Cleaning up

Well...the storm is over. Tim was able to get most of the yard cleaned before he had to leave for work yesterday. There sure was a lot of snow to push out of the way. Daniel and Leah played outside on the snow piles for hours. While they were out there the sun came out and it felt quite warm. Too bad they had to be so covered as they could have absorbed some Vitamin D from the sunshine.

After reading about the importance of Vitamin D in preventing disease we have been supplementing. Vitamin D comes from sunshine. Fifteen minutes of sun shining on your cheeks and arms around noon is supposed to supply your daily dose. But in northern climates we just don't get it. That's probably one reason we have such a high cancer rate here. I have read that cancer can't grow in a body that has enough Vitamin D.

It was still storming on Sabbath when I took this picture of these birds. I'm glad they were able to get something to eat.




Daniel made a patch for his eye and wanted a picture taken.



Yesterday morning I cleaned the ashes out of the wood stove. After I filled it with wood I thought, "I should take a picture." I'm sure I have mentioned that I just love this stove. One of the advertisements said that you only have to use one match a season. I love that I can let it burn down to where it has just a few coals and never have to build a fire with kindling and newspaper. I just load it and it always starts burning.

These are Whitney and Brandon's parakeets. We can't remember exactly how old they are. But we think we got them one of the first years we lived here. They have to be at least 10 years old and might be 12.

Rex, the bird on the right and the nicer bird, has not been doing very well the last couple weeks. I thought maybe he was dying. He was looking smaller and felt lighter when I held him on my finger. I have been just leaving him alone. The other night I took him out. I noticed he had a hard time staying on my finger. I sat down with him and he jumped onto my shoulder. Then her ran down my body onto my leg. I noticed he was limping. I'm relieved as I think he must have injured his left leg. That is why he hasn't been eating much. As he sits on his perch he is holding up that leg. He seems to have a hard time getting down to the food dishes and back up again. He is recuperating though, I think, and will get better, I hope.

While Tim was cleaning our yard our neighbor, Bruce came by with his tractor and snow blower. He was out cleaning some of the roads. We appreciate our good neighbors that help keep the roads open.

Leah had a hard time getting through the snow but she did make it to the snow pile where Daniel was playing.

Later they were playing in the drifts on the north side of the house. Brandon and Daniel had dug some tunnels there on Sabbath.

It was so nice and warm on the steps. The sun felt so good. I was able to stand out there for a few minutes in my shirtsleeves.

Here's a short video of Tim and old red. Old red is so old it isn't really red anymore. But it still gets the job done.