The End of a Long, Long Autumn

The mild autumn weather has gone on for weeks and we've enjoyed every single day of it. Now, however, a cold front has descended on us, ushered in by winds like roaring locomotives.  The reality of winter can't be ignored.  From our bedroom high in the second story we can feel the winds shaking the house.  Down in the living room the wood stove has been going nonstop and Pete and I have migrated from the sunroom into the living room, sitting around the stove for our moments of quiet.

There's nothing too newsworthy but here are a few glimpses of farm life from the last couple weeks...

Not quite like California sunshine but still sunshine.  It's so nice to see kitties in the barn windows again.

Becca's kitties made the adventurous journey via air from LA to the farm.  They have transitioned to life as barn cats without a hitch and seem very happy exploring their new space.  Pete built them shelves (and I cleaned the barn windows) so they have sunny perches from which to observe all the goings-on around the farm.  This morning when it was very cold both cats were curled up together in one cave and didn't bother to stir when I went to feed them. Here they are at O'Hare, happy to be near the end of their journey.

Gray little Whit disappears in the shadows, a camouflage that makes him really hard to find in the barn.

Work in the basement has been progressing slowly but the end is in sight and Anne has been working like crazy to paint and clean.  Yesterday we moved furniture in and had fun hanging mirrors and pictures.  The bathroom and kitchenette won't be finished until next week so the Big Move of all their possessions won't take place until after that.

Christmas tree is up, fire (electric) in the fireplace, Christmas music on Pandora - it's starting to feel like a home down there.

The kitchenette is still under construction but that should wrap up this week.

No sinks installed yet but they are just waiting for the plumber.

Painting doors and trim

I recently had a hankering to make sourdough bread.  This week I mixed up the sourdough starter and babysat it through several days until it got going good.  I made a sourdough rye loaf that was really good and our favorite sourdough waffles for breakfast this morning.  There's another loaf rising in the kitchen right now (the first one miraculously disappeared).  It's fun to have a change from our normal whole wheat bread.  The rye loaf is also 100% whole grain.  

The bread sponge, in Grandma's old mixing bowl.

Love those yeasty bubbles.

I've been baking bread for a looooong time but this might just be the most flavorful loaf I've ever turned out.  No credit to me - it's a great recipe and the magic of sourdough.

Earlier this week I got a load of straw bales from a friend and (in the nick of time) got some cold frames constructed and romaine and kale sown.  They won't sprout until early spring but they will definitely have a head start on the other garden things.  When winter gets old it will be nice to know things will soon be stirring in the ground. 

A great use for old windows.

There's a thick layer of ice in one of the water tanks.

Anne and I planted 150 tulip bulbs couple weeks ago so we have the promise of tulips to look forward to in spring, too.

The strong winds of the past two days have scrubbed the trees clean of leaves, leaving them skeletons until spring.  Tractors are still busy in the fields, disking in the dead stalks.  Here's one heading home at sunset.