We woke up on Wednesday to a winter wonderland. For real. Look, this was the view out of the kitchen window.
I got up sort of early-ish to make cinnamon rolls. Here they are ready to go into the oven.
And all baked and packed up, ready to go to the morning meeting.
While they were baking, though, I took these pictures behind our resource center. Here is the overlook.
Isn't it beautiful?
And here is the last picture of snow, I promise. This tree belongs in the courtyard of a snow queen, I decided.
Meanwhile, our new group of volunteers has been in orientation all week. They've been learning all sorts of useful things; everything from where the grocery store is to the mission and purpose of Heifer International. They've also gotten to do a lot of the activities that we do with groups. Liz Jo played our World Map activity with them.
They've been helping with chores, too, and getting to know the animals, such as Ruth and Jessie, the Nubian goats who are BFFs. If you'll recall, they shared a pen behind our Guatemala house in the fall, but are back with the herd for the winter. It's good to know, though, that they still like each other best of all.
And speaking of goats, our farm family has gotten a little bit bigger. We bought a couple of Boer goats from a farm in the next town over, knowing one was pregnant. Well, as it turned out, Holly kidded the night before we got them, and yesterday I got to go with the livestock gals to pick up mama and baby, plus the baby's grandmother, Clara. Check out this precious, adorable goat baby!
I think he looks like a cross between a puppy and a baby clydesdale. I've decided to call him Tiny Dave.
Look! He's nursing!
Here is the proud papa, Big Dave. (Hence, Tiny Dave.)
He was passing out cigars and bragging to all the other dudes that live in their little man cave away from the ladies. And yes, Quentin enjoys standing in his feed trough.
And, okay, I know I promised no more pictures of snow, but look how this water/ice has run down off the roof and frozen in this curve shape. With tons of icicles to go with it! It looks like we've booby trapped the back of this barn!
That is all for now, except these two interesting facts I learned today. While helping the livestock team develop a game about the kinds of animals Heifer works with around the world, I learned a lot about some of the more unusual animals they give; animals I don't usually think of as "livestock."
1.) Did you know that ostriches take turns sitting on their nest of eggs? Female ostriches do it during the day and males do it at night. This is because ostriches look like this:
The brown coloring lets the females blend into the grass and stuff during the day so predators can't see them or their eggs. And then the male's black body is almost invisible at night, thus still protecting the eggs from being seen. Isn't that amazing?
2.) Silkworms. Silkworms. Silkworms. Are incredible. Well, I guess I didn't learn so much about them as what is done with them. Did you know that they have been domesticated in China for over 5,000 years? And, in fact, there are none still left naturally in the wild. The little silkworm larvae has a happy early life spent primarily eating the twigs of the mulberry plant, which it evidently enjoys a LOT, then eventually spins a cocoon made of silk. The fully matured moth is not allowed to emerge, however. If they broke out of the cocoon, it would damage the silk. So, instead, they are boiled, which kills the larvae (and which is then eaten) and loosens the silk so it can be spun and made into something. And, actually, even if the moth did emerge, they've been bred so long to not become moths that they wouldn't even be able to fly. They've also been bred to make big cocoons. I think I may never look at something made of silk the same way again.
Cheerio, then! It's dinner time, so good evening to you all!
