It was – 7 this morning when Maria got up to go out and feed the donkeys, and the sheep let the chickens out of their roots and clean up the barn.

I am not allowed to go out and do farm chores if the temperature is below zero. I got hypothermia the other day.

“I’m going to dress extra warmly,” she said when we got up. OK, I thought, this will have to be a picture.

She does layer up, leggings on beneath a nightshirt,  heavy winter socks I got her from L.L. Bean, scarves and cowls and hats and thermal gloves, and of course, her signature red boots from London ($6 in a local thrift shop), plus a Columbia ski jacket I got her for her birthday a couple of years go.

Maria is always herself; she never looks like anyone else. She is carrying leftover foods for the compost box and gourmet snacks for the donkeys or the chickens. She never goes out in the morning without them, even if it’s 20 below.

Speaking of birthdays, tomorrow is Maria’s 58th birthday; she is now as old as I was when I moved upstate and bought the first Bedlam Farm.

We’re going to a museum on her birthday, as is our custom  – Mass Moca in Massachusetts tomorrow morning, and then to a plant store in North Adams, Mass., I’m buying her some plants. We needed reservations and proof of vaccinations to get in.

Then, a late lunch or dinner.

Saturday, we’re going to see the movie “Flee.”

If you wish to send birthday greetings, you can do so by e-mailing her at [email protected].

I got her a piece of clothing I’m hiding in my study, and yesterday gave her her tea warmer and Sake set. We toasted one another with warm Sake before bedtime last night.

Other news: The headed indoor cat house is arriving today for our barn cats in the basement. More frigid weather is coming this weekend; this is just in time.

Zinnia’s new warm orthopedic bed is coming tomorrow. We love our new Casper mattress.

Tonight’s dinner, suggested by the Mayo Clinic healthy eating program, is roast lemon chicken and vegetables with sweet potato and yogurt: fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, lemon, finely shredded, dried mixed herbs, garlic, chicken breast, black pepper, cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini, chicken stock. Sweet potato on the side, plain Greek yogurt for dessert.

All of this is baked for 30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees.

—- I left my Leica out in the car last night and when I remembered, I rushed out to get it. It was frozen solid, the battery was dead and the lenses were frosted closed. I nearly panicked but the remembered how tight and tough these cameras are. I put the camera a few feet away from a wood stove, took the battery out, and took off the protective lens filter.

All is well.