The threat of all that snow stayed a bit to the north, but the temps have dipped instead. A few days into the teens and nights into the singles! A bit of snow has fallen but nothing beyond the expected. Every day is one day closer to Spring, warm weather, and the start of all things farm and homestead for the year.
One semi exciting happen has been the final mortgage payment! Fluffy Bottom is no longer a partnership with the bank. The mortgage was left over from the days of very low interest and it was just time to clear the debt from the books. The tractor (at zero %) will be paid off this summer and that will leave just the truck debt still around. Of course the operating costs come up every month but they are within a manageable level.
The Incubations are set up and ready to go to work for the year. A test set of Cochin bantam eggs are in the one to check the incubators operation before the hens get into laying mode. Early chicks are always a lot of extra work but in the end it just needs to be done. Last year the plastic box brooder a worked ok, but required lots of cleaning. This year a new brooder is being built once the weather breaks to better tune that part of chick care. With a little luck, the design will be better and help streamline that enterprise on Fluffy Bottom Farm & Homestead.