CHILLY WINTER DAY

It was FREEZING cold today... I believe we reached a high of maybe 22 degrees. This morning I had to go break the ice in the horses' water troughs... it took quite a few whacks with a heavy metal digging bar. I hope it gets above freezing tomorrow, as I may have to refill the troughs by then, which will be quite impossible if the hoses are frozen.

As I frequently do when it's particularly cold, I boiled a large pot of water on the stove to soak their beet pulp and alfalfa cubes to warm up their feed a bit. It's a funny sight to see when I dump the food into their buckets and steam wafts up as they eagerly dive in. The goats were particularly insistent on being fed right now, and they aren't at all fond of the cold. The two littlest babies (born on Thanksgiving) seemed just fine, romping about and appearing not to notice the temperature.

The bunnies had frozen water in their dishes, but other than that, seemed perfectly fine in their rabbit fur coats. I cut and split enough firewood to get me through tomorrow, so hopefully it won't stay frigid for too long!

Sabina

Update

I haven't posted in quite a while, so I think it's time for an update on the farm. I have 6 horses here now... my 2 (Shiloh and Magnum), and 4 boarders (Whisper, Aztero, Amaree and her colt Cashmir). My goat count is up to 8 with the birth of 2 new babies on Thanksgiving Day. I really need to sell the two older males... Billy Goat O'Leary is not too happy with them infringing on his does. My rabbit count is holding steady at 3, as my one female is either refusing to get pregnant, or quietly disposing of her litter as soon as it's born. I really need to get another female and see if I have more luck. That's about it for the livestock count... photos when I get to taking some!