Frosty Tx and Time to Plan!

The last few days have been extremely cold for our area (15 degrees at night). Two days ago the temp was 27 and the windchill was 10F! South Texas is not set up or prepared for such an insult! Pipes are freezing and breaking all over town, seems that is the main story these days on the news. We have not had any broken pipes (knock on wood), and have just had to break ice daily for the animals. The pond has been completely frozen over--this really confuses Max. I am not sure what the ducks think of it, they are hiding in the hay pretending to hibernate.
Vera gave a shy 1.5 gallons this morning. We skipped several days of milking in the last month: this or the need to increase her grain are probably both factors, we also have only separated the calf twice. That is an undeniable factor (the little piglet likes his milk!). She continues to do very well in the stanchion and is usually a sweet girl. This morning (we separated last night) she was more intent on getting to her calf than she was on getting her breakfast, you would think it was only a few days old the way she was acting!
I got a wild hair to repaint the dining room yesterday. It was a great idea for the room, just not a great idea for me. Too much stretching and moving in ways I should not have. I was in pain and too worn out to attend the Holiday Party for my office. Advil is a great thing. As for my coworkers, I will finally get to see them all on Monday. It has been a month since I have been there or seen them, I miss them!
My favorite seed catalogs have arrived! Seeds of Change, Seed Savers, Stark Bros and Richter's.
It is time to sit down with graph paper and plan out the garden. I do this every year, start with a bang and even remember to document what I plant and when. By May my record keeping usually leaves something to be desired. I have to remember to go through and catalog (and proof) seeds left over from last year. This time last year I neglected that step and ordered doubles of things I didn't need to, and ended up short on some other items.
My plan this year is to focus on our favorites, plant double the amount of tomatoes, revamp the herbs and plant twice as many pollinator flowers for the bees and butterflies.
The joy of winter is planning the spring garden (and the fact that all the weeds are dead)! It is all excitement and anticipation!