Winter PondViews...

Of snow... 

Or of our geese visitors...

Or of an icy pond...

Or of a sunrise.

 Sleeping Arrangements

It's possible we may be spoiling our animals.  

For instance, the chickens have not been laying any eggs for two months now.  Of course two-thirds of them are our new chicks and they have been too young to lay eggs.   Still they look full grown.  And I have no idea why the other four hens quit other than they were molting for awhile.  So maybe they were too busy growing new feathers to lay eggs.  

These chickens have a pretty good life.  They have a great coop.  Mike built it.  They have a chicken play structure that my son-in-law Heath built them a few winters ago.  They have an electric door opener so they can be outside very early in the morning (while Mike and I are still sleeping) but also safely inside at night (and no one ever forgets to close the door).  They are fed treats everyday despite me telling him Mike not to do that so much.  What more could we do for them?

I did some research online and found a chicken heater on sale.  Maybe our chickens would benefit from one.  It is called a cozy coop heater and it is a safe low wattage alternative to heat lamps that have been known to cause fires.  It mounts to the wall.  Its does not heat the whole coop but just provides some low temperature warmth near the heat source.  When Mike put it up near their roosts, I thought it looked like our chickens could now watch television in the coop.  

We have proof that they like it.  First, Mike snuck out there last night when the temperatures were below freezing to see if they were appreciating the heat source.  He reported that they were.  As many chickens as could be were huddled on the roost above the heater.  We figure that the heat was rising and this is how they could get the most benefit.  

And, more to the point, we are finally getting some eggs!  

So now that the chickens appear to be living in comfort and giving us eggs.  We are turning our attention to the outdoor cat.  Given her choice, she would like to move into our house now that it is winter.  Given my choice, that is not an acceptable option.  So we have been trying to make her outdoor living arrangements more attractive.  

First, we put a litter box in the shed apartment and let her check it out.  She was only happy in there if Mike and the dogs stayed with her.  Otherwise, she threw a hissy fit, literally.  

Then we bought her a second heated kitty house.  The first one is outside against the wall of Morton Building #1 on the concrete sidewalk.  It is a favorite spot of hers to hang out.  However, it obviously was not where she wanted to be in the winter.  So we bought another one and put it on Mike's workbench inside the building.  

To entice her to use this new home, Mike put treats in the kitty house.  They remained uneaten.  Obviously, she was not choosing this very warm option.  However, at least we did something right.  When Mike placed this new house on the workbench, he threw the kitty bed and blanket that was already there off to the corner of his bench.  Apparently, that is where she is now sleeping- on the kitty bed on top of the blanket.  Whatever works!

At this point,  all I can say is that I am ready for warmer weather and more contented animals.  

 What's New?

Heath finished his first batch of Apple Habanero Hot Sauce,  It was made from Peterson Pond apples.

Mike finished insulating the floor of the new enclosed balcony (which is also the roof of the patio).  Not only is our balcony now usually about 20 degrees warmer than the outside but the patio down below gained some lights when Mike insulated and covered the patio roof.  

Of course, he had help.  

Mike also bought us a space heater for the sunroom balcony so now we can enjoy it in the winter too.  Although in all honesty this works best if the temperature is in the high 30's at least and there is sun coming in the windows.  

I participated in my first and last All State Hot Chocolate Run usually held in St. Louis Missouri.  It was virtual this year and I always admired all the goodies Laura got when she participated so I thought this was my chance to get my own.  I got a medal (that contained a small chocolate bar), more chocolate bars, delicious double dark hot chocolate packs and a very warm premium race jacket.  I know it is warm because I wore it during my virtual race.  

And baby Lucy Violet was born.  

 Signs of Christmas

1.  Our neighbors checked out the Woburn lights just like they do every Christmas, but this year there was something extra.  They held a scavenger hunt for baby Lucy's lighted box.  When they found it they sent us proof- a picture.  

2.  The Spilsbury's in California decorate their gingerbread houses just like they do every year.  I noticed that the one the Spilsbury's made had a much jollier theme than the one my family made me this year.  Although, maybe I have been infected by my children's macabre thinking because I did think about Hansel and Gretel when I saw the figures.  

3.  I started seeing Christmas sweaters everywhere.  

4.  And we pulled out our Christmas pajamas.  Unfortunately, some of us do not appreciate having our pictures taken while wearing them.  

4.  And Christmas hats abound.  

5.  Local neighborhoods put up Christmas lights.  This includes Laura's neighborhood.  The lights and wreath actually look very familiar.  That's because they are ours.  Laura borrowed them to better fit in with her neighbors.  Mike was happy to give her our outdoor lights because he does not want to put them out this year.  He is afraid Della will chew them up.  Glad to see them being put to good use.  

  

 Caitlins Thanksgiving Visit

We had a jam packed Thanksgiving day and I was not sure if Suzanne and Heath's hosting skills were going to be able to match the level of hospitality that I had set.  I need not have worried though.  They were more than up for the task of entertaining their friend Caitlin, who was visiting from Dallas Texas.  

The theme of Caitlin's visit became Christmas lights.  As it turned out, on Thanksgiving night, Caitlin's visit to our local Woburn lights was only the first of her three nights of lights.  On Friday, she, Laura, Suzanne and Heath drove through Winter Wonderland lights at Tilles Park in St. Louis.  And on Saturday night, the same group drove through the Way of Lights Display at Our Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville Illinois.  

