I’ve always been a weather watcher. In my city life it was mostly to know what kind of hair day I was going to have. Or if I needed to properly time my escape from an afternoon downpour. In the country weather can be the difference between life and death – literally.
Yesterday was over 50 degrees and sunny. It was a spectacular weather day. After the cold weather we’ve had recently 50 degrees is truly balmy. In fact, I had to strip down while doing chores because I was actually about to break a sweat. Hauling water buckets, moving hay and stacking firewood will do that, even in very cold weather.
The weather channel had been predicting a winter storm with 1-3 inches of snow. Here in the South most people panic for good reason – ice. We love snow but ice is another story. So most people hit the stores the day before a storm to stock up on whatever essentials they’ll need for a few days. For those of us in the country we don’t just have to prepare ourselves we have to prepare our animals as well. So yesterday was an incredibly busy day both with work and trying to prep. I passed out cold by 8 pm last night. It was great.
Prepping for me consists mostly of making sure I have enough food for the animals as well as “boredom busters”. Yes, animals get bored easily and can pick on each other. So things like balls of cabbage or lettuce, apples and any other foods the animals have to work at are helpful to have on hand.
Then there’s the wood pile I have to replenish as well as making sure I have plenty of dry kindling. Forgetting the firewood or faucets would be a nightmare. Water and warmth are essential.
Speaking of warmth, the baby chicks had to be moved back into the house for the next couple days. They are fully feathered but are very unhappy outside in the frigid temps, even in the barn with a heat lamp. Technically, they should be fine now but I bring them in anyway. It’s nice to hear their little baby voices talking to each other chattering away. They are happy and that makes me happy.
I woke up early to silence, which is odd. I felt like I did as a kid wondering if snow was accumulating or not. So I jumped up to head outside.
As I went out to feed the animals I found the makings of a winter wonderland. It was completely silent. Snow was falling softly at a diagonal. This snow was unlike the snow a few days ago. That snow hurt. It felt like little rocks being thrown at my eyes. This snow was the kind you see on Christmas cards.
The turkeys were still in bed, high up in the trees. No roosters were crowing and the geese and goats were oddly quiet.
Then suddenly I see Luca come bounding around the barn in full puppy mode leaping about and trying to catch his own tail. Adorable.
As soon as he saw me he charged full speed in my direction, blowing snow all around him. I braced myself for impact and prayed I wouldn’t have to refill the water buckets I was carrying. Wearing so many thick, heavy clothes is a workout in itself but balancing full water buckets while precariously walking on ice and snow takes it to another level of difficulty.
To my relief Luca came to a dead stop right in front of me. I was his only hope for a playmate. I set all my baggage down and snapped this pic:
How can I deny that face? How cute are those snowflakes on his snout!? I promised I’d play with him after chores. He acquiesced and padded along with me to the barn where he waited patiently for breakfast while I fed the others.
The cats seemed ravenous, as usual. So did the goats. I had to coax the turkeys down from their tree so they wouldn’t miss breakfast. As I made my way to the chicken coop I realized I didn’t see the chickens. Usually they are lined up along the wire waiting for me to set them free and feed them. There were no chickens to be seen. I panicked a bit until I got close enough to see the snow had drifted into their coop. For several feet their floor was white with snow…and not one chicken footprint.
As I rounded the corner and looked inside the chickens were standing on the edge of the snow covered floor staring at it, mesmerized. They didn’t seem to notice I was there. They wanted nothing to do with this strange white stuff.
The few older hens have seen snow a couple times in the past five years but they wanted nothing to do with it either. So to break them of their fear I threw scratch, veggies and fruit onto the snowy areas. This broke their trance and the feeding frenzy commenced. Silly birds.
Next was Luca’s turn. My hands were red from cold but I promised him playtime. We played hard as best I could manage in all those thick clothes. We played until he decided to nap in the snow. He’s such a happy snow dog.
Finally, it was time to take care of myself. I went inside to start the fire and make my breakfast and tea. Mornings on a farm in winter can feel like an entire day. After yesterday’s hustle and today’s long morning I’m grateful for a quiet Tuesday.
xo