Saturday, February 9, 2013

Real Snow


We got it.

Wore my tallest muck boots, the ones that touch my kneecaps, for chores this morning, but the snow laughed at my boots.  Then filled them up.  Then melted, saturated my jeans and froze them to my legs. Hahaha! said the snow.

On a brighter note...
aren't my goats lucky to have such nice hay to eat?
All my goats love HayMan.
HayMan is my goats' favorite person in the Whole Entire Universe.

I tried an experiment this morning.  It's something I've been planning to do the next time we had deep snow.  Instead of delivering hay via a straight line between goat shelters in the little paddock, I made a deliberately meandering path.  Here's why:

In snow that is even a few inches deep, my goats prefer to stick exclusively to MY path through the snow, walking along in single-file.  If new snow is more than a few inches deep they will actually linger in their shelter in the morning, waiting for me to break trail for them.

The big babies!


In a typical winter, that means there will eventually be a single, narrow, ice-and-poop-encrusted trail that the goats follow all winter.  They ignore the rest of the paddock that I spent so much time and effort fencing for them.

The fencing is also for me, I suppose.  There is a possibility that at least one of my goats, the big black doe, would prefer to move right into the house.  There she could relax in the parlor, alternately working on her memoir and amusing herself by staring Piper into a state of befuddled frenzy.

So, back to the path.  I would like the goats to use and fertilize more of the paddock throughout the winter.

According to my plan, then - a plan made before there was thigh-deep snow - the first thing I did when I went out to feed this morning was trudge a meandering route through the little paddock.  Took 10 minutes and I'll tell you what: I'm glad I did it first thing, because that is the LAST unnecessary expenditure of energy there will be around here today!

After that little flight of whimsy, what would normally be 20 minutes of bare-minimum chores took an hour and a half, and I came in soaked to the skin with either melted snow or sweat, depending on geography. (Yes, who's the big baby now, eh?  And I used to work in the woods, in the winter, all day long, and loved it.  Shocking!  Or sad.  Or shockingly sad!)

The goats did follow one of the loopy paths down to their hay, and to be fair, even within the paths the snow is still at least a foot deep.  I wish I had gotten pictures of one of the youngsters, thrilled to find himself at the front of the line and leaping like a fish to get through the snow to be First At The Hay!

But it was not a great morning for pictures.  It was still snowing and blowing and dim.  After nearly dropping the camera twice while trying to stay on my feet in the wind, it seemed like that was about enough fun with photography for the moment.  Fun with the shovel called to me.

 I did get this one of Piper's first leap from the porch.  
Piper embraces life, with or without snow.
But even Piper chose to follow my path.

(The big baby!)

~~~~~


16 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness what a morning! I'm the big Baby, it's 49 degrees here, no snow and sunny and I'm bundled up on the couch like it's 10 degrees below 0.

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  2. glad your muddling through...you had a powerful amount we only got 6inches in Pa..enough for me with horses to tend ...it was easier when younger these days I see why so many consider Florida but they can keep there rain storms..our snow isn't nearly as bad .
    found by feeding in a different spot each day rather than in barn they walk paths down and eventually the entire paddock area is flat and gets tended for growth..wishing you sunshine to melt the freeze..

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    1. It was, indeed, "easier when younger." Much! ;)

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  3. Great photos of piper and your goat never the less!!
    You had me giggling at you routine trek turned marathon lol Hope the snow fades fast for you and others over there.
    We are expecting falls over here again the weather men say.....so Ive stocked up on chocolate...........just in case...oh and some gin for medicinal needs naturally.....

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    1. I ate my Emergency Chocolate Bar before the storm even started, just as a precaution! ;)

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  4. I wonder if that's true for all goats or only yours? It's a strange story indeed!

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    1. Not sure about all goats, but another cashmere goat breeder told me that hers do the same thing.

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  5. You had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants, yes, not graceful but true! Poor you! Sorry it took so much longer to do your chores though, that wind combined with the snow was no picnic to be in!
    Stay warm and dry my dear friend!
    Hugs,
    Beth P

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  6. Hello, Quinn, Dear! What a fun post!! I've come to you from the "Grow Your Blog" list that Vicki at Two Bags full has so kindly left up...(It was over before I heard about it!)I am so happy to have found your delightful blog, and am now following!
    Please visit me if you get the chance!
    Hugs,
    Anne ♥

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    1. I think this party will be going on for quite a while! :)

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  7. Wow that's a lot of snow! I'm equally jealous and relieved that we never get anything like that! I thought you would be amused to know that I have been inspired by your walnut yarn and have bought myself some fawny/brown sock yarn so I can knit some socks for Mr Locket. It won't be as nice as your yarn but I can pretend! Lucy xx

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  8. Love that goat photo! And I love your idea of paths in the snow. In the past couple of years we've only had deep snow once, but would any goat (or chicken) step off the path I shoveled them? Nooooo.

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    1. Hahaha! Do the chickens follow you, mumbling to themselves about how slowly you are getting the job done?

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  9. Delightful photos,the goats are adorable, but as you might have guessed, Piper is my favourite!

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  10. Ha! So funny! This had me laughing all the way through. :) Best wishes, Tammy

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