Been enjoying the b/day gift my hubby got me, getting set up so it works around the house...moving data, reorganizing files, goofing off a little bit!  Can you guess what it is?  Anyhow, I can get my writing files lined out better, have some projects to tend to. 

Winter has been mild, to say the least.  We had some chilly days in December, that snow a little more than a week before Christmas, and all.  A few days there saw lows in the upper teens.  This week lows are back down in the 20's, but no serious frost on windows in the mornings.  We've had highs in the 60's for the last several weeks, with the exception of just a couple of days...it may even head toward 70 midweek.  The kids tease that they want to swim in the 50 something pool. 

We've started tilling the garden area.  Hubby worked hard over the weekend, and the kids enjoyed running barefoot in the soft, damp, poof dirt.  I have a good idea of the seeds I need, and the minor changes in location for some items.  Need to read some about seedlings...I'd like to start my tomatoe and peppers, but I don't want to waste time and money doing so, so a little research is in order. 

The baby chickens are  now 4 months old.  We should see a few more eggs by the end of the month, though every barred rock we hatched seems to show traits of roosters.  I'm hoping some of the dark egg batch produced hens.  Of course, we're currently slightly overrun with eggs.  Our ducks lay more faithfully than the chickens, and we have 4 ducklings from our last hatch, approximately 3 months old now.  At about 6 months, I expect them to lay.  We'll be doing more omelets and scrambled egg dinners, and egg sandwich lunches, I think.  When the feed stores get chicks in, perhaps end of this month, I'd like some Americanas...the Easter eggers.  Love the big blue eggs!  The little blue eggs from our auracanas are pretty cute, too. 

At any rate, it's definitely close to spring fever here, and I love being able to make this entry from the comfort of a living room with a lovely mountain view and lots of fresh air. 

Blessings from the ranch!