The gear is the same, over and over again. Wool socks, fleece-lined jeans, hoodie, cap, scarf, coat, insulated muck boots, gloves. Two gallons of warm water. And I head out to the barnyard.
We have been in the middle of a deep freeze. Single digit nights and 20’s during the day. It’s not horrible, just relentless. And not pretty. The snow, still deep in spots, is now crunchy with a crust on top and the paths I shoveled are strewn with goat berries (a polite word for poop) frozen solid into the ground.
We’re in it together, the animals and I.
The water needs to be refreshed multiple times a day since it keeps freezing. So the gear goes on, jugs get filled, Keela and I head out. It has been a real grind.
Chop the ice, fill, repeat.
But on New Year’s Day the sun was out and the temps touched the freezing mark. Felt almost balmy. Doink was feeling frisky and tipped over the hay. For some reason, even though it had been available all night, it got much more interesting to everyone.
A veritable feeding frenzy.
And then, a nap.
Sammy was stuck like glue to Brandy.
Hey girl, how ya doin?
Can I get a little closer? (He’s totally smitten with her.)
Brandy says, “Yeah, I’m just not feeling the love, actually.”
Mr. Pickles continues to provide comic relief as he tries to grow up without getting pecked silly by the ladies. He’s got a way to go. He’s often solo in the barnyard, looking like he’s trying to figure out what to do next.
If you need me, I’ll be hiding on the sunny side of the shed.
I’m grateful to TopKnot, who kicked off the return of eggs in the nesting boxes. I think four or five of the girls are laying now. I’ve seen sweet Lucy sitting in the box almost every day, but so far no white egg has been laid.
TopKnot is camera shy.
I went to a Christmas stand and loaded the back of my car with discarded trees. They’re never a huge hit, but in a couple of month they’ll be stripped bare from occasional snacking.
All lined up, ready to be eaten.
Towards bedtime, somebody got extra hungry and relocated one of the trees.
That’s a big nighttime snack you’ve got there, Doink.
The temps drop quickly when the sun goes down, so everyone beds down early.
But first, a little more goat love.
I hope the new year is good to all of you. I think it’s going to be a great one!
And now, your moment of zen…compliments of Tia 🙂
**Shared at (mis)Adventures Mondays**
They are all adorable as usual. I always find that any food item that gets tipped over always instantly becomes much more interesting. I feel for you with the weather, it is mild here in the U.K. We have had the warmest December on record. It is and has been, wet, though.
I would have loved to see Doink dragging that tree to his bed. I think the alpacas have the most amazing faces.
Carol Caldwell recently posted…Speckles likes the new nest boxes
The taking of photos has become most difficult. I remove my gloves to give treats. I remove my gloves to take photos. Now every time I take my gloves off I get swarmed by all the animals thinking I have treats. Bad move on my part. Doink had a massive wad of hay in his mouth tonight, I took my phone out of my pocket to capture the moment…he dropped it like a hot potato and ran straight at me 🙂 Dreaming of spring around here!
Hi Joan,
I love your blog and the names for your animals. I don’t know if the names come from their personalities, or if their personalities come from the names. Either way, they’re perfect matches.
Hope you’re temps modify soon. Linda
Thanks Linda! All of my four-legged animals are adopted and came with their names. The chickens have been named my myself, friends and family. 🙂 Temps are up, but snow predicted for later in the week…because we live in Colorado and it’s winter!
What a great idea to gather up the discarded trees! So glad your critters were able to enjoy them.
I’ll bet that sun feels mighty good! Sending you more sunshine to keep that water flowing!
daisy recently posted…Happy New Year!
Joan, I am constantly amazed how patient you are with the animal care….I do not know how you do it all! Deep freeze arrived here as soon as the first first work burst for the new year!…since then, I’ve been listening to daily complains and groans for every kettle of hot water carried out to thaw the water for our chooks! I should send them to you for further training:)
annie recently posted…Beauty of an old village
I have been known to complain a bit—ask my husband! But they need their water and care…and it’s my job. I get goat kisses and beautiful eggs in return for the work 🙂
Brrrr! I’m in the UK at the moment, where the weather has been very warm but very, very wet. Days are always grey-skied and for many people, their entire home has been flooded out. Heart-breaking.
In Italy, on the other hand, it’s so warm and sunny they were eating Christmas dinner on the lawn! I’m hoping by the time we get back there it’s cold and snowy – as long as my livestock is all as well cared for as yours are, and the snow doesn’t turn to slush, I’m happy! 🙂
Cath recently posted…Jan 8, The pine marten : a chicken predator.
We got another 4″ of snow yesterday. Now we’ve got fluffy white powder over crusty dried old snow. I’m ready for spring! Enjoy your vacation 🙂
Joan Hobbs recently posted…The Glove Problem