Winter!

By now I am sure the entire country has been innudated with the frosty white stuff. I hear it's even snowing in Texas! It finally started to snow up here and I am ready for it. Well, not ready, but I knew it was coming sooner or later (I mean, I do live in the Adirondacks!).

Monday it snowed a little. There was about 2 inches on the ground. Not enough to ski in, but enough that it blanketed everything. Yesterday it was sunny and the snow stayed around. I put the girls out in the pasture. They weren't very happy about that. I had to laugh when the young girls came bounding out of the barn only to just about flip over when they hit the brakes at the door before they hit the white stuff. It was hilarious! They didn't know what to do at all. I shoved them outside anyways and figured they better get to know the snow on a sunny day than on a not so pleasant day.

I knew that the weather man was calling for more snow so last night I ran around and got everything ready for the onslaught. I put the electronet away for the winter. The snow smooshes it and renders it useless so I rolled it up and put it away. I then moved the bucks to the cow shed for the winter. They had been living outside in the back pen. With the snow and cold I figured they might like living the remainder of the time inside the 10' X 12' lean-to shed rather than in an open pen. I even drug their sleeping box all the way from their pen to the shed so they could have an extra sheltered spot to sleep in at night. Aren't I thoughtful? Then I had to clean the chicken house. Until it gets cold enough for the floor of the chicken house to freeze, the floor gets really messy with 15 chickens in a 5' X 5' barn. Once there is snow on the ground they won't step on foot out of the chicken house, even though I leave their door open all the time. They make a mess of the water dish and spill it all over so I wind up cleaning out their house every week. Once the floor freezes I can just keep throwing new shavings on top of the frozen ones until the spring. Oh well, it comes with the territory.

Now the only things left to do before it gets really cold is put the Christmas lights up around the barn and move the rabbits from the outside hutch to cages in the goat barn. Right now the rabbits are fine living in the outside hutch. They have warm nest boxes and plenty of hay. Once it gets to -5F or less I will move them inside to stay warm.

Winter is wonderful, isn't it?