Mistletoe?

These could be balls of mistletoe hanging over the front gate, but sometimes I wonder if they could be squirrel nests. I'd rather go with mistletoe. Sometimes after a big storm blows through I have found little pieces of greenery that I think is mistletoe. I pick it up and get rid of it because I don't want to leave it laying around for Morgan or the chickens to find. Wish I could figure out how to get it out of the trees then I could make mistletoe wreaths.

The rain has not washed away all the snow and there is more snow due tomorrow if I can believe the forecast. Anyway, I am very, very glad to have the rain and the snow finally get everything wet! I have been looking forward to having the ground wet enough to sink a shovel in the dirt. California is in drought mode which I think is pretty much its natural condition.

Although I do remember some very wet years that lead to floods and lots of trouble. I would be happy to have a nice wet winter up here without the flooding, thank you. I guess I will have to move up the coast to Oregon or Washington to be able to have the wet stuff year round. Instead of worrying about stuff I think I will just enjoy listening to the rain. Sounds nice.

I burned the stew a bit tonight when the lentils soaked up all the water. That's what I get for not setting the timer and for setting the dutch oven directly on the top of the stove instead of on a trivit. It still tasted good.

I have been giving the chickens warm water to drink and giving them some grain along with their regular feed. Our chickens are supposed to do well in cold weather and they are doing fine except for the laying eggs part of the deal. Maybe when the snow is gone I will see some eggs?

[0 eggs today]

I told the hens they can go outside and play

as soon as it stops raining.

Smiles

~:>

Mistletoe

[5 eggs]

I spotted the mistletoe in the oak tree this morning when I went out to unlock the gate to let Kristine out on her way to work. Usually I forget about the mistletoe because I don't see it when the trees are leafed out and I don't look up. Here is a site with lots of information about our California mistletoe.

At times we have found a dead chicken that died for no apparent reason and I have wondered if the chicken ate some mistletoe seeds or leaves that fell to ground. But the site says that birds eat the seeds so I guess the chickens are safe. At Christmas I would like to be able to get to the mistletoe to add to wreaths, but it is up way too high in our oak trees to collect. Farther up the mountain there are trees where the mistletoe is accessible.

Our oaks are just beginning to leaf out. It is very difficult to see, but there is a slight difference in the color of the branches. It wont be long before we will have lots of shade.

Today around noon I heard a terrific noise overhead and went outside to try and get a look, but I couldn't see anything in the sky. It got so loud that I thought something was going to come near to crashing nearby. We are on a flyway so it is not unusual to see airplanes very, very high passing overhead. But I never heard such a lot of noise before.

Smiles