These snaps are all a bit dim in tone,
but welcome to morning chores!
Yes, it would be nice if the temp would rise above 22F (-5C), but
aren't we glad the snow has stopped?
This is the lengthy interlude between a very grey dawn
and the moment when welcome rays of sunlight
come a-dazzling through the trees.
We hope.
Since this was the babies' Very First Snowfall,
I brought a pocketful of celebratory carrots.
Carrots are a welcome treat, anytime, night or day.
Every one of my goats thinks carrot pennies are the best treat ever.
"I loooove carrots!"
"As Herd Matriarch, I should have the Most Carrots.
Obviously!"
"Did someone mention carrots?"
We got a couple-or-three inches of light, fluffy snow,
but under even the leafless trees there was less.
Under the hemlocks, there was almost no snow at all.
I didn't take a picture of that absent snow, but here's a tip for you:
next time you are caught in the woods during a snowstorm,
find a hemlock.
Hemlocks are our Friends.
~~~
Dara:"Look at this great pile of hay, Vinca!
Vinca:"Yum! Let's share it, 50-50, okay?"
Vinca:"New plan! Let's eat it up as fast as we can,
before Mama gets here and maybe knocks us sideways!
~~~
Fingers crossed it will warm up enough this week
that I can move some of these intrepid survivors to a safer place,
before the Return of the Snowplow.
Gardening has really been back-burnered since the porch project began.
But if I see one chance for transplanting this week,
I will gladly make it a priority.
~~~
Meanwhile...about those carrots...
Tsuga knows exactly which pocket to check.
Mostly because last year she very gradually, day by day,
quietly managed to chew a big hole in the other pocket.
Now anything I absent-mindedly stuff into that pocket just falls right through.
Which may be why I now have three single work gloves.
Or maybe not.
I do tend to leave gloves all over the place.
Tsuga is the one doe I hope to breed this year.
I have two potential bucks in mind, but there are tactical issues with both.
Stay tuned.
Oh Tsuga, little hemlock girl.
I am so looking forward to seeing your first kid.
~~~~~
