A Snowy Day

A snowy day in December?  In Northwest Georgia, that's as rare as hen's teeth!  Here's how we spent our first snowy day . . .

We went out into the bitter cold and biting wind to feed our hungry horde.

It's a blessing to find them safe and warm in the barn on such a bitter cold morning.

Zephyr helps herself to a pre-breakfast snack!

Sara and Siobhan ventured out into Siobhan's first snow!

After she hopped around a bit, Siobhan decided to eat the snow.

She shook her head and made a face, if a calf can make a face!

Such a cutie, with snowy whiskers.  (We've had some questions about how to pronounce Siobhan's name.  It's Shih-VAHN, the female Irish version of John or Sean, and it means "God is gracious.")

Next I went to let the big chickens out.  Esmerelda stepped onto the snow-covered ramp . . .

. . . then turned tail and pushed her way back inside!  Gypsy did the exact same thing.  Finally one of them got "brave" and took a long flying leap off the ramp.  She sailed out for a landing, and the instant her toes touched the snow, she launched herself airborne again!  Unfortunately, she couldn't fly far enough south to get away from the snow, so that time she had to land! 

While I was laughing at the chickens, Herb was loading the wheelbarrow with hay from the round bales we store in the barn.  He fills a hay net and gets extra loose hay to put in a wooden manger he built.  Of course, each horse picks a separate feeding station, leaving Sara with a dilemma:  Is she hungry enough to have to go share hay with a horse?  She bellowed her displeasure at us as we left the barn, but probably settled down with Angel as she ususally does.

As we walked down the driveway to get the paper, Hero and Zephyr enjoyed a romp in the snow.

After lunch it warmed up as much as it was going to, but it was still too freezing to try to ride (mainly because no gloves that are flexible enough to handle reins will keep you from frozen fingers in 20° weather!)  So I lunged Brandy good for 35 minutes in the round pen, then Herb volunteered to lead her up and down hills for another 25 minutes.  Her right stifle is still draining, but we continue to give her antibiotics and monitor her.

In the later afternoon Jenny and I went and ordered some file cabinets so she can help me start to organize our office and then we grocery shopped. After we got home, Herb and I winterized both the chicken coop and the brooder house and then fed our hungry horde again.  Then it was time to come inside and make couscous to feed my other hungry horde!  I will say, couscous may come from North Africa, but it is PERFECT on a freezing winter's night!