling on Christmas night.

Hope You All had a Wonderful Christmas !!

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Have A ........................................................

Holly ........................

Jolly Christmas ...............





Merry Christmas !

JoyceAnn

Which of these things is not like the others ?

( Click to Enlarge )

Which of these things just doesn't belong ?

~ Christmas Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Missing Hen and those Quirky Guineas ................

It was late , night before last when I went out to feed and shut the chickens up for the night. It was dark in the chicken coop , so I didn't do a head count like I normally do. Yesterday morning when I opened the coop door , everyone came out but Ms. June. I looked around for her , but she wasn't anywhere to be found. I guess the hawk I saw last week may have got her , since she's been molting , she has been staying off to herself a lot. Last Thursday we had freezing rain all day , I happened to walk out on the back porch sometime that day and I saw a red-tailed hawk fly up through the trees , out toward the coop. I think he has been watching the keets , waiting for them to come out of their pen. That's why I plan to keep them caged until spring. She would have been easy prey for the hawk , since she was alone and practically featherless.

I told you last week about the guineas roosting in the coop at night since it's been cold , but I didn't tell you about them staying outside and roosting in the trees every time the weatherman has predicted freezing rain , rain , sleet or snow. But they have , the last 3 Saturdays they have roosted outside when the weatherman predicted bad weather , they also roosted outside last week when we had the freezing rain. They've stayed in the coop on cold and dry nights. Those birds sure are quirky ( LOL ).


~ Be Blessed ~
JoyceAnn

Just Finished a Bowl of ..............................

vegetable beef soup leftover from Saturday. The garden veggies I preserved this past summer , plus a few potatoes from the cellar sure made a delicious soup. What have you been cooking up lately ?

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

May Your Days Be .............................

Merry and Bright !

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Another Treasured Moment to Share ..............................

Three years ago on Christmas Eve , Santa made a visit to my Mom's house. The kids were so excited , my nephew pictured above decided to see if Santa's beard was real ( LOL ).

~ Holiday Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

The Weather Outside is ...............................

frightful ........ so I've been spending a lot of time layering up before heading outside to put wood in the furnace and check on the animals. It's sooo cold , we don't usually have this type weather until Jan. and it's been awhile since it's been this cold for so long. The sun beaming through the trees looks beautiful , but doesn't warm things up much. Strange , how the rays seem to point at my eyes and mouth in this photo.

I check on the animals several times a day to make sure their water hasn't frozen. I still have Goatee hanging around , he actually has a nice beard/goatee now , it's solid white. I tried to get a descent pic of his goatee , this is the best one I could get. He loves having his picture taken and is very photogenic , wish he wasn't so rowdy.


The guineas have been going inside the chicken coop at night to sleep since it's cold. Each morning they head out to field and look for bugs in the frosty grass. Curious J had to be picked up from school yesterday , his teacher thinks he's getting pinkeye , since it's been going around in his classroom. He's with me again today , my daughter will have to take him to the doctor before he can go back to school. The weatherman is predicting an inch of snow tomorrow followed by some freezing rain and sleet , so he'll probably be with me the rest of the week. He's keeping me busy , keeping him busy (LOL). Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm.

~ Many Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

A Treasured Moment ..............................

( from last Christmas ) May your Christmas/Holiday be Blessed with many Treasured Moments and Smiles !

~ Blessings To You All ~

JoyceAnn

Visions of Shagbark Hickory Syrup .............

have been dancing in my head.

So yesterday I got busy brewing up a few jars for holiday gifts.

Hope You Weekend is Wonderful !

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Ms. June ................................

looks like she's been plucked alive. I think she needs a Chickie Christmas sweater (LOL).

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Happenings Around the Farmette ..............................

The keets have graduated again , they've been moved to a larger lot outside the chicken coop. They'll stay there until their release this Spring.

I'm trying to sell Goatee , hope to find him a new home soon or he may become stew. I'm tired of fighting him , he's a butting machine and I've got the bruises to prove it (LOL).



Ms. Jenny's beautiful feathers have come back in , just in time for the bitter cold we've been having. But , poor Ms. June has started moulting.

The garlic has sprouted up , I mulched it , but the chickens went down that row and uncovered most of it.

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

It's Beginning to Feel Alot Like ........................

Christmas. The weather has been frigid the last few days, daytime highs in the 30's and in the teens at night. It's a bit to cold for my liking , but it does add to the Christmas spirit. My friend Lib posted a pic of her kitchen Christmas tree last week , it inspired me to decorate a small tree for the kitchen too. This is what I came up with , what a cute way to display some of my collectibles and add a little holiday spirit to the kitchen.

~ Holiday Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

An Enchanting Evening .............

Friday night , my oldest daughter and I took Little Missy and Little Time to a Christmas tree lighting and to see Santa. Santa arrived in the fire truck with flashing lights , the kids were so excited.

He climbed out of the truck waving to the kids.

Santa picked a kid to help light the Christmas tree , they threw magic dust and the lights magically appeared.

Little Missy sat with Santa and told him she wanted a Dora doll.

Little Time started crying when I sat him on Santa's lap , he did grab a candy cane when Santa offered it , then he ran back to Momma and Nana (LOL).

We tried to get a photo in front of the lighted tree , but the kids were more interested in their candy canes.

We went to the grand kids other Grandma's coffee shop for coffee and a sandwich afterwards. It was an enchanting evening , really enjoyed our evening out.

~ Blessings to All ~

JoyceAnn

May Your Days ..................................................

be Blessed with some natural beauty during the Holiday Season .

JoyceAnn

The Last Two Weeks .................................................

have been busy as usual around here. The Monday before Thanksgiving we had a birthday party for Little Missy and Little Froggy.

It was a Dora and Diego themed party , so I made backpack and rescue pack goodie bags for everyone.


The pinata was a big hit , but the little ones didn't want to wear blindfolds (LOL).

Time to blow out the candles ..........

Happy Birthday !

We had our Thanksgiving feast at my Mom's on Thursday and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner Sunday for my hubby's family. So as you can see it was a very busy week. This week I've been cleaning and rearranging a few things to make room for the Christmas tree. I decided to do some deep cleaning while I was at it , since I don't get that done during gardening season. Lots of decluttering , dusting and mopping going on , that's why I haven't been blogging much. I still have the decorating to get done this weekend , then maybe I can get back to blogging on a regular basis. Hope everyone is doing well. What have you been up to ?

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn