with feathers

We've had two more snowstorms which have been pretty to look at and certainly more comfortable to work in than several days of rain. Now the snow is gone, the rain has stopped for a couple of days, and we've even seen the sun.

But it's been very cold again - in the low 20s when I get up - and windy. 

Biting winds.

Here's a hungry chickadee, back turned to the wind.

Brrrrrrr.

 My birdfeeders have never been busier than in recent months. I haven't totted up how many pounds of feed have been purchased, but I consider the cost to be my Entertainment Budget. And well spent.

Goldfinches are such scrappy little birds. They'd rather argue than eat.

And now the goldfinches are starting to color up. Spring is near.

This little nuthatch was perfectly still for about two minutes.

Lost in thought?

Mourning doves are so colorful.

Understated, but colorful.

Speaking of color...

Fingers crossed the bluebirds will continue to visit a while longer.

~~~~~

so far so good

Afternoon sun on the Upper West Side.

We've been having some lovely, sunny weather this week. Still quite cold, mostly teens and 20s F, but not windy. Very pleasant weather to be out in.

Moxie surveying her domain.

Bluebird hoping the starlings left some mealworms.

Tsuga in the sun.

Fernie at my fingertips.

The brighter sky in February has been very welcome, especially following the series of snowstorms in late January:

Now the forecast is a few days of warmer weather - in the 30s or even higher - which could melt more of the remaining snow in the driveway. This would be helpful because I'd like to get the next delivery of chaffhaye to the top of the driveway, at least. Each pallet holds 30 densely-packed 50-pound bags. They are large, slippery blocks and I do not find them easy to handle. If the pallets have to be left at the bottom of the driveway this time, every individual bag will eventually have to be brought up with either a sled or a wheelbarrow. The driveway is a hill. I've brought countless items up the driveway over many years, and I can tell you: 90 bags of chaffhaye would be No Joke. So here's hoping for good timing, a clear-ish driveway, and an experienced forklift operator.

Meanwhile, I hope you are having blue skies in your neck(s) of the woods!

~~~~~

postcard from the paddocks

Well, we've been having some weather lately.

It's okay.

We don't mind.

We are tough.

Besides, we can go inside anytime we want to!

And in the shelters, we have plenty of food!

But sometimes we'd rather have a picnic in a snowstorm:

It's just Winter.

We've seen it before.

We've dressed for it.

And even if we don't see it for a few days...

we know the sun will come back again!

~~~~~

snow

Well, it was a storm, alright.

I took these snaps yesterday morning, when we had about six inches of snow. We got over a foot before the snow stopped last night.

During morning chores yesterday, Violet and her daughter Sambucus were invited out of the paddock to hunt and gather between the barn and the house, while I was to-ing and fro-ing, to-ing and fro-ing.

They had a grand time!

The hemlock branches were weighed down by snow, and both goats meandered over to help themselves to branch tips.

Did you know that goats have no upper teeth in the front of their mouths? The way goats break off a mouthful of something is to grab it and then snap their heads up, with their front bottom teeth acting as a cutting edge.

Sambucus demonstrates the grab:

And, with snow-laden branches, the secondary result of the snap:

Want to see it again?

You're up, Violet!

The grab:

And the snap!

This is the face of a very happy goat:

~~~~~

here we go

 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 1 AM EST MONDAY...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph.

Everybody ready?

Extra water buckets filled and brought inside?

Flashlights, laptops, phones charged?

Candles and matches at hand?

Something to read/knit?

Just in case.

~~~~~

the ending of march

Well, March 2023 was a wild ride. It contained the entire Winter's-worth of snow, including the nor'easter that brought down branches on two of my fences, but harmed no one; thank you, trees. The six-foot fence around the hens' pen took a hit from a red oak branch. Oak is heavy wood, and it fell from about thirty feet.

These snaps were taken shortly after the snowfall ended:

The North side.

The top section of the branch, outside the pen.
An arc I later walked through every day 
 by just slightly ducking my head.

from the South. What looks like solid snow in the center
 is actually snow held suspended in air by the net.

Nothing could be done until the snow melted and the netting which had covered the entire pen could be unwound from the crumpled fence sections and eased out from under the branch. I did not want to see what would happen if my Occasional Helper's chainsaw came in contact with a swath of stretchy net.

So for a couple of weeks, the hens have been allowed out to roam around for part of each day, which they enjoy and which is good for them, but...

I've been keeping an eye out for hawks, and sure enough, in the past two weeks I have seen two different hawks scoping out my place. So a couple of days ago, the hens' pen got repaired, including stretching the hawk-net back over the top. And now I have to remind the hens every day that they still have a pretty good quality of life, plus - and this is key - they are still alive to enjoy it.

In other Life Is Good news, after making three weekly trips to a farm to pick up just eight bales of hay, which is what the farmer/magician can squeeze into my vehicle, I was finally able to make the call and promise that the delivery truck could make it up, and then back down, my driveway again. Huzzah! Sixty bales delivered and stacked. 

I am happy. The herd is happy.

Speaking of the herd, here's a little wildlife tale for you:

Last night it rained - all night - and at one point I checked the barn cams and was surprised to see no goats in either barn. They were all outside. It wasn't raining hard, but it was certainly raining. My goats don't generally choose to stand in falling rain. It's hard to get a clear view from the cameras on a rainy night, between the infrared aspect and what looks like visual static from the rain. But I could tell they were all in one area and were all looking in the same direction. I turned on the microphones, but heard only rain - no goats calling for help. No raccoons shrieking for reasons of their own. I got out of bed, prepared to don my boots and an umbrella, but first I switched on the outdoor floodlights: nothing but rain. Got a flashlight, checked the camera again hoping the goats had lost interest in whatever they were watching: they had not. Went to a window overlooking the spot that I imagined the goats were focused on, held the flashlight over my head to avoid reflection in the glass, and turned it on. There, right in the center of the light, perched on a fencepost not twenty feet from the house, was a beautiful barred owl! I apologized for the light, wished it good luck in it's hunting, then turned off the floodlights and told the goats I was pretty sure they would be alright. Then I went back to bed.

The End.

~~~~~

wordless wednesday windows

 

~~~~~

marching on

 I've lost track of the snowstorms.

We are having Winter at last!

It's a relief, really. 

A relief to have snow at a time of year when snow is expected. An actual pleasure to have a cold day followed by another cold day. (Did I mention that this year I was still showering outdoors in late December because every other day felt like October?) And ice-crusted snow that is hazardous for a human to walk on and a problem even for goats. (I admit I could do without the ice. I've often said I'd rather have two feet of snow than a quarter-inch of ice, and it's true.)

There's plenty of food for cats and humans in the cupboard and freezer. Plenty of organic feed for the hens. And plenty of seeds and mealworms and suet for the wilds.

There's still enough hay for at least a week before I have to get another truck up the driveway, hopefully after a brief thaw and before another snowfall. So I'm not going to worry about that today.

You know the expression "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"? 

I think sufficient is also the good thereof.

I think life is plenty hard

and plenty good.

~~~~~