First Winter Snow of 2022 on the Farm!

 We have snow!

Amazingly, after a day of weather in the mid 60s (that's 60 degrees Fahrenheit), we had a major snowstorm dump almost 14" of snow.  Here are some pics from yesterday and today...

They got boiled apples and oatmeal with their grain this morning, as the temperatures were down in the teens.  Here I am dragging a couple bales of hay down to the pasture on the sled.

Pimms was trying to take a nap, but then Atticus had to come beg for attention when I went to say hello.

The house actually looks quite adorable with soft snow everywhere and the warm light from the lamp post.

The sun was beautiful as it started to set on the snowy field with the horses eating their hay peacefully.

Atticus and Claire hoping for some grain or other tasty snacks.  And then as dusk was falling, it was time to go in by the fire for some hot cocoa!

Snow, snow, and more snow!

Zoey just loves the snow!

I must say, fresh snow is charming and fun for the first day or so, but when you have a farm, it gets old quickly. I again thank my lucky stars for my 4 wheel drive tractor, and the bucket that works quite nicely as a snow plow when needed.

Saturday was mostly fun, plowing the driveway and the neighbor's drive before the snow got very deep, admiring the clean blanket of white over everything. Before bed Saturday night, I noticed with a bit of surprise that it was still snowing, but not until Sunday did I realize how much! It took me quite a while to get hay to the horses, as the snow was deep enough that the tractor frequently got stuck and the wheels would just spin. So I'd have to get down and dig out by hand for a bit, before traveling another 5 feet or so.... it took me much more time and muscle power than I had anticipated! Perhaps I should have kept ahead of the snow more on Saturday....

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!