Fresh Salad on December 30th!

If you've been following my blog you know that I set a goal of picking a fresh salad from the garden on Christmas Day. For the newcomers here....I built this hoop house in the fall in an attempt to extend my growing season into the late fall and winter.

So far, it's survived several snow storms...

... extreme winds and even a blizzard.

Because we were in the middle of a snow storm on Christmas, I decided not to open the hoop house to pick a salad. That would have exposed the plants to the brutal weather, even if only for a few minutes. Later Christmas week we had another snow storm. Temperatures haven't gone much above freezing for about two weeks. Nighttime lows are in the single digits. 

Today, we got a little break and it got all the way up to 41 degrees. Even still, there's quite a bit of snow hanging around.

I put the frost blanket inside several weeks ago. Although with the extreme weather we've been having, I doubt it made much of a difference. 

But amazingly, the spinach and lettuce were still hanging in there!

Granted, they looked a little stressed, but they're not a frozen mess.  Speaking of which, the soil is frozen solid. I don't know how these plants aren't dead! Had I known they would last this long, I'd have planted a lot more back in the fall!

I picked a little spinach and lettuce to make a salad for my lunch at work tomorrow and left the rest. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to pick a salad on Valentine's Day?

The Boys were enjoying the mild temperatures today, too. All three were napping at the same time.

But of course once I walked closer, Kipp got up to see what I was up to.

And thus ends another quiet day at Crossed Sabers Ranch. 

Christmas at Crossed Sabers

Christmas Eve in the barn....an excellent place to be considering we're honoring the birth of our Savior Jesus, who was born in a stable.

Carson

 Jesse

 Kipp doesn't approve of decorations that aren't edible!

Kipp with his antlers on.

We had a white Christmas!

I love this photo!

Blizzard

Winter in the Rocky Mountains can  get exciting sometimes. Yesterday was one of those times. We had a bit of a blizzard come through.

The snow started at daybreak and the wind was howling!

I put blankets on the horses. I don't blanket them unless it's going to snow a lot. It's hard to stay warm when you're wet.  The Boys don't mind the blankets or the process of putting them on. 

They hung out on the lee side of the barn, out of the wind.

We got 10" of snow, but it drifted a lot deeper in places.

In the photo below, that's a 100-gallon stock tank, to give you an idea of the size of the drift next to it.

And look what's still standing, despite 50mph blizzard winds! I wonder if the lettuce and spinach are OK? I'll be peeking in there on Christmas Day.  Cross your fingers that I can pick a salad!

By early evening, the blizzard was over. We got lucky it wasn't worse!

The Boys played like kids home from school on a snow day.

I hope this video uploads OK!

                                       

Doesn't Kipp look sharp in his turquoise blanket?

Well, g'night all. Stay warm and dry!

Winter Centerpiece

Now that ol' man winter has arrived and looks to be settling in for the long haul, there's not a whole lot going on outside. It's time to pick up my indoor hobbies.  Winters are long and hard here in the Rockies and you need an indoor hobby.

This means you'll be seeing more 'crafty'-type posts from me for a while. With Christmas coming up faster than I can believe, I'm working on those types of projects now.

When I was in Michael's craft store picking up supplies to make the soaps, one of their project cards caught my eye. I found it again on their website.

Cedar Lodge Bird and Branch Mantel Piece

It's a centerpiece with twigs and artificial pine. Here's my finished version.

I don't have any real flower arranging experience, but this is very easy to make. Here's my cast of characters:

The winter artificial greenery was on sale for just a couple of bucks. I got the sticks from the yard.

I used wire cutters to take apart the bush.

Once I got the sticks arranged in a way I liked, I tied them with a bit of burlap ribbon then began adding the greenery.

Before hot gluing or wiring everything together, just lay it all on without fastening so you can move things around.

You want it to be balanced, but not too symmetric. This is supposed to be rustic-looking.

When making a centerpiece, remember that it will be visible from all sides. Turn it around and check how it looks from all angles.

My greenery bush had several bunches of red berries that I thought I was going to put in. I changed my mind when I realized that if I did, my little cardinal would blend in. I wanted him to stand out. 

I've got about $7 worth of materials and 30 minutes of time in this. I think the cardinal is the best part!