Sunshine, Treelings & Round Eggs

A bit chillier than it has been but incredible and sunny just the same. I honestly don't think this paranormal weather is a good omen of things to come but I am so thankful for it.

For one thing, I Greatly misjudged how much wood we would need to keep the cottage warm and had it been a cold winter we would have been sorely lacking. I kept putting it off last year to get other things done so that we got very little cut. We also got a load of wood from some friends which went a long way in keeping us warm when we need it. The cottage stone takes a bit to heat up but once it's heated it holds it well. Not as efficient as the earthberm was but much more so than any other house I've lived in.

Last year was about getting settled in, learning how to work with things as they are in this life and getting things running on a system that works best for and with us. This year we're very settled in but it will be more of the same, learning to work with and setting things up to work for us. Especially with gardening, we didn't really have one last year at all, which was a bit terrifying to me. I can't wait for this years gardens to begin and they're already starting.

We got 27 trees and bushes planted. Hauling water to them is almost as exhausting as planting them but it's a joyous thing to water each thing and know what it will bring.

I'm also getting ready to start seeds :) :) :) :) I usually have some lettuces and sprouts for winter but this year I've been able to have wild greens throughout. I picked sorrel and dock today for salad with our evening meal and gathered a few small cinquefoil leaves as well.

I found this tiny, very round egg the other day. It's a duck egg, which are generally bigger than the chicken egg, and it's perfectly round. I've never seen a round egg before nor one so tiny. It was half the size of a Banty egg. Lydia, the duck, seems just fine and has given us several normal eggs since.

                                             A medium sized egg next to Lydia's tiny round egg



We made a trip to Sam's last Wed. and I used the blood pressure machine there to check mine. I've been feeling slowed, very low wick, beyond just tired, very fatigued. On recent trips to town to deliver eggs my face has been very flushed and warm to the touch, not a fever at all, something else. A friend suggested high blood pressure, which i've never had in my life. So I checked mine at home and it was around 130/80. 2 weeks later the same thing happened on egg day so I checked it again and it was the same. I've also had a headache for 2 weeks now from a pinched nerve in my neck or shoulders so i put it off as having something to do with that. But at Sam's my blood pressure was 161/99! Incredibly high. I am quite sure it rises when going to town and rises a lot more in going to Springfield and/or being around a lot of people but it should not be that high. The only think i could think of was that i had been taking some of Nik's OTC sinus pills and i have a very low tolerance for those kinds of things. I stopped taking them and started taking a lot of garlic and gingko daily and already feel much better with a stronger wick. Strangely tho, I can't find our cuff to keep track of my blood pressure. I have always kept it and my stethoscope together (each in their own bag) in the medical bag but we've not found it anywhere.

March 4th, next Sunday, is our first Bakers Creek day for 2012. Lots of goings on here to get ready for it. I trying to build up an inventory of balms and salves, what herbs I can spare, which aren't many and whatever handcrafted goods I can get done. Saturday will be baking day, breads everywhere. I'm looking forward to it! If you're in the area do stop by and say Hi :)

Now I'm off to make granola  :)