February, by the numbers, is the shortest. By the day to day experience, it is one of the longest. The extreme bipolarity of the weather is part of it, but also, winter is just getting long, and getting old. Two days ago, it was raining. Yesterday, it was -11. Today, we’re edging into the slightly-above-zero territory.

It is also cold-and-flu season. I have a very annoying cold again, the eldest was up in the night throwing up earilier in the week, everyone has the sniffles. My cabinet of tinctures is being well-exercised. Fire cider, sage, elderberry, willow bark. I still have several I need to decant off the herb, too. I am already well into my third box of tincture bottles. It will be time to stock up again soonish. I also need to start a new batch of fire cider in a month or so. We do tend to use a lot of it.

The cat is still having on-and-off trouble with his bladder. It is stressful, never knowing if this time is the last time. The other cat is still peeing on our bed out of offended dignity. Or trying, anyway. We have a shower curtain on the bed at all times right now, so he just gets wet with his own pee. Which doesnt make him happy at all.

There’s a lot of ice on the ground right now, so we dont go out much for safety reasons. We’ve been watching old seasons of MasterChef in the afternoons. This has had some interesting effects on the kids’ vocabulary. My youngest uses “palate” correctly in a sentence. All of the kids discuss the “texture” and “balance” of foods. They asked for Eggs Benedict on Saturday, but I made them promise not to judge me like a contestant, as I’d never made them before (and the Hollandaise came out of a packet). The eggs were a success, even to the child that doesnt like eggs.

I have most of my spring/summer planting organized and ordered. I still need to order the mushroom spawn, but that will wait unti May or thereabouts. The rest of the trees, shrubs, herbs, and flowers are ordered and either already in the mail (seeds) or waiting for planting season (bare roots and potted plants). I am very much looking forward to being back in the garden.

Spring-wise, we have several projects queued up and waiting. The chicken run gates need finished so we can finally let the birds outside. The duck hut needs assembled from the platforms I used to use as a clothesline. The goat shelter needs a roof. We need to sink any number of fenceposts for pasturage and heavy trellising. I think we shall need to acquire an auger, because pounding posts is NOT a good time. A simple hand auger is sufficient. Not a post-holer, though. I hate those.