They also kept busy during the day.  On Friday, Caitlin, Suzanne and Heath continued our Christmas baking.  They made peanut blossom cookies and Pecan Pretzel Treats.  Of course, they had to stop and fortify themselves with Thanksgiving leftovers.  

And then on Saturday, Suzanne reserved a table at a Gingerbread House Workshop at Eckerts Country Store and Farm in Belleville.  The goal of the workshop is to create a beautiful holiday display.  Fortunately, because of COVID, Suzanne, Heath, Laura and Caitlin not only had their own table but the only table for their designated time of 50 minutes.  That turned out to be a very good thing.  

This group of four indulged their creative side while designing their gingerbread house.  After they were done, they decided to give it to me to display.  I now have it on my kitchen counter.  One side is very charming.  It has a wreath, trees and a decorated roof line.  That is the side that is facing my kitchen table.

The other side, upon close inspection, although full of candy decorations that show a lot of thought, is a bit disturbing.  There are footprints in the snow that lead up to a gingerbread person who is in a gruesome predicament.  This side of the gingerbread house is facing my kitchen backsplash.  

I am thinking of recommending that this group watch a few more Hallmark Christmas movies and less NCIS.  However, I have to say it looks like they had a good time at Eckerts Gingerbread House Decorating Workshop.  

We were all glad of a chance to spend time with Caitlin over the Thanksgiving holidays.  She is welcome to be a part of the Peterson Thanksgiving holiday anytime.  

 Just Your Typical Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving 2020 began the way they always do.  We participated in a 5K race.  However, over the years we have gotten smarter about this race.  For the past three years, we have held the race at the pond which means we get to set the start time.  No more getting up in the dark and driving an hour to get to walk in the cold.  In fact, all of our participants spend the night at the farm just to avoid such a scenario.  Now we get up, have a leisurely and light breakfast, and the, head outside after the sun has been up awhile and it is a bit warmer.  

This years race started at 9:30 and we had a few new participants meeting us at the start line.  Suzanne and Heath were there with their weekend guest, Caitlin Kite.  For the first time ever, the Peterson Pond 5k had dog participants.  Racers number 307 and 308 were Suzanne and Heath's dogs Finn and Pongo.  They even wore race shirts.  

The winners were Laura in the over 30 but under 60 age group, Mike in the over 60 male category and myself in the over 60 female category.  I do not know how the rest of the race turned out because I was in the kitchen working on the Thanksgiving meal prep by the time the race ended.  A special thanks has to go to Laura Peterson for organizing this event and to Heath Zurn for designing our shirts.  Donations collected this year went to the FUMC Blessing Box in Greenville.  

Dinner was planned for two o'clock and everybody contributed.  Heath pitched in to help me with the turkey as I had never done one before.  As a result, I have still never done one but for the first time I made the stuffing.  Suzanne made two pies, pumpkin and chocolate pecan.  Laura made a salad and the green bean casserole.  Caitlin plied some of us with wine, decorated the table, and saved the crockpot potatoes from burning.  Mike, his brother Bill and Bill's wife, Cheryl were our taste testers and they were very good at giving out compliments to all the chefs.  

After dinner, I was ready to relax but not Laura.  She began the Christmas baking.  She started with fudge and moved on to buckeye candy balls.  

Once she was at a stopping point, we went to check out the Woburn Christmas lights which is another tradition.  But this year, there was a surprise.  One of the boxes was sponsored by the Petersons (us) in honor of our first granddaughter.  In honor of her mother, Mike specifically sponsored the only box that contained all Disney characters.  

The days excitement was starting to overcome our group so we headed back home.  Once there, we grabbed some tea and relaxed around the fire pit where Heath built us a big fire.  

There was one family member who was missing from Thanksgiving 2020.  That was our youngest daughter Emily.  She was in Utah where she joined up with a family friend, Laura Flannery.  Laura Flannery was a participant in the first Peterson Pond 5K three years ago.  They sent us a picture of their Thanksgiving meal.  

Personally, I think they would have had a better Thanksgiving with us but I could be biased.  I'm just glad that everyone had a good time and I am thankful they all are in my life.  

 Another Room

Mike and I have always enjoyed our upstairs balcony.  It looks out over the backyard and pond.  I like to sit there and read a book.  Or sometimes, Mike and I sit there and share a bottle of wine.  However, over the years, we have had to contend with many wasps who just loved to build their mud homes up there.  Or the birds who liked to build nests on the ceiling fan.  Plus, it was only truly comfortable to sit out there during mid spring and early fall months.  So this spring, one of us, we are not sure which one, had the great idea to enclose it with a window wall.  Immediately, Mike did some research and contacted a Sunroom company.  

The Sunroom people were finally able to squeeze us into their schedule last week.  The first thing they did was take down the railing that was out there.  We were very glad to see that go as it was a bit wobbly in places.  

Then they began installing the windows.  

And, by the end of the day, we had a wall of windows.  

Now, we needed some places to sit out there.  So since it was a new room, we added some new outdoor furniture.  We purchased two swivel rockers, a side table and a foot stool.  

Once the furniture was installed, we had a trial run.  We found that the rockers were super comfortable.  We loved the view without the vinyl fence railing.  However, I found that in mid November it was a bit chilly in our sunroom.  So I went online and purchased a basket to hold some throw blankets.  Now, it is just right.  Even Lilly thinks so.