The snow has continued to drift down in a most genteel manner.
Cold, powdery, light and airy.
Like a well mannered and polite guest making sure it doesn't disturb the landscape too much.
It's not sticking to the netting over the chicken run, for which I am very grateful. And it is easy to sweep away from pathways... so far.
I can't keep my eyes off this bush either... it fairly LEAPS out at you when you pass by...
Yesterday before the bulk of this latest snow had fallen, I made three trips down to the barn to bring up wood. I'm very glad of it now. :-) Though, if it isn't too bad this afternoon, I plan to go get some more. They say it's supposed to snow on and off for days on end.
This is quite unusual for us. It's a colder than normal winter. We usually watch snow building up in the mountains but not down here.
The poor chickens are upset that their access to the bare ground is denied them. They love to peck around to see what they can find. Right now they are huddled in the coop, talking over old times when the wheat field was open to them and bugs were readily available.
I try to make it up to them by giving them cracked corn and oats added to their regular feed, but there's nothing like greens and a juicy worm now and then. At least they will have some wheat grass in a few days. It's growing on the bread table right now, snow or no snow. And once a day I break the ice out of their water bowl and give them hot water to drink, though they certainly don't seem to be consuming much water these days.
***
Sunny is in her dog house right now. Outside in the cold, watching the snow fall from her doorway.
Why?
Because when I let her out with me this morning to do chicken chores, she went on walkabout with Elvin up in the woods. She was gone for about an hour and when she didn't come back I decided to go out and see if I could spot her. I found her alright. Down in the ice pond tearing off chunks of the dead rabbit.
(I think I'm gonna hurl....)
Yeah, me too.
I called her but she didn't hear me. Over the last few months it has become very clear that she has gone almost completely deaf. It's one of those things you don't notice. You think she is just ignoring you because she doesn't want to do what you are asking. But it's true. I know it now.
When she finally saw me waving my arms and hollering, she dropped the chunk of hair covered gore she was working on and went back up the hill. .... she may be deaf, but she knows when she is in trouble.
I finally went in the house and got the dog whistle and called her. She had already come back to the yard and was down by the garden.
She's in her dog house because I don't want to witness any of the partially digested rabbit, should it decide to come back up. She will stay out there for a few hours to make sure it's going to stay down.
Lordy.
You'll have to excuse me now. I have to go put some more wood on the fire.
(You keep doing that, and you will have to go down to the barn again soon....)
I know... it's how we roll around here in the winter.
Haul wood, thaw water.
I can't keep my eyes off this bush either... it fairly LEAPS out at you when you pass by...
Yesterday before the bulk of this latest snow had fallen, I made three trips down to the barn to bring up wood. I'm very glad of it now. :-) Though, if it isn't too bad this afternoon, I plan to go get some more. They say it's supposed to snow on and off for days on end.
This is quite unusual for us. It's a colder than normal winter. We usually watch snow building up in the mountains but not down here.
The poor chickens are upset that their access to the bare ground is denied them. They love to peck around to see what they can find. Right now they are huddled in the coop, talking over old times when the wheat field was open to them and bugs were readily available.
I try to make it up to them by giving them cracked corn and oats added to their regular feed, but there's nothing like greens and a juicy worm now and then. At least they will have some wheat grass in a few days. It's growing on the bread table right now, snow or no snow. And once a day I break the ice out of their water bowl and give them hot water to drink, though they certainly don't seem to be consuming much water these days.
***
Sunny is in her dog house right now. Outside in the cold, watching the snow fall from her doorway.
Why?
Because when I let her out with me this morning to do chicken chores, she went on walkabout with Elvin up in the woods. She was gone for about an hour and when she didn't come back I decided to go out and see if I could spot her. I found her alright. Down in the ice pond tearing off chunks of the dead rabbit.
(I think I'm gonna hurl....)
Yeah, me too.
I called her but she didn't hear me. Over the last few months it has become very clear that she has gone almost completely deaf. It's one of those things you don't notice. You think she is just ignoring you because she doesn't want to do what you are asking. But it's true. I know it now.
When she finally saw me waving my arms and hollering, she dropped the chunk of hair covered gore she was working on and went back up the hill. .... she may be deaf, but she knows when she is in trouble.
I finally went in the house and got the dog whistle and called her. She had already come back to the yard and was down by the garden.
She's in her dog house because I don't want to witness any of the partially digested rabbit, should it decide to come back up. She will stay out there for a few hours to make sure it's going to stay down.
Lordy.
You'll have to excuse me now. I have to go put some more wood on the fire.
(You keep doing that, and you will have to go down to the barn again soon....)
I know... it's how we roll around here in the winter.
Haul wood, thaw water.