The snow continues, but a lot of it has melted. For the first time in two weeks, then hens came running out with their usual headlong greed when I appeared with a bucket of grain. Previously, the thick and unfamiliar snow had made them reluctant to spend any more time outside than absolutely necessary.

The snow should be gone tomorrow, and we'll be back to normal Western Oregon winter weather -- plenty of rain, occasional frosty nights, but daytime highs above freezing.

We have some pullet that need to be moved out of the brooder house. We kept them back due to the unseasonal snowfall. Other than that, things are pretty quiet.

I'm taking advantage of the holidays to prepare more books for publication. The second Tom Slade boy scout novel will be available in the next week or two, plus Amelia B. Edwards' true-life travels in Egypt in the nineteenth century, "A Thousand Miles up the Nile." (Amelia B. Edwards was clearly the inspiration for Amelia P. Emerson in Elizabeth Peters' wonderful series of Egypt-themed mysteries.) And there's even a novel of mine coming out soon. Stay tuned.