The thaw today showed me that the well head and pvc pipes from the head to the bury hydrant had cracked.  What a startling sound water rushing down the front lawn was.  Repairs made, have to wait 24 hours before using. Since the rural roads are still quite the slip and slide, I opted to sleep in Shawnee tonight. Hot shower, free wifi, hello motel 6.  Literally sleeping one mile from school.  LOL...hoping they won't call school tomorrow for icy roads.

Two days ago, my yard was covered up with snow!  Today  temps are in the 60's and it is gorgeous!  I finally found an Ofkuskee sheriff deputy who heard me out and is coming to explain today to my neighbors that the goats cannot wander on my place, nor the chickens, nor any of their family.  Sad that it had to come to this, but there have been a couple of events recently that had scared me.  Anyone who lnows me knows I dont scare easy.  As long as it gets done, I will be fine with it.  They even had a reserve deputy on duty last night who swung through my road a few times throughout the night.  Best  sleep I have gotten in weeks.  Bonus: The neighbors  goats have been penned in the tiny chicken coop all day.  I think  they spied the sheriff car last night.
Spring appears to be settling in, so I took advantage and replanted potato plants, peas, and even some carrots.  i am anxious to get the garden going, but only cool weather crops will go in so far because I have a sneaking suspicion that we have one  or two more heavy frosts to come.  The local spring frost free date is mid April.

A second storm roared through beginning on Friday. It was a repeat of Monday in that we went to school, cold clear but good roads.  By noon it was snowing, with ice mixed in. Took two hours to come home, again due to roads. It finally quit  today with nearly four inches in the yard and top covering of ice. The  yard is beautiful, especially with no tracks in it.  Other than getting firewood from the porch and watching the ice melt off the roof in sheets, I have not been out since gettingin last night.  The plan of the day was making soup,making, and snoozing in the shared recliner!  Through it all Ms. Boo supervised!

This snow was quite a strong storm, nearly 2 inches arrived Monday afternoon between lunch and dinner.  The nice thing about my location is it also melts fairly quickly!  Still having difficulty with the neighbor and their invading chickens and goats.  They tried putting up a partial fence out of pallets. Looks nice, but does not run the full length of the boundary. They stated they thought the animals would not walk around the ends......yep, they do!

Apparently winter has decided to take over here I. North Central Oklahoma.  On Monday, it was cold with blustery winds, and gunmetal grey skies.  I left for the school where I teach at my normal time and it took the normal 35 minutes to get there.  By mid morning, the snow/sleet mix had begun to drop out of the sky.  Kids were kept in for lunch recess ( I teach at a middle school and. That outdoor time is very important on the students AND the teachers sanity).  By dismissal at 3:35pm, we had to keep kids in until loading on the bus because the temps had dropped, and the snow and sleet mix had coated all the roads, and walkways. Kids who normally walk home were instructed to call someone to come get them.  I left as quickly as possible, as soon as getting the room prepared for the next days state writing exam ( all walls covered so no instructional or motivational posters werre visible). The drive home took 90 minutes with the worst being once I was off the interstate and into Lincoln county.  They had not plowed, nor treated that anyone could tell.  The interstate I could go about 55 mph because both treated and plowed, though still slippery on the bridges.  By the time I climbed the last hill into Prague and headed east to Paden, the roads had gotten worse.  Once I crossed into my county (Ofkuskee) I could see sand and what looked like cinders spread on the road as some attempt to treat them.  At this point I could safely get to 35mph. Once off the pavement and onto the four miles of dirt road to the house, it became a bit easier to manuever because the semis going into and out of the gas plant had "broken trail" for me.  One of the things I have learned about homesteading, is own a big brawny pick up, preferably four wheel drive.  Something's to remember when out driving I wintry weather.....don't go faster than you feel it is safe.  If many people get backed up behind you, pull off for a moment and let them go by.  Saves stress on you every time you look in your mirror.  Stay home if possible in the worst of it!  Keep a blanket, extra warm jacket, bottles of water, and even some protein bars in the car in case you get stuck.  
   We did get a snow day today (Tues) and I am guessing will do the state exam tomorrow on our return.  Ms. Boo and I are staying comfy and warm in front of the wood stove today, which is keeping the cabin at a comfy 75 degrees with very little effort.  I have turned off the electric space heater that I use during the day when not home.  I did take a walk up the hill to see and yep the pond is frozen, though not ice enough, by anyone's stretch of the imagination to walk out over the ice!  The next storm is forecasted to hit us on Friday night and through the weekend.
I plan on cooking and baking today to take advantage of the wood stove heat.  Ya'll stay warm and dry!

Wonderful gentle soaking rains all day today.  I have done some baking, laundry, and kept a small fire going in the wood stove today- just enough to keep the chill off.  Today's high was only 42 which just felt raw after two weeks of near summer temps.
Just to let my followers know, there is also a Facebook page for SilverMoon Homestead now.  Eventually, I will just post just on that venue, as it reaches more people.  In the meantime, I will post on both.  It will be a slow weaning process.  Facebook not only reaches more people, but pictures are easier to load, and label there.  It is my hope that all of my followers here will go like the Silver Moon Homestead page and continue following on that sight.

After a couple weeks of freezing temps, finally the sun popped up and the temps zoomed into the 60's. In honor of the nice weather, several jobs on my to do list are being tackled.  There is always wood to cut, the cabin to clean.
 I managed to learn ho much fun it is to change a headlight bulb on the Dodge! Slightly over an hour, and a visit to Rick to help at the end, and I again have two working headlights.
There was a meeting today with like minded folks who are into tiny homes.  It was interestin to hear all the different ideas.