Fire danger is low (but I saw a report of a wildfire in southern Oregon - Jackson Co. I think).  Two weeks with only a few drops of rain the other evening is kind of strange in January here.  We didn't get really hard freezes at night until this past week.  Now there are places where the ground doesn't thaw during the day, even though the temperature gets up to the mid 40's F.  I am carrying water to my blueberries this week (as the hose is not functional), and the ground around their roots is probably quite dry.  I also raked up wheelbarrows full of leaves off the trails in the forest and tossed them into the garden for my chickens to rake into the soil.  The barn cats are finding a rodent every day, mostly mice, and a couple shrew-moles.  In the late afternoon, I hear the red-legged frog by the stream that drains the pond.  Birds are plentiful.  I'm not seeing so many signs of deer and larger predators as former years, but that may be due to our increased presence in the forested area.  The previous week, when it was a bit warmer, I started some lettuce and brassicas in a seed tray.  They sprouted well, and now I go back and forth to my little "greenhouse" a few times each day, to carry them outside, adjust the zippers, and carry them back inside.  Am also cutting and stacking firewood for the next winter, and cutting and grubbing out roots of an invasive blackberry patch.  The pullets like these sunny days and are laying well already.  I gave them an under-sized coop for winter, so they stay warmer (I hope).  The power company had an energy-shifting morning this week.  So we put some extra logs on the fire and turned the electric heat down a notch. The creek is really quite low - the flow is still pretty good, but I don't think it will be much lower than it is now even in summer.  Wednesday, about an hour before sunset, we had some really striking sun-dogs.  Daffodils are about 6 inches high, and California poppies are growing nicely.  I stored ripe apples and pumpkins around the house outside, and some of them are still good eating